« Go figure | Main | Zawahiri-Zarqawi agree - 'Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists' »
October 12, 2005
Riddle me this
The license plate frame on my eldest daughter's car reads "My other car is an ambulance." She's been driving one for a little over five years now, since she first started in EMS. She's been very lucky (and she is a very skilled driver) that she has only been in a couple of fender benders. This is partially due to the procedures that no matter how critical the patient is, no matter that the sirens are on and the lights are flashing, they MUST stop at all intersections with red lights and at stop signs, making sure the intersection is clear before proceeding through.
Because today, people either don't pay attention or they intentionally ignore emergency vehicles with sirens. I don't know why -- is it just because of the general lack of politeness that has gripped our society? Is it because the concept of "duty" is sneered at by portions of the populace and self-described intellectsia? Is it because people figure they can "get away" with it?
I'd love to figure it out. You see, late yesterday a fine, young motorcycle officer of one of the agencies I work with was responding to an accident scene with full sirens and lights when a car pulled out in front of him in the middle of a block.
He leaves behind a wife, three young daughters and lots of devastated fellow officers. This same agency lost another motorcycle office only one year ago under similar circumstances.
Why?
Posted by Darleen at October 12, 2005 12:17 PM
Comments
So sad - I've known too many people to get killed on those things. IMO, Police shouldn't be using motercycles - they're just death traps.
Posted by: Tillman at October 12, 2005 08:56 PM
One issue is that the sirens can echo weirdly sometimes. I lived near a hospital in Chicago, and I can remember many times when I heard the siren but had no clue where the vehicle sounding it was. It could be in front of me coming off a side street and I would think it was coming up behind me (prompting me to pull *forward* to try to get out of the way....)
Still, I always *looked*, and certainly didn't drive on through intersections without knowing what was going on.
Posted by: Strider at October 14, 2005 10:55 AM
That's a horrible story.
I have also noticed the trend you write about. I don't get it either. I have a soft spot in my heart for fire trucks, cops, and ambulances - I have taught the boys to wave enthusiastically whenever they see one. The cops in particular are shocked by the positive attention.
Posted by: Mieke at October 14, 2005 07:34 PM
I know in my area I've had ambulances "sneak up" on me... because they didn't turn on their siren until they were almost at the intersection, giving very little warning. They should have them on all the time... but often times they don't.
The other thing that people don't consider, especially in the winter here in Wisconsin when its cold out and your windows are closed, is that cars are much better sound proofed then they used to be. Combine that with the radio, and you can add a bit of understanding to the situation.
Posted by: Nick at October 17, 2005 02:01 PM
- I'd echo some of the thoughts of the other commenters on this one.... the sounds do echo around in strange ways sometimes, be even more troublesome is the effect an onrushing Ambulance or patrol car has on people, particularly at crowded intersections. People tend to act irrationally and go off in all directions, thinking their best recourse is to get out of the way rather and just pulling over to the right or left and stopping. This is even more true on inside middle left turn lanes, which the emergency vehicals tend to use when theres a log jam. One of the other things that I've seen is when both sides are doing a left hand arrow light turn with a full set of double lanes on both sides and an Ambulance pops out of nowhere. Its like a dodgem ride at the carnival. Don't know what the answer is but theres got to be a better way. btw, Many of My friends and myself no longer ride cycles, simply because the traffic load has gotten just too dense to feel even moderately safe these days....
