Keepin' it real on the road

Road Safety

We all think we practice it, we all think we are the best drivers in the world (at least those of us in EMS right?)

My company has just begun to install road safety devices similar to those in AMR ambulances. I guarantee, there are going to be a lot of high pitch tones for the first few months...the exciting thing is...we will be better drivers by the end of it (in and out of an ambulance).

How can one assess one's own driving safety? One needs to have an objective piece with proper parameters programmed into it to give an accurate account of good driving habits. Your partner in the seat next to you is not a good judge of driving. Individuals have different perspectives, but this black box by Zoll has one perspective that is repeated for every operator, creating a universal standard of driver safety.

While driving to a scene lights and sirens sounds, sometimes, like the best adrenaline rush you could have and gives you that feeling of being a superhero, just remember your state driving protocols and remember those who did not get so lucky.

"WRAL.com

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A paramedic was killed late Wednesday in an ambulance accident at Fort Bragg, authorities said Thursday.

The wreck occurred at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Plank and Turkey roads on post, said Tom McCollum, spokesman for Fort Bragg.

An ambulance from Womack Army Medical Center was responding to a mutual aid call from another military ambulance when the driver lost control and slammed into some nearby trees after overcorrecting, according to Emergency Chaplains, a group that ministers to first responders and emergency personnel."

By Craig Crosby
Portland Press Herald
Copyright 2007 Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

TURNER, Maine — Allan Parsons' last act was helping someone in need.

Parsons, 46, a paramedic from Wilton, was treating a patient in the back of a Med-Care ambulance early Thursday when the vehicle collided with a pickup truck on Route 4 in Turner, according to Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins.

Parsons was pronounced dead at the scene.

The unidentified patient was rushed to the hospital with two other people: Arlene Greenleaf, 68, of Bethel, who was driving the ambulance, and the driver of the pickup truck, Christopher Boutin, 29, of Turner.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Potato Road and Route 4 a little after 3 a.m., Desjardins said.

Greenleaf and Parsons, who were based in Mexico, were taking a patient from Rumford to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston when Boutin pulled his full-size Chevy pickup out in front of the ambulance, police say.

"A witness stated the ambulance's emergency lights were on and the pickup truck was crossing Route 4 from Potato Road to Lone Pine Road when the accident occurred," Desjardins said.

Greenleaf was removed from the ambulance with an extricating device. Boutin was ejected from the truck during the crash, Desjardins said.

Greenleaf was listed in fair condition at Central Maine Medical Center after undergoing surgery, Milligan said.

Officials at the hospital confirmed Thursday that Boutin was a patient there but declined to give his condition. Initial reports indicated he suffered multiple injuries, including head trauma, Desjardins said.

He had no information on the patient who was riding in the ambulance.

It was the kind of crash that could have claimed more lives, Desjardins said.

"It was a violent collision," he said.

(stories courtesy of ems1.com)