EMERGENCY DRIVING

EMT 170Cars & Radios

Hippocratic OathFirst, do no further harm.

The Problem

• 6,500 reported crashes per year• 60,000 “Wake affect” crashes• 10 serious injuries a day• 3 dozen deaths a year• 9.6 per 100,000 fatalities

– 6.3 for police– 4.5 for fire fighters– 2.0 for average citizen

The Problem

• NHTSA– No ambulance safety standards– No crash testing

• Code 3– Only saves 43.5 seconds average– Only 5% of EMS calls are emergencies– 30-45% end in no transport

• How well is your cardiac patient doing?

The Solution?

• New standards?– Driver training/monitoring– Company policies

•Seat belts, speed, equipment secured– Dispatch prioritization– Ambulance design

•Safety, color, lights & sirens– Ambulance maintenance

Ambulance Driver

• Yes, we are still one• The other side of patient care• Keep the whole transport safe• “Offensively Defensive”

Buckle Up

• Fatality risk for restrained ambulance occupants nearly four times lower

• Risk of incapacitating injury for restrained ambulance occupants was nearly 6.5 times lower

• Risk of a fatality vs. no injury for rear occupants of an ambulance was more than five times greater

Response Time

•“Running” to the Ambulance–Adrenalin

•Lights and sirens

•Speed

Lights

• Too many lights– Uncoordinated

• Glare– Sun– Spot

• When not to use

Siren

• Field of Invincibility??• Speech• Sound projection• Different modes

– PA– Silent– Different tones

Speed

• Code 3 – Save 40 seconds• Passing

– Positioning (Telegraphing)– On the left

• Following others– Distance– Emergency vehicles

Intersections

• Lights– Opticoms

•20mph max thru intersections (Wilson Heirgood Associates)

• “Clear”• Eye contact• Visibility• Passing the “turner”

Ambulance and patrol car run into in intersection!

Passing

• Always on the left• Never (Almost Never) on the

right• Using the side of the road

Turning

•U-turn

•Three point

Slowing/Stopping

• Braking– How hard

– Steering

• Avoid head on!!!

Parking at the Scene

• Pre-plan– What kind of scene

• Safety• Blocking traffic• Access• Egress (Get’n out o’ there)

Be Smart, Be Safe