Another annoying drivers rant

[JC]

Originally Posted by EDfutura25

Well after doing 3 priority 1's last night I was appalled and very angry at drivers. It was night so my lights were easily visible, yet no one get's out of the way. I am leaving the depo with the lights on and I am waiting as 4 cars continue to drive stopping me from leaving. It is not like I was pulling on to a main road, and even then they were the only 4 cars in the area. Then with sirens blaring I had to stop at a roundabout to wait for more rude bastards, then same deal at a T-Junction. I had to wait for traffic, then as I began to slowly inch by inch move out, cars just went wide around me. WTF. To top it off I am curtious and I continuously flash the highbeams at least 200m before approaching a vehicle. Yet people continue driving. Last night I was just so annoyed and continue to be highly annoyed at the selfishness of drivers out there. I may not be doing 100km/h as people think (I only ever drive to the conditions or 20km over the posted limit, except on the open road where I go no faster than 120) Please people if you see us, hear us get out of the way, after all we are responding to an emergency. I am sure if it was your family/friends you would want us to get there ASAP.

So you drive a cab? What's the hurry?

Ah, I see, emergency vehicle. Yes, it is surprising the number of drivers who have no idea how to get out of the way - interestingly, I find it is mostly "imported" drivers that tend to do this. Most locally taught drivers are aware of what to do, but obviously there are some who don't.

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by JC

So you drive a cab? What's the hurry?

Ah, I see, emergency vehicle. Yes, it is surprising the number of drivers who have no idea how to get out of the way - interestingly, I find it is mostly "imported" drivers that tend to do this. Most locally taught drivers are aware of what to do, but obviously there are some who don't.

As demonstrated in the Iraq video - some people it takes being rammed by a military Humvee before they figure they need to move.

[sk8xr8]

my ex missus was one of these idiots that we're all talking about, we were on a two lane road, she was in the left hand lane behind a guy in an excel, we were approaching a set of lights that turned amber, she saw the ambo's tearing up behind her and moved over to the right hand lane blockin both lanes at the lights, i have never yelled at a girl so much in my life, utter F@#KIN stupidity, i had to tell her that if she didnt move the car i would have to call an ambulance for her after i smack her in the head, she moved, but was so bloody stubborn about it, when i asked her why she did it, she said that just because they had their lights going dosnt mean they should be able to just run through red light, they were probly just getting lunch.

that was the last conversation we ever had.

[gocruzin]

I don't know if this is legal but I was in Dandenong and an ambo was aproaching the intersection full of cars of course on a red.
I was in the turn lane to go right with no one behind me so I pulled to the left into the pedestrian walkway (no people crossing) and far enough away from cross traffic not to be hit myself to let the ambo through, then waited for the light and carried on with the traffic I technicaly ran the light by crossing the stop bar but i did not go into the intersection.
The good thing was the rest of the cars let me go ahead first when the light turned green.
Another time I was hemmed in and couldnt move out but the ambo came storming up behind me popped up on the centre median and passed us that way.
some times it pays to stay where you are, but you have to do what you can within reason
It's still no reason to do nothing at all like the bloke said

[dave289]

Originally Posted by Auturbo6

U should of been watching the rear mirror well before u stoped at the lights and got ure vehicle into a position where u wern't in the ambulances way....
Full stop the end......

Its not always possible ,are you that narrow minded that you cant see that. FULL STOP THE END......

[GoldCoastGTP]

Leagally you are not suppose to run a red to get out of the way BUT I have never hit anyone with this a wave and a thank you is what I normally give
I know a few that have given out fines to drivers for getting out of the way of a emergency vehicle by going through a red and rolling through a stop sign

[3vXT]

Originally Posted by davway

Just start driving like this - people will soon get the message:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_kF1JBiVpQ

Someone needs to dub the 'america, f##k yeah!' song from Team America over that.

[LTDHO]

Can you report these people?

[mrfordfairmont]

i live on a main road just down from a hospital and i have the ambulances come passed and the new one we don't hear till the top of the hill but the old on we can hear when they leave the hospital...
and i drive a truck and i move out of the way of emergency vehicles or give other a toot of the airhorn and they move then..

here is the rule from qld
from page 80 of the "Your keys to driving in Queensland"
Giving way to emergency vehicles
You must do everything practical to give way to an emergency vehicle sounding a siren, bell or flashing warning lights—see also Emergency vehicles, page 130.

