December Ambulance Crash Log

[crotchitymedic1986]

Yes i did break my promise, but it was only at the request of the crotchies who stated they could not go a week without my posts. So to make everyone happy, I am not posting any controversial topics until 2009. You will note that these topics are all warm and fuzzy, and not offensive.

[EMT City Administrator]

I am not posting any controversial topics until 2011.- admin :wink: You will note that these topics are all warm and fuzzy, and not offensive.

[Arctickat]

Have at it Crotch, I enjoy your polls. It's just the dozens of alternatives that pop up afterwards that tire me. BTW, one of my ambulances hit a deer the other day. First time that particular driver had ever had airbags deploy on him.

[MedicCraig]

I do agree we must have the facts and statistics to verify that we have a problem. As far as I'm concerned, one accident involving an ambulance is one too many. The general public calls us to resolve their problems, not create new ones. By driving recklessly and too fast, we are endangering ourselves, our patients and everyone we come into contact with. We must learn to slow down and concentrate on the task at hand. When I am attending a patient, that's all I'm concentrating on. The same goes for driving. Nothing less than 1oo% focus on the job at hand. TV and movies need to stop portraying us running all over town at wide open throttle, because that's how the public expects us to act. How many times has a member of the un-informed public asked you "how fast will it go?" while pointing at your ambulance? How many times has a concerned family member told you to speed up or asked why you didn't have the red lights on? The public has come to expect our behaviors based on the percepcion created by the media. Just like "Emergency!" , the TV show from the '70's that introduced EMS to the world. The public expects us to act and perform like the images they see portrayed on TV. We need to slow down. We need to pay attention. We need to attend defensive driving programs and pay attention to the lessons. Don't just sit taking up space and hoping to past the test. Take an active part in the safety of those around you. The ambulance I currently use is one of the best I've ever been in. It's clean, drives great, and is set up just the way I like it. And everyday at shift change I relay this message to the on-coming crew..........................If you scratch it, you fix it, if you dent it, you die! Be safe.

[EMTsheri]

WOW. I have been in the medical field for just "a few years", but have never been asked "How fast can this thing go?", nor have I been asked to speed up. Maybe because I am going the 15 mph over the limit that is allotted to EMS while driving code 3. I do stop, or at least slow way down. I have yet to have an accident yet have been told that my day will come. I still insist that I will not be the one at fault. ((fingers crossed))

[crotchitymedic1986]

sherri I dont want to see you get hurt --- if your coworkers are telling you that you are going to crash, they are probably right. Slow down, no call is worth dying for, the most critical call you can respond to is a cardiac arrest, and they are already dead.

[akflightmedic]

the most critical call you can respond to is a cardiac arrest, and they are already dead.

Care to explain this one? I never viewed an arrest as the most critical...

[crotchitymedic1986]

I guess I should have worded it differently in hindsight --- the call that requires the quickest response is an arrest, because of the limited time window you have to save them.

Let us remember this is vehicle accident thread, if you wish to debate what is the most critical call then please PM me or start a new thread.

[akflightmedic]

Still disagree with you.

Read any journals or studies regarding cardiac arrests lately??

I can name several other conditions/events that are time sensitive and more critical than an arrest if you wish for a positive outcome.

Anywho, typical crotch rhetoric, no basis on any facts ever.

Negative ghostrider. I can derail a thread as well as you.

Besides we have discussed this prior to your arrival, threads branch out on tangents, happens all the times. They are like regular conversation, constantly evolving.

[crotchitymedic1986]

I would love to see those facts AK, please open a new thread and share them