How skilled are Paramedics when it comes to response driving ?

[Asysin2leads]

Remember what we were talking about, 25 and under were at a much higher risk for deadly accidents?

http://www.wset.com/story/18118682/witnesses-recount-truck-ambulance-accident-that-killed-one

The driver, Justin Kidd, 25, has been charged with reckless driving.

[Kiwiology]

I'd be willing to bet that a smaller percentage of Kiwimedics are killed each year than red white and blue medics are.

Yes, zero, I have never heard of any ambo being killed on duty, ever, like not for probably the last forty years

And I can count ambulance accidents on one hand

[chbare]

Wasn't there a fairly recent death related to an accident in NZ? I remember it being all over the news. A medic in a response car ended up being killed if I remember correctly.

[Kiwiology]

Wasn't there a fairly recent death related to an accident in NZ? I remember it being all over the news. A medic in a response car ended up being killed if I remember correctly.

Not that I am aware of directly nor heard talked about; such a thing would be fairly huge here and as I said before, I've never known any AO to be killed at work ever; there was one case from Wellington way back like 70 or more years ago; even in the Police and Fire Service it is extremely rare (fingers of one hand sort of thing)

A few vehicles have been written off in accidents that I can remember but the other driver has always been found at fault

There have been a few (like count with fingers on one hand) cases of Paramedics crashing the ambulance in AU in recent years but it's quite rare over there too

Good to see you follow the NZ news!

Edited May 5, 2012 by Kiwiology

[BushyFromOz]

Wasn't there a fairly recent death related to an accident in NZ? I remember it being all over the news. A medic in a response car ended up being killed if I remember correctly.

A flight medic was killed in NSW in a winching accident around christmas, i dont think they had a death in nearly 30 years before that.

We have lost 3 to vehicle accidents in the last 20 odd years, 2 from the same accident about a decade ago.

[Kiwiology]

Yep, pretty bloody rare indeed around these parts, and probably in UK too I bet

[theotherphil]

Let's get the internationaloscope out

Australia - class LR required

UK and Europe - Class C1 required

Canada - Class 4 (in Ontario Class F) required

South Africa - Code 10 required

Each of these are a higher standard than a regular car license, a commercial class medical exam and a theory and driving test

Each of these jurisdictions (not sure about SA) also has very strict rules about rest breaks and limits of driving

Once again US falls to bottom, breaks my heart

UK: on top of C1 class I had to do D1 but this is no longer mandatory. We also do a 3 week advanced driving course. Week 1&2 covers the system of car control, reading the road ahead, controlling skids (on a skid pan in an ambulance and car - including FWD, RWD and 4x4), manoeuvring in tight spaces, "making progress", avoiding red mist etc. Week 3 is Emergency Response driving...driving on simulated emergencies under response conditions. It is extremely intensive and taught by Ambulance or Police Highway Patrol instructors. Pass marks are 95% and the failure rate is high.

On top of this, my service enforced a further 2 weeks driver training with the Police when gaining a position on a rapid response car.

So, on top of my normal licence, I had to have 3 yrs experience before gaining category C1 and D1 on my licence (vehicles over 4.5t and passenger carrying vehicle of up to 16 persons). I then undertook the 3 week driver training with the Ambulance Service plus a further 2 weeks for the response car.

On coming to Australia, I had to gain a LR category on my licence (roughly equivalent to my UK C1&D1 categories).

Edited May 5, 2012 by theotherphil

[Kiwiology]

Exactly, the standards in this part of the world (and similar) are much tougher and so they bloody should be!

Now, I might say the American method of rolling up in a huge Ford ambulance brimming with lights and six tone siren and air horn and charging down the freeway in it at 120k an hour is good fun (at it is!) however low driver education standards and requirements are not quite as much fun and they should not be tolerated.

The driving course here uses the systemic driving technique which you probably used as well; based on the Metropolitan Police driving school. Once you do the course you can drive non emergent only then you get a logbook to do which is peer-reviewed then signed off then you can drive P1 this is on top of having had a clean license for at least three years

Officers on the Motorcycle Response Unit have to pass the Police motorbike course and apparently only half a dozen have passed, all of whom have been very experienced bikers (20 years exp etc)

Any warm pulsed muppet can jump in the ambulance and rip around going woo woo (read: nee naw nee naw for you lol) but it takes a skilled driver to do it safely and professionally just like any homeostatic imbalance of an ambo with a wonder ticket from joe's firemedic academy can put a drip into somebody but that doesnt mean they should or are doing it safely

Edited May 5, 2012 by Kiwiology

[Bieber]

Yes, zero, I have never heard of any ambo being killed on duty, ever, like not for probably the last forty years

And I can count ambulance accidents on one hand

That's amazing, and proof that there's nothing inherent about our job that says that we have to suffer any of our own to die in an automobile accident.

Now, I might say the American method of rolling up in a huge Ford ambulance brimming with lights and six tone siren and air horn and charging down the freeway in it at 120k an hour is good fun (at it is!) however low driver education standards and requirements are not quite as much fun and they should not be tolerated.

What's goin' on in the up in here?!

vs

Hello, love, how are you this evening? That's all right, you don't need to go to the hospital.

I'll pick the one that's safest for everyone involved every time.

[eduard]

No problem EMT City Junior. Thank you for all the valuable inputs.