from page 130
Emergency vehicles
Police, fire and ambulance vehicles are emergency vehicles.
If an emergency vehicle is coming towards you and is sounding an alarm or showing flashing red or blue lights, you must move out of the path of the emergency vehicleas soon as you can do so safely—see Giving way to emergency vehicles, page 80.
Do not drive onto the wrong side of the road or drive through a red traffic light or arrow to get out of the way of the emergency vehicle.
You should:
 slow down
 move left to give the vehicle a clear run down the middle of the road. If you cannot
move left safely, stay where you are and let the emergency vehicle overtake you
 not move your vehicle suddenly or make an illegal turn
 not drive into the path of the emergency vehicle.
Emergency vehicles at intersections
Emergency vehicles often stop or slow down when they enter intersections to check if they can pass through safely. You must give way to, and not drive into the path of, an emergency vehicle that is sounding an alarm or showing flashing red or blue lights, even if you are facing a green traffic light or arrow and the emergency vehicle appears to have stopped or slowed down.
Watch out for emergency vehicles by looking ahead and in your rear vision mirrors regularly.

[SB076]

Were you the CFA truck that was travelling on the Monash? (just past Dandy) I was a few 100 meters behind you guys (if you were in the CFA firetruck) Yep considering it was light traffic I couldnt beleive some motorists refused to move over.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by davway

Just start driving like this - people will soon get the message:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_kF1JBiVpQ

Hmmmm. I know you don't want to be a sitting duck in traffic for some dude with an RPG, but geez, its hardly endearing yourself to the local populace is it? What was the saying about half the war being to win over the hearts and minds of the locals?

Sorry, thread drift over.......

[grandpa_spec_F6]

I support the firey's and ambo's as part of my work, and some of the stories they have told me just give new meaning to the word 'belligerent'.

Ambos coming back from the scene, lights on, patient in the back, approached the intersection and made sure all was clear, proceeded to slowly cross when some fool shoots out from behind some cars that were stopped and t-bones the ambulance.

I will always make an effort to move out of the way of an emergency vehicle (where safe to do so) and I have had to make some split second choices such as ducking slightly out into the intersection to let them pass, and while not technically legal, if it affords them a few more seconds / minutes I think its worth it. I know there are two sides to that argument but it really boils down to the situation, and people having the common sense to recognise that flashing red and blue lights means "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

[Mr Hardware]

^ditto.
I don't have a car on stupid super ultra low suspension and tyres just nuggeted on the oversize rim, my car is a Gutter-Hopper! If i'm in traffic, i'll just gutter-hop to wherever, traffic islands, doesn't matter, the triple-0 boys are far, far more important.

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by SB076

Were you the CFA truck that was travelling on the Monash? (just past Dandy) I was a few 100 meters behind you guys (if you were in the CFA firetruck) Yep considering it was light traffic I couldnt beleive some motorists refused to move over.

If that is aimed at me, nah mate. I am in W.A and I would of been in an ambulance.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by gocruzin

I don't know if this is legal but I was in Dandenong and an ambo was aproaching the intersection full of cars of course on a red.
I was in the turn lane to go right with no one behind me so I pulled to the left into the pedestrian walkway (no people crossing) and far enough away from cross traffic not to be hit myself to let the ambo through, then waited for the light and carried on with the traffic I technicaly ran the light by crossing the stop bar but i did not go into the intersection.
The good thing was the rest of the cars let me go ahead first when the light turned green.
Another time I was hemmed in and couldnt move out but the ambo came storming up behind me popped up on the centre median and passed us that way.
some times it pays to stay where you are, but you have to do what you can within reason
It's still no reason to do nothing at all like the bloke said

The key is if you can get out of the way without placing yourself and others at risk you will get away with what you did. Although technically you did run a red light, you crossed the line only enough to give way to an emergency vehicle so you would be fine on this one. A big well done and it would be good to see more around with this sort of common sense.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by Riksta

Appalling stories of disrespect towards our emergency services in here.

I have a mate who is an Ambulance Officer here in SA, was talking to him just a couple of weeks back, and apparently if cars fail to move for them or block them or whatever, they can take down their number plates and report them and they get a fine in the mail.

I'm always more than willing to get out of the way for an ambo/firey/police when their lights are flashing and sirens going. Even ran a red for one once, in the turning lane, saw it coming up behind me, lucky the cars coming the other way who had the green saw it, they saw me flashing my headlights like mad, and stopped to let me and the ambulance behind me around. Only situation I would ever deliberately run a red for.

We can do the same thing but it involves writing a written statement outlining all the details (this can be done in email) for the police and then they action it. If the driver challenges it we have to be willing to appear in court.

This is a lot of work and to be honest, because it happens 20-30 times a shift we do not bother. It is only on the really severe instances that we do anything (I have a couple of times).

