Ever clip a sign?

[Barefootedkiwi]

Hey everyone,

So the question I pose: Have you ever hit a sign?

I'll be honest I have. I'm a new driver, I'm a "baby EMT" by my own admittance ... yeah I'm learning! So I clipped a sign and now I'm catching a whole bunch of sh*t ... you know ... normal EMS manner ... so I did what every smart @$$ does .... I asked my fellow crew members if THEY'VE ever hit a sign. Of course they all said that they've never hit a sign ... :roll: .. so ... clip any curbs and get a sign to boot?

I did. And to be honest, I backed into a huge roll-off dumpster; I didn't hurt anyone and they were minimal scratches ... if any ... on the truck ... so if people want to get all uppidy about stupid bs like that .. I should just take the new truck instead of the oldest truck next week ...

Am I alone in the world of EMS driving? I don't really think I am but I figured I'd ask ... ever hit a sign?

*edited for vague terminology* In terms of "hitting" a sign, I mean clipping it with the end of the truck. I was backing down a road and hit a sign that was on a telephone pole. Well, I backed down the road without hitting the sign, when I left I didn't take the turn wide enough and scraped the back end of the truck on the sign; I forgot it was there but I was mos definitely not the first person to hit it ... but that doesn't really matter. So ... have you ever clipped a sign?

[AnthonyM83]

I hate to say it, because it usually means it'll happen within a week when I say I never have . . . . but no, I haven't. Hitting a sign (in anyway, even scratching against it) would result in termination. Any at-fault accident = termination...

[TheOldMan]

I have hit a deer, but no signs.

[Asysin2leads]

That all depends on the word "hit". Was it a case of clipping an overhanging sign with the box or catching a mirror? Or crunching one with the bumper or grill when pulling into a parking spot? I ask because usually signs are not sitting in the middle of an area where you drive. In other words clipping a sign can happen. Hitting a sign that was up on a sidewalk shows a lot more carelessness.

[Mediclcems]

No signs, but I did clip the resuce truck...OOPS!

[JakeEMTP]

I haven't had contact with any stationary object up this point in my career. In fact, I drove semi-truck accumulating almost 2 million miles over 18 years and never hit anything. Lucky? Maybe. Over cautious? definitely.

Always, always, be aware of your surroundings. Have someone "spot" you if you need it. There is no such thing as an accident. Only collisions. MVA (no longer the standard) vs MVC (current terminology).

[strippel]

I can't say I have, but it has happened. (About 3 years ago, I bumped another moving vehicle, no damage.)

Working in a old city, there are always signs, trees, mirrors, telephone poles, etc, in the narrow roadways.

My agency understands that, as long as you are honest. Now, if you were backing without a spotter and hit something....

[scratrat]

Sign, curb, those stupid yellow plastic things that stick up from the ground to corral traffic, cones, but no other vehicles at least!!

[firedoc5]

No, I haven't. But I was in back when someone else clipped a sign. We were bringing in a patient that was a full arrest that we resuscitated. (Coarse V-fib, I defibbed him at 200 J's, converted right back to sinus rhythm). Right before we got to the hospital there was a slight s-curve. Danny, who was the driver, clipped a speed limit sign with the right side mirror. It sounded like a canon going off in back.

To make the story a little shorter. We got done at the hospital, went to where he hit the sign, picked the mirror up and went back to the station. We teased him about it for at least five years that I recall. He would have done the same thing to anyone else who had done the same thing.

But I did back into a car. Just caught it with the step bumper. It was behind the ambulance building in a place that we have never seen anyone park there. Mainly to the big "NO PARKING" sign he was next to. It ripped a pretty good slash down the rear quarter panel.

[TheOldMan]

I also think part of EMS is the fact no one ever forgets the 'Oops' moments. I was know as the 'bambi killer' for the longest time. Part of me wants to say, if they are teasing you about it, means they 'accept' you. If your co-workers wasn't saying anything, then you may have a problem. We currently have several workers who have acquired nicknames, some of which will get me thrown out of this forum if I were to repeat them. The other point to barefootedkiwi, does you company provide you with an EVOC class, we have an EVOC class every year, mandatory for everyone. The class is a good reminder for things you might forget, and the driving part is fun.