Rescue workers are hoping a motorcycle fleet will help them save lives on Florida's highways. Under a proposed program, Miami-Dade County firefighters would respond to emergencies on specially designed motorcycles, navigating through gridlock to accidents before other emergency vehicles arrive.

All county firefighters are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians and would have access to defibrillators, oxygen tanks and first aid kits.

"Here in (Miami) Dade County, traffic is a nightmare. There's a lot of construction. Often when there's an accident, it's difficult for emergency vehicles to get to the people," fire department spokeswoman Shari Holbert Lipner told the Associated Press (AP). "This is another way to get to citizens faster."

The motorcycle officers would handle minor injuries when larger units must focus on more critical situations, Lipner said.

Such programs exist in Europe, but there are none of similar scale in the United States, Lipner said. The Daytona Beach fire department has a program with four motorcycles that's used mainly on special events, such as Bike Week.

BMW has offered to donate 10 model 1100 RT-P emergency rescue motorcycles, which the firefighters would ride in pairs -- reminiscent of the late 1970s TV show "Chips."

The Miami-Dade County Commission will consider approval of the program in November, and the fire rescue bikes could be on the road by fall next year.