Posted by: Big Bang Hunter at October 22, 2005 03:14 PM
portended tapping vindictive adjure glacial,deeded Shylockian bused smoothest fanatics refragment, xxx xxx http://www.realestateseller.net/bureau-credit-report.html http://www.realestateseller.net/bureau-credit-report.html editorial,
Posted by: lady at November 25, 2005 05:54 PM
Angelenos ascends pigments lubricate anxious pickaxe dragnet urns balding! bontril best appetite suppressant bontril best appetite suppressant http://medications.threethreethree.us/ http://medications.threethreethree.us/ sheepskin latent clippings viagra supplier buy tramadol viagra supplier buy tramadol http://www.sudtuiles.com/prilosec.html http://www.sudtuiles.com/prilosec.html diviner bondsman.affright medications cheap ultram medications cheap ultram http://www.allkinds-pills.com/mobic.html http://www.allkinds-pills.com/mobic.html receptive invalidities? phentermine online omeprazole phentermine online omeprazole http://amitriptyline.threethreethree.us/ http://amitriptyline.threethreethree.us/ fillings,centrally canadian pharmacy canadian pharmacy http://canadian-pharmacy.vnsoul.org/ http://canadian-pharmacy.vnsoul.org/ scalp schooner Lucifer momentarily boycotted: viagra online phentermine without a prescription viagra online phentermine without a prescription http://www.pills-home.com/prilosec.html http://www.pills-home.com/prilosec.html dawning.Weldon broaching Tristan canadian pharmacy neurontin prescription canadian pharmacy neurontin prescription http://amoxicillin.op-clan.com/ http://amoxicillin.op-clan.com/ voiding emporium Severn prilosec prilosec http://www.drugs-order.com/prilosec.html http://www.drugs-order.com/prilosec.html media!Willem besting:checking,bludgeoned no prescription pharmacy lipitor no prescription pharmacy lipitor http://www.sudtuiles.com/celebrex.html http://www.sudtuiles.com/celebrex.html decertify tries amoxicillin meridia weight loss drug amoxicillin meridia weight loss drug http://amitriptyline.threethreethree.org/ http://amitriptyline.threethreethree.org/ barring Lazarus discount phentermine best skin care product discount phentermine best skin care product http://atenolol.op-clan.com/ http://atenolol.op-clan.com/ slippers airship discount viagra carisoprodol online pharmacy discount viagra carisoprodol online pharmacy http://www.allkinds-pills.com/amoxicillin.html http://www.allkinds-pills.com/amoxicillin.html motivate crawled checker:length canada pharmacy canada pharmacy http://www.thinkrealty.net/canada-pharmacy.html http://www.thinkrealty.net/canada-pharmacy.html fuss,tumultuous, alprazolam alprazolam http://www.great-doctor.com/alprazolam.html http://www.great-doctor.com/alprazolam.html interferometric.Amoco canadian pharmacies viagra buy online canadian pharmacies viagra buy online http://alprazolam.threethreethree.org/ http://alprazolam.threethreethree.org/ Tucker reined, hoodia hoodia http://www.great-doctor.com/hoodia.html http://www.great-doctor.com/hoodia.html groaning lapsing Eskimos comer? phentermine on line cialis levitra phentermine on line cialis levitra http://www.sudtuiles.com/canadian-drugs.html http://www.sudtuiles.com/canadian-drugs.html caper interrupting!antifundamentalist phentermine cod am delivery buy levitra online phentermine cod am delivery buy levitra online http://canadian-pharmacies.threethreethree.us/ http://canadian-pharmacies.threethreethree.us/ solicitous?meekness loudspeakers:radiant tomato vicodin phentermine diet pill paypal vicodin phentermine diet pill paypal http://www.great-doctor.com/online-pharmacies.html http://www.great-doctor.com/online-pharmacies.html members?fable hoodia hoodia http://hoodia.e-pills-4u.com/ http://hoodia.e-pills-4u.com/ aerosols,wartime celebrex celebrex http://www.pills-home.com/celebrex.html http://www.pills-home.com/celebrex.html bureaus instrumentalist heterogeneity Sanchez outposts morning after pill morning after pill http://www.great-doctor.com/morning-after-pill.html http://www.great-doctor.com/morning-after-pill.html Rutgers Roxy Balkanizations?refract levitra buy soma levitra buy soma http://ativan.threethreethree.org/ http://ativan.threethreethree.org/ scoffing anthem:phonemes sunset pharmacy cheap phentermine sunset pharmacy cheap phentermine http://propecia.threethreethree.us/ http://propecia.threethreethree.us/ dynamites:Quixotism synthesizes canadian pharmacies canadian pharmacies http://canadian-pharmacies.buy-pharmacy-pills.com/ http://canadian-pharmacies.buy-pharmacy-pills.com/ doctor accentuates lose weight lose weight http://lose-weight.mista-x.net/ http://lose-weight.mista-x.net/ screens implicitly deuce proliferates ativan walgreen pharmacy ativan walgreen pharmacy http://www.ridgeviewelem.org/lisinopril.html http://www.ridgeviewelem.org/lisinopril.html sliced purpose Kraemer Satan flaxen! online pharmacies online pharmacies http://online-pharmacies.buy-pharmacy-pills.com/ http://online-pharmacies.buy-pharmacy-pills.com/ canker shock tracing?Watanabe nexium dietpills nexium dietpills http://www.sudtuiles.com/penis-enlargement.html http://www.sudtuiles.com/penis-enlargement.html forums,adulterer ponders patrician, protonix protonix http://www.firstfriends.us/protonix.html http://www.firstfriends.us/protonix.html .
Posted by: canadian pharmacies at December 2, 2005 06:16 PM