Helping out the paramedics

Let’s start of by saying I am utterly astonished by the complete and utter disregard for emergency vehicles. That’s right, emergency vehicles, not metro or police or the blue light brigade, that’s a whole debate on its own.

I saw how an ambulance was pushed off the road while on its way to an accident scene, and I commend the person driving that ambulance, because in all honesty, that is one job I would not be able to do. It is a scenario where every second counts, where those who need you rely on you to get there faster, to help save a life. It’s rather easy to ignore when it is someone else, but think about it for a second, what would happen if it was you, or someone close to you that needed that assistance?

Let’s put it in perspective, Dick is that guy who insists on yellow lane driving just to save 10 minutes on his trip, all of a sudden an ambulance appears behind him, and he has absolutely no where to go. Traffic next to him is slow because of the fact that they are now even further delayed because of you who now have to get out of the way. The ambulance at least makes a noise, and has some form of authority, so they pass you, all but arriving at the scene too late because you caused that delay. Who then is to blame? The paramedics or you?

Russel Meiring, crisis communicator for ER24 has been kind enough to lend me some of his time.

JOC: Thank you for lending me your time, and helping me build some awareness when it comes to emergency vehicles, and ambulances in particular. In your experience, what is the most difficult part of getting to a scene?

RM: One of the most difficult part of getting to the scene is actually responding to the scene. Paramedics face danger every time they respond as we have to respond to various emergencies at high speed. A mistake on either the side of the member of the public or paramedic, can lead to serious accident. Other driver may also panic when they see an emergency vehicle responding, causing them to slam on brakes, or swerve violently, causing a collision.

JOC: These drivers are obviously trained and rather skilful when it comes to driving in tough conditions, what can we, as motorists, do to help them get where they need to be when rushing to a scene?

RM: There are a few thing that motorists can do to help us on our way.

· If you hear or see an emergency vehicle behind you, do not slam on your brakes.

· Calmly, and carefully, move over to another lane and allow the ambulance to pass.

· Do not “rubberneck” or chase after the ambulance, as this may cause a serious collision.

JOC: The common consensus to those who move is just to pull to the side of the road, what is the preference for the drivers of these ambulances, and how can we help avoid further delays and collisions?

RM: We advise fellow motorists to adhere to all the rules of the road. So when you see an emergency vehicle approaching, calmly and carefully, move over and allow the ambulance to pass. If you are unable to pull to the side of the road, wait until you reach a point that is safe to do so. Do not attempt to increase your speed as this may cause a collision.

JOC: In the event of an accident with the ambulance while it’s on its way, what happens then? Does the ambulance proceed to the scene depending on the damage, or is a new one dispatched and the issue resolved?

RM: Accidents, unfortunately, do happen. If an ER24 ambulance is in a collision, it will immediately pull off at a safe place. The crew will immediately check and assess to make sure the driver and occupants of the other vehicle are not injured. This is immediately reported to our emergency contact centre, were another ambulance is immediately dispatched to the prior incident.

JOC: Wet and low visibility driving is dangerous, and the ambulances seems to be very top heavy, what is the problems you have encountered in the past, that was caused by a direct result of stupidity by the public?

RM: Whether wet or dry conditions, our paramedics take the highest precautions when responding, even in wet weather. We find, during the rainy season, that motorists do not keep safe following distances, or forget to decrease their speed. Unfortunately these factors, as well as responding, can generally lead to a collision.

JOC: How much authority does the ambulance have on the road, with sirens off, and on?

RM: Rules have been made in the traffic act that allows emergency vehicles to respond to various emergencies, but we must still adhere to the rules of the road. ER24 has very strict driving policies and we make sure that our staff adhere to the rules and regulations of the road.

JOC: The answer is probably no, but are you allowed to ram taxis off the road, just kidding, do you, or can you report reckless driving while on the way?

RM: Our first priority is the patient, but if we see that a drive is being reckless, we will indeed report it to the correct authorities. This includes emergency vehicles that respond recklessly, use lights and siren to skip traffic, etc.

JOC: We as motorist like to feel safe, and when something so big approaches at speed, we tend to get nervous, the obvious thing we should do is relax and trust these drivers, but can you tell us how regularly these vehicles are serviced or maintained?

RM: All of our emergency vehicles at ER24 are maintained to the highest standards. Are vehicles are maintained to the full specifications of the manufactures. As soon as one of our emergency vehicle reach a certain mileage, it will be decommissioned and replaced with a new one. This is done as the vehicles are utilised daily under heavy conditions.

JOC: Heavy vehicles tend to take longer to stop, how much heavier are these vehicles, and what is the average speed when dispatched?

RM: Due to the conversions they go through and the equipment they carry, our vehicles are slight heavier than normal. As said before, our paramedics are properly trained in advanced driving and have more than adequate training on these vehicles. Our ambulances, while responding, are only allowed 20 kilometres above the speed limit.

JOC: You help save a lives, from trauma to death, we thank you for this, what would you like to say, to make the lives of the live savers just a bit easier?

RM: ER24 would like to say thank you to all the emergency workers, whether private or public, for their amazing work across the board