DriveSmartBC - Watch Out For Number Two! I am guessing that most people see the code 3 operation of an emergency vehicle as something that would be exciting or thrilling. From my own experience I can say that this feeling quickly wears off and a sense of responsibility settles in. The lights and siren provide no protection for you or anyone else on the highways and the speeds involved expose us all to danger. Two of my close colleagues have had serious crashes while operating police vehicles in this fashion. One was chasing a speeder and had another vehicle change lanes in front of him so closely that he could not avoid rear ending it. The other was responding to an incident involving firearms. He was vehicle two in a convoy where a driver pulled over for the first police vehicle and then either failed to look or failed to see and moved back onto the highway at the instant he tried to pass by. The latter was the case here on Vancouver Island this past week. The driver of the car that pulled out in front of the second police vehicle was not as fortunate as the two incidents I describe. She has since succumbed to the injuries that she suffered in the crash. The moral of my story is you should always anticipate that emergency vehicles tend to travel in packs when something serious is happening. If you pull over and stop for the first one, take great care when you move back onto the highway that there are not more following along behind. Simply put, it url] save your life. Reference Links |
I saw an ambulance hit a mini van once. It was following behind a fire truck and everyone saw the big red truck with flashing lights but some lady decided it was safe to move into the intersection and make a left turn after it passed and didn't see the speeding ambulance behind it. An ambulance is, in my opinion after seeing the result of that accident, essesntially a tank. It pretty much tore the front end of the van off. The ambulance? It had some scrapes and scratches but nothing serious (though one of the attendents I remember was bleeding badly from something or other having been tossed around in the accident, I believe he was in the back when it happened). It drove away on it's own power with the woman in the mini van in it. Emergancy vehicals are heavily re enforced. Your car is not. That was my take home from the whole stomach turning incident. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Is there a protocol as to how fast emergency vehicles can go based on the situation they're responding to? Or is it just up to the police/ambulance driver's discretion? Sometimes I see fire trucks driving terribly slowly, for example, and other times I see them booking it and weaving through traffic. Same with ambulance/police. Are they headed to an emergency that's more severe or is not likely a "false alarm"... or are some police/emergency drivers just faster and more aggressive? |
We are accountable for our speeds both on routine patrol and when responding to a call. If we're driving like a bat out of hell and someone reports the driving, our GPS will be pulled for that time/date as well as the call we were attending (or not attending.....). We will have to justify our speeds and if you weren't attending a call, or the call you were attending didn't necessitate any sort of expedited response, you can bet we'll be getting in trouble. It was brought up by PACER in our morning briefing just yesterday - Whats the public to think if we're not following the rules we enforce? We must lead by example. |
Quote:
|
Stop bitching on here and complain to the people who can do something about it. Posted via RS Mobile |
Quote:
I was waiting at a red light in the left lane one day, two vehicles behind me and an ambulance approaching from behind. The right lane was clear. The two cars behind me started pulling into the right lane to "move out of the way" for the ambulance. Enough said. |
Quote:
|
Phone the local detachment of the area you were in, give them the plate of the vehicle, and lodge your complaint. |
Quote:
And I'm not bitching, I'm simply giving an example that backs up Pacer's comments. |
Quote:
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 08:47 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
SEO by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.
Revscene.net cannot be held accountable for the actions of its members nor does the opinions of the members represent that of Revscene.net