I just hope those that do not get out of the way sleep really well. Yes they might only hold us up by 30 seconds, but once 10 people have done that on one code 1 response, that is 5 minutes extra that person is not breathing. To find out what that is like, place a plastic bag over your head for 5 minutes.

Sorry to go off topic a bit but I read another topic on emergency vehicles on here a fair while ago and it was said (by someone who drives an emergency vehicle as far as I know) that if stopped at a red light and emergency vehicle comes up behind you not to proceed through the red light. It made sense how it was explained ..being that if an accident occurs by going through the red they are obligated to stop for your situation and the actual emergency is delayed. I understood you should just wait until green light and then attempt to pull over to the left as quickly as possible to get out of the way.

This actually occurred to me last week though and they went nuts beeping and headlight flashing the car next to me forcing them to proceed through the red light at a major intersection fairly close to the CBD in Brisbane. What are you actually meant to do at a intersection with a red light if you have an emergency vehicle behind you?

That was probably me, yes I am on the job, a Paramedic in Brisbane and currently a Officer-In-Charge of a station.

[Halfmo Rocks]

Originally Posted by ken2903

Someone needs to dub the 'america, f##k yeah!' song from Team America over that.

bloody oath, good call.

i saw one the other day, fire engine had to force it's way though intersection as no-one stopped to let it thorugh, then a tool in a honda cut though behind it...completely oblivious to the second fire engine right behind the first. don't know if the firey's collected the honda...but i hope it scared him seriously at least

[SDKC]

I have a question for all of you that drive Ambulances and Fire Trucks.

Do you do any extra driver training for urgent duty driving or do they just hand you the keys and tell you there's the lights and siren, go nuts?

I have seen some ambos do some interesting things trying to get through traffic.

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by SDKC

I have a question for all of you that drive Ambulances and Fire Trucks.

Do you do any extra driver training for urgent duty driving or do they just hand you the keys and tell you there's the lights and siren, go nuts?

I have seen some ambos do some interesting things trying to get through traffic.

My mate who is a paramedic had some advanced driving training as part of the job training.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by SDKC

I have a question for all of you that drive Ambulances and Fire Trucks.

Do you do any extra driver training for urgent duty driving or do they just hand you the keys and tell you there's the lights and siren, go nuts?

I have seen some ambos do some interesting things trying to get through traffic.

Yes we do.

In Queensland we have to a week long training course in driving in both code 2 (normal road speed) and code 1 (lights and sirens) which has an assessment throughout the course and has to be passed before we are allowed on road. In addition, once on road we are assessed by the qualified paramedic that we are working with and have to be signed off after 6 months before we are credited with the subjects of operating of emergency vehicles in urgent and non urgent conditions.

We are also scrutinised continuously and any complaints from other road users, all speed camera, all red light camera and any crashes are strenuously investigated (I am investigating one at the moment). Any such investigations that bring the driver ability into question may be referred to the driver review panel for either counseling of the person, re-training or dismissal from the service.

So yes, we have to go through a lot more checks than just chucking us the keys and saying go for it. Yes I have seen some ambo's doing some crazy things (unfortunately we do have some that make mistakes) but I see more general motorists do more crazier things more frequently.

Our actual crash rate is a lot lower than the general public, impressive when you think about how many kilometers we all drive and in the conditions in which we drive. Having said that, I expect that from my crews, we are professionals and anything less than that is unacceptable.

[Spudz27]

I will admit I was handed the keys and told here you go. I did do a weekend course but even that was not till 6months after I joined. Most of the time the paramedic will drive to the priority one (after all they are fully qualified) but if you have to come back priority 1 then they will always be in the back. I can only be attendant in priority 2 or less (although in those areas not lucky enough to have paramedics they obviously have to do all priorities). In saying that the paramedics I work with must trust my driving ability (I am extremely cautious, always respectful of the road users etc) because I will drive priority ones to a scene often.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

both code 2 (normal road speed) and code 1 (lights and sirens) .

if applicable, what is code 3?

I did a first aid cert at the ambo station and during lunch one of the ambo guys regailed us with his tales of the job. He showed us his 'Mo-warm' where they have the engine plugged into mains power to keep the engine warm. He also told us of the time he was doing his ambo driving test and the instructor told him to get up to 180! then told him to stop right here, which he locked up all four wheels, flat spotting them all (he got told off for doing it wrong). the guy was a legend imo.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

if applicable, what is code 3?

