A comprehensive study of ambulance performance in Kuwait in terms of traffic congestion using fuzzy logic

In some cases, a one-minute of delay due to traffic congestion may cause a life loss. Traffic congestion is a consequence of the increase in vehicle users, which increases travel time for road users. Ambulance drives are supposed to transfer patients from their locations to the closest hospital with minimum time to save their lives. However, they are facing delays due to traffic congestion which threatens patient’s life. This paper mainly focuses on analyzing the current status of ambulances in Kuwait and the traffic issues they are facing. This study also provided a fuzzy logic model that gives the priority to ambulances in passing traffic signals.

Currently, ambulances are covering almost 500 medical cases daily. In Kuwait, the time required to reach patients’ location or transfer them to hospital does not exceed 10 min. Based on the questionnaire, it was concluded that almost all participated drivers cooperate with ambulances during traffic congestion. However, their cooperating level is influenced by the light on the ambulance. Drivers’ willingness to give way to ambulance is affected by their safety, time they will waste. It was stated that there is a significant correlation between drivers’ experience and their confidence in their ability to respond to emergency events on roads. The proposed fuzzy logic model consisted of 12 rules based on the existence of ambulance and traffic density. For further studies, it is recommended to include more conditions in the fuzzy logic model such as rush hours.