Opticom is sooo 20th century.

National City is testing a new contraption that could get emergency help to residents faster.

The device, which is called the "GPS Signal Interrupter," is being tested at eight of the city's busiest intersections to see if it decreases fire truck response times.

"The difference between a four-minute response and a five-minute response could be that loved one's life," said National City Mayor Ron Morrison.

The device, which was developed by Global Traffic Technologies, improves upon an older technology. In the past, fire trucks would flash strobes as they approached an intersection. Sensors mounted on top of the traffic lights would detect the strobe and switch the light to green. However, if a fire truck approached the intersection at an angle or from a hill, the sensor would not be able to detect the strobe early enough to be efficient.

The GPS Signal Interrupter senses the fire truck's GPS signal from a farther distance, around a corner or down a hill.

"Now, it triggers it up to a quarter-mile out and it starts a normal traffic pattern interruption," said National City Director of Emergency Services Frank Parra.

The interrupter would also clear out an intersection earlier, which helps emergency vehicles avoid accidents.

A GTT spokeswoman told 10News the interrupter can decrease response times by about 40 percent. Morrison said a quicker response time is especially important when a down economy means a smaller staff.

"Good time or bad times, you never have enough," he said. "So the more tools you can add to their box so they can be more efficient, it's just that much better."

Morrison said National City is testing the system for free. If it's successful, it could be expanded across the county and include police and ambulance services.

I didn't realize though that this is manufactured by the same company that makes Opticom.

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