firedoc5

I can relate. On a flight back from Dallas, a VERY early flight after a Cowboy's game :sleepy2: , my seat just happened to be in the very back where the attendant sat. I had a patch with a star of life or something on it on my carry on and she asked me if I was a medic. I told her I was. She said that at one time there was a state that proposed that if someone had medical training that they had to inform someone on the flight crew. I don't know what state, I think it might have been TX. But that was years ago.

I forget my own often enough. They've had that new show "Guinea Pig" where that guy gets tazed, non-lethal shot, etc. I don't know if he's doing it to show exactly what happens or if he's just showing off. But those guys on "Jack Ass" doing those things are pure egoist. Sure, it's out outrageous and to some hilarious, but what's the actual point?

Are you sure you just weren't trying to get into the "mile high club"?

There are so many arguments this post can begin, especially the argument whether people who are bi-polar should be allowed to be in EMS. I'm not going to get into any kind of debate about any of that. The only thing I'm going to say is that whether or not bi-polar plays a part in a debate, it should be judged on a case to case basis. I have a feeling this is going to be a long drawn out topic

I've never had it happen to me, but I've heard of incidences where a police officer followed an ambulance to the ER to see if the emergency was serious enough to warrant the speed of the driver was going. I've heard it happening a couple of times and that at least once the officer didn't think it was that big of an emergency and ticketed the driver. Has anyone lese ever heard of this?

Dwayne, how many times have you been told....? [-X (Sorry, couldn't resist) :laughing6: BEVERLY, Mass. -- A man stole an ambulance and led police on a wild ride through several North Shore towns Friday night. Watch Video Police said William Guzman, 38, jumped into the driver's seat of the ambulance and drove off from Beverly Hospital, where paramedics had left the keys in the ignition. During the chase through three towns, the ambulance struck a least five cars, including some police cruisers that tried to block it. At one point, the ambulance went the wrong way down a one-way street. "We're not exactly sure why he did it," said Salem police Lt. Scott Englehardt. Witnesses said they saw the ambulance speed and swerve through the chase. Police eventually caught up with Guzman in Lynn, who fled on foot after the ambulance got stuck in traffic, police said. Guzman was the only one injured. "Luckily, no one else was hurt in all the crashes that ensued," said Englehardt. Guzman faces several charges and the Lyons Ambulance company is expected to be cited for leaving the keys inside.

I'm not sure if I totally agree, but I was told that suicide was the highest form of selfishness.

Everyone has at least one friend that would try something like that to just see if it would hurt or to see how much it would hurt.

"Blowin' In the Wind" - Peter, Paul, & Mary

I'm not here to judge, I'm just here to point and laugh.

The only person I knew of personally had it done at first did great with it. But he didn't follow the program and within nine months he was just as big if not bigger. He did eventually die of morbid obesity, which he was initially trying to avoid.

It's just been that long ago since that boss was complaining how expensive gas was and how bad we thought we had it. We had our own gas pump so we were buying gas in bulk, and along with what we paid for on the road with credit cards we had a large gas expense. We were clueless too on what he meant when he said to be more fuel conscious. He was pretty tight with a buck too.

"Suicide is the permanent solution to a temporary problem." That's the best way the concept of suicide was explained to me.

"Dark Side of the Moon" - Pink Floyd (Man I hope I'm not repeating, and I'm too bummed to double check, sorry)

One thing I just thought of was the mentioning of the use of governors. Would there be some out there that had them not only for speed, but also for fuel considerations? Especially for times like these. We had some units with big engines, a couple with 400's and at least one with a 460 in it and along with four barrel Holly's....but when gas got up to $1.00/gal., the boss told us to be more fuel conscience.

