Distracted Driving

[Just Plain Ruff]

What is your service doing to curb distracted Driving?

The NTSB and all it's affiliates want texting gone, they want hand's free phone calls only. A town in California (I think) just made it a crime to make any type of phone call in a car.

What is your ambulance service doing to curb distracted driving?

What about when driving to the scene of an emergency? There is a 2nd set of eyes in the front (the passenger) but what about when the driver is alone and driving emergent? Who is helping him/her stay drivinng safely?

[Arctickat]

Using a portable electronic device while driving is an automatic 6 day suspension without pay. It's also illegal here with a $280.00 fine. We have hands free systems in each ambulance for phone and radio operations.

[Vorenus]

Driving while using your phone is generally forbidden around here (state law).

[mikeymedic1984]

Fired if caught texting and driving. We ask that they not use the cellphone for calls while driving, but it is not as big of a sin as texting. The first $500.00 (our insurance deductible) or the cost of the damage if it is less than that, is payroll deductible if you are at-fault in an accident.

[Just Plain Ruff]

really, one of my friends first jobs he had was that if you were in an accident it was common knowledge that at fault or not, you just packed your gear and left. You were terminated on the spot. How's that for fairness.

Even if you were rear-ended. One of the guys my friend had he was working and had parked the ambulance at the hospital, had a guy drive his pregnant wife into the er parking lot, failed to put his car in park, the guy got his wife out, the car kept goin and hit our ambulance. The damage was minor and he reported it, The supervisor drove over to the hospital with another crew member, PIcked up the original driver, drove him back to the ambulance base and they fired him. Sucked to be him.

After my friend threatened to let loose some skeletons that the service had in their closet, he got the job back. But he was eventually terminated a couple of months later. It took em a while but they got rid of him. He did eventually let those skeleton's loose to the state though. Medicare had a heyday with that service.

[island emt]

There is a large corporate entity that has the same philosophy, Have an accident and your gone.

I know of several cases where the ambulance was parked at the scene with the crew away from the truck, or in one of the companies designated convenience store parking lots on post and they got hit.

Maybe not right there on the spot, but surely before the next payday they were found at fault and let go.

Have a chargeable crash and don't even bother to go back to the base to collect your ass chewing.

A company like that just SUCKS to work for!

[Just Plain Ruff]

There is a large corporate entity that has the same philosophy, Have an accident and your gone.

I know of several cases where the ambulance was parked at the scene with the crew away from the truck, or in one of the companies designated convenience store parking lots on post and they got hit.

Maybe not right there on the spot, but surely before the next payday they were found at fault and let go.

Have a chargeable crash and don't even bother to go back to the base to collect your ass chewing.

A company like that just SUCKS to work for!

Yeah I believe they might be one of the Alphabet soup entities some letters of the alphabet that come to mind might be a m and R or some letters near those.

[Kiwiology]

Purposefully driving while doing something else like texting or eating food or wanking is unacceptable and totally unprofessional; it is not tolerated here by management or indeed by other ambulance officers

One officer drives and the other reads the map or now a days programs the GPS or works the radio/MDT etc

The cops new cars' have the siren controls built into the steering wheel; alas ambo doesn't have such luxury yet but I concede it is not overly difficult to steer with one hand and work the siren control with the other just set it to "RUN" and it cycles as appropriate you only have to select hi-low and hit the air horn at intersections or to get people to pull out of your way

Driving is the most dangerous part of any response and it is totally inexcusable to be doing anything other than driving if you are the driver

[Arctickat]

Purposefully driving while doing something else like texting or eating food or wanking is unacceptable and totally unprofessional;

I did that once whilst driving late at night to stay awake...it seems to work okay.

[Kiwiology]

Did you steering wheel get all sticky?