I did a first aid cert at the ambo station and during lunch one of the ambo guys regailed us with his tales of the job. He showed us his 'Mo-warm' where they have the engine plugged into mains power to keep the engine warm. He also told us of the time he was doing his ambo driving test and the instructor told him to get up to 180! then told him to stop right here, which he locked up all four wheels, flat spotting them all (he got told off for doing it wrong). the guy was a legend imo.

Ok, couple of things here.

Unless the state that you are in is different which I highly doubt, plugging the vehicles in does absolutely nothing to keep the engines warm. Those plugs are battery chargers to charge the batteries when not in use as all the electrics in the ambulance fit out has a lot of current draw even when not in use and the battery life suffers greatly. Added to that, when the rear aircon is on, all the emergency lights, the interior lights, the monitor is plugged in, the radio is on, the mobile data terminal is on and the siren is on (yes all these run off the auxiliary battery) the alternator does not produce enough current to run all this and thus the batteries need frequent charging.

I think the story of getting the ambulance up to 180 and then doing a panic stop as training is probably a story with a fair amount of embellishment attached. The Queensland Ambulance Service has a limit of speed on code 1 drives of 30 kmh over the limit depending on conditions. Therefore there is no need to train someone to panic stop from 180 as the highest you can do in QLD is 140. Yes it may have happened but as a station officer I would be heavily criticising any instructor conducting such needless training, particularly considering no state road law would consider it reasonable that an ambulance do such a speed.

Personally I think he was having a lend of you. I work with people that have been in the service for 35 years and none have ever told me of such training in seriousness. Before that they had horses so I don't think there were any 180 km/h braking tests then.

And for your original question, code 1 and 2 are codes we use for acute cases (someone with a new complaint that has not been assessed or a deterioration in an old complaint that requires assessment), code 1 is lights and siren and code 2 is normal road speed. The best way to think about it is if you call 000, the ambulance will be dispatched on a code 1 or 2 depending on severity of the complaint. We also have code 3 and 4 which are both non acute codes. Code 3 is for someone that has to be transfered from one hospital, clinic, nursing home or residence to a hospital or clinic for a scheduled admission or treatment. Code 4 is a discharge home of to their place of normal care (ie nursing home) or residence after treatment at a hospital or clinic. Code 3 and 4 cases must be authorised as required by a doctor and scheduled more than 24 hrs in advance.

[prydey]

is there a phrase about 'truth' and 'good story' that fits in here somewhere?

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

if applicable, what is code 3?

I did a first aid cert at the ambo station and during lunch one of the ambo guys regailed us with his tales of the job. He showed us his 'Mo-warm' where they have the engine plugged into mains power to keep the engine warm. He also told us of the time he was doing his ambo driving test and the instructor told him to get up to 180! then told him to stop right here, which he locked up all four wheels, flat spotting them all (he got told off for doing it wrong). the guy was a legend imo.

Not sure where you are but in W.A the limit is 140. The tyres are not rated any higher. Even then most people stick to either conditions or 20k over max. I think as GeckoGT said, the story was probably embellished a little.

[GT-E]

It is funny how even useless drivers will always notice a police car with lights and sirens, yet seem to miss other emergency vehicles.
Roof mounted RPG's would be my solution and just blow them off the road.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by GT-E

It is funny how even useless drivers will always notice a police car with lights and sirens, yet seem to miss other emergency vehicles.
Roof mounted RPG's would be my solution and just blow them off the road.

Interesting, tends to create a bit to much work when you are in my trade. I would just settle for a dirty great big air horn.

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Interesting, tends to create a bit to much work when you are in my trade. I would just settle for a dirty great big air horn.

Do your sirens change when beeping the horn? We have the standard siren, then the alternative noise when the button at the feet is pressed, then if all else fails I can press the horn and it sounds like aliens or something. It is a very strange noise and always get's their attention.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by EDfutura25

Do your sirens change when beeping the horn? We have the standard siren, then the alternative noise when the button at the feet is pressed, then if all else fails I can press the horn and it sounds like aliens or something. It is a very strange noise and always get's their attention.

The fact that you have the foot switch I would say you have Ford F series. We have the new Mercedes Sprinter 319, the siren is as for the previous model except it now has a kind of air horn sound, hold the horn on and it amplifies through the siren unit. The siren itself has the usual wail, yelp and a combination of the two. This changed by use of the horn pad on the steering wheel.

This is now a pretty standard setup and most of our vehicles have the same thing. My fast car has the same siren and beacon setup (just in a smaller scale).

[Spudz27]

No we are running merc sprinters. We have 2 that are about 1.5yrs old and our older 06 model is about to be replaced with a brand new one.