Drove an ambulance, (40,000 lb.) fire engine,and supervised drivers for 17 years. We rarely exceeded the speed limit. It isn't safe and doesn't satisfy the legal requirement of "Due Regard" that protects us from successful litigation in a collision.
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I saw an idiot run a red light and get clipped by an ambulance with sirens on that just kept going, leaving the dude sitting there with a fucked up car and confusion. One of my favorite memories.
aug 11, 2025, 1:21 am β’ 3 0 β’ view
I'm not sure the legality or standards of care, but my assumption was that they had a patient and that's why they kept going. Ambulance sustained no damage.
aug 11, 2025, 3:53 am β’ 0 0 β’ view
FTR: we cannot drive past an accident that we witness or are involved in. It falls under Duty to Act. We need to attend the incident we come across and have an additional response dispatched to the original call. I did this a handful of times in my career.
aug 11, 2025, 3:16 am β’ 1 0 β’ view
Extreme example, but if you had a potential stroke or some other highly time-sensitive case already in the back and got in a minor crash with everyone involved conscious and walking, would you or dispatch have the authority to triage and keep moving or do you absolutely have to stay?
aug 11, 2025, 3:33 am β’ 2 0 β’ view
Captain has the authority to split the response if we're enroute together. Otherwise, one unit has a duty to stay. It doesn't happen often. Also, the percentage of high priority calls is fairly low. Another way to look at it is if you encounter a fire enroute a medical aid. Obviously, we stop!
aug 11, 2025, 3:39 am β’ 3 0 β’ view
Drove an ambulance as well and same. Lights and sirens got people out of my way (usually), and sometimes got me through red lights (extremely cautiously, was taught if I get t-boned itβs likely on me), for speeding it just didnβt generally make sense.
aug 11, 2025, 1:43 am β’ 8 0 β’ view
That due regard standard puts it on us most of the time.
aug 11, 2025, 1:46 am β’ 3 0 β’ view
Yeah the laws that are supposed to make other drivers pull over and get out of your way are far more effective for helping response times than speeding.
aug 11, 2025, 1:28 am β’ 5 0 β’ view
Yep. The ambulances I drove had a hard speed governor limit of 72 mph. But also, they were International truck chassis ambulances; they didn't get to 72 except on a big downhill. Somehow, we still took care of our patients.
aug 12, 2025, 5:31 pm β’ 1 0 β’ view
Our instructor in EMT class spent almost a whole class drilling this into us. Any benefit from shorter travel time is negated by way higher chance of crashing.
aug 11, 2025, 1:25 am β’ 36 0 β’ view
Was also taught this in wilderness medicine: "if they're going to die because you didn't run, they're going to die. If you trip and break a bone we have two patients."
aug 11, 2025, 1:30 am β’ 27 0 β’ view
It's definitely something to consider. We didn't run; we "moved with purpose."
aug 11, 2025, 1:45 am β’ 10 0 β’ view
I spent some time on this with my EMT students, too! π
aug 11, 2025, 1:27 am β’ 4 0 β’ view
My instructors did the same, and I did that when I taught new drivers. It makes me wonder what cops are teachinng each other; they drive like absolute maniacs.
aug 12, 2025, 5:32 pm β’ 1 0 β’ view