I only prefer white wine. :drunken:

Each and everyone of us can tell a story or experience on this matter. And there are us veterans that have seen so many situations that you don't know whether the proper response is humor or drama. And after awhile you may even get de-humanized of it. I know I told of one call on another post about this. How we were all so tired of getting calls for this guy wanting to kill himself, that the police sergeant cocked his 9 and handed it to the guy and told him to do it. Of course he didn't do it but we scattered because we knew the guy was such an idiot and drunk enough to get one of us. That is getting to the extreme end of the spectrum. But there was drama enough there he felt at the bottom of the world, but there was some humor there just trying to imagine all of us diving for cover and the ludicricie of the officer actually giving the poor slob a cocked and loaded weapon. So potentially the whole gambit of emotions are involved.

''Moon River'' - Perry Como

''Leaving Louisiana In the Pale Moonlight" "Dancing In the Moonlight"

I know that there are so many different options for weight loss/treatment. Some work better for some than for others. The best non- surgical I have seen personally work has been Curves programs. I've seen it work on a number of occasions. I don't know if it is the same thing but I've always noticed that a lot of gals who had braces or extensive dental work eventually went into the dental field. So maybe you do have gastric by-pass or some other procedure done, you may develop an interest in the field. Good luck by the way. Let us know when the lbs. start to come off.

I once was asked by a Trooper, actually Master Sgt. State Trooper, if I knew how fast I was driving one night responding to an accident on the Interstate. I wasn't intending to be smarting off or anything but I said no because the speedometer only went to 85. WRONG thing to say. He went off on me like you would not believe. But the joke was on me. Yes, I was a rookie, and even though he was a Trooper, he was also a volunteer on the rural fire serv. It was a good five years before they finally let me live it down. :sign5:

Sorry, guess I should have made the *** a little larger at the end of the original story.

Saw all that on the news. We're in a rural area where we've had the same explosions here from grain mills. Never would have thought sugar, but makes sense.

We almost got my boss a t-shirt that said "Freelance Gynaecologist" on it but figured he'd probably wear it. Plus he wasn't worth the $9.99 to buy it.

So how many meeting rooms, board rooms, offices, tables, card tables, bars, etc. has this issue been addressed? I don't have a direct answer to the original question of setting an actual speed limit. But may I give the guidelines which I gave myself more or less? In my first statement I'll use two words, "Common Sense". In a fair representation I'd say 85% of emergency driving is common sense. (Argue amongst yourselves if you have another number in mind). Situation 1 Responding in a city/urban area with traffic. If you are going faster than the surrounding traffic, but still maintaining a stable enough enviroment for the staff to function, then you are going fast enough. Situation 2 Same as Sit.1 but no traffic, as long as those in the back are not being bounced around like silly putty and able to function adequately and safely, then you are going fast enough. Situation3 Open highway, hospital to hospital transfer. When traffic is cooperative and patient is stable, your crew are able to perform all skills and you are able to maintain a faster but still safe speed, you are going fast enough. *** Situation4 Same as Sit.3, but, unstable patient, helo. is down. This is for the more experienced driver(s). You have an understanding with your crew (also more experienced) ahead of time that it will need to communicate at all times. For whatever reason, if someone of the crew needs a more stable ride, then slow down and use what skills you can to comply. If driver and crew agree that there are no current skills needed to be performed at that time, then with common sense and judgement obtained through prior experience, accelerate to speed deemed to be expeditious yet within the bounds of relative safety. Situation 5 For the rare and uncommon transfer/response which time is of the essence and no other transport is available there are the situations which only a very few select, most experienced few are deemed qualified. They may be known in other areas as other names but we called them "Kamikaze" runs. When a doctor pulls you aside and asks you that even with stopping time, you can average over 85 mph, then you know he is wanting his patient at the other facility in the quickest time possible. This type of transport does not fall on the skills of just the driver, but by the entire crew. One must realize that at those speeds, something like a flat/blow would be no recovery. A passenger is a must up front to be a second set of eyes and to be able to help determine which lane of traffic should be the most efficient. ***I hope everyone will realize I was going from a somewhat serious realm of reality to an off beat quirky dimension of delusion between Sits. 3 & 4. I'm sorry about that. Guess I got caught up in procrastinating too much around here.