to think that if half the time emergency services, just drove at normal speed, they would get to their destination quicker?

[carriedababi]

please note the half the time part.

today, in town an ambulance had the blue lights nd sirens on

it was busy and congested and took a while for the ambulance to get past, i'm sure that half the time they would get to the destination quicker if they just drove normally

i was not in a rush just been out in town for lunch with friends, and even if i was in a rush i wouldn't be bothered but it took ages to get through/by all the traffic and would have been alot quicker to to go through normally.

what do you think?

Yes but carrie (and Beaver) when you and I are sat in traffic, or are driving at 30mph, we only see the ambulance for a few minutes. we don't see what happens before or after. So yes, for those few minutes people may panic/ignore them/refuse to move etc and the ambulance is indeed temporarily slowed down. But often they will then speed on through the next traffic lights etc etc.

As I said before, if it really made no difference then someone high up would have noticed it long and they would be told to just sit in traffic jams like the rest of us.

halleulia!

at last someone sees what i'm trying to say!

yes viva thats what i mean.

It may temporarily slow while traffic stops, parts or slows but it will gain after getting past that particular stretch. Otherwise why bother with blue lights and sirens?

yes yes that's what I was trying to say!

no i was flying!

yes i was driving, and i pulled over straight away of course.
but it took a while for everyone to pull over as there wasn't really anywhere to go

Why is it a problem to you? Do you grudge getting out of the way or something? If not, why not let the (trained) drivers drive as they see fit?

not a problem to me at all, like i said i was only going for lunch, no rush.
i do not begrudge pulling over one bit.
i just think they could get there quicker another way

It shouldn't matter about the speed, drivers need to move out of the way, they can go as fast as it is safe to do but it's the drivers who are also responsible.

There's no quicker way unless they build special lanes for emergency vehicles only or make them with wings so they can fly over the traffic. Perhapse all emergency vehicle drivers should have a moses ability so they can simply move the traffic out of the way?

"I just think they could get there quicker another way"

How? (serious question btw)

:)

I've sat in a lot of ambulances with blues and twos on doing hospital transfers. I have thought before now that at certain points/streets it would have been quicker to turn them off as people trying to get out the way make it worse.

Of course I always keep my mouth shut and leave it up to the Ambulance Tech. Even kept my mouth shut as I was watching us going into the back of another car. I kept thinking "we're going to hit it, we are, this is going to hurt". Never actually said it as I thought the driver must know what they're doing. Oh dear.

I want to know how too. I don't really understand what you're getting at?

I do think some drivers are very poor at getting out of the way though - was behind a man who was using his mobile the other day and I pulled onto the kerb, he simply didn't hear react to the siren at all.

lol perhaps they should drive monster trucks then

vivalebeaver is right!

And drivers do switch of the sirens when they can't make progress.....if the sirens are on, give them clear passage....they are making an informed, controlled and trained decision.

As someone who has driven with a blue light, we would get there much quicker if dopey drivers used their rear view mirrors and got out the effing way

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere once of a town where emergency vehicles had been told by the powers that be to drive at 30 rather than 40 through an urban area because a study had found that their average speed stayed higher that way. Might have been to do with synchronised traffic lights and getting through them on green rather than having to slow right down to go carefully through on red. Honestly, am not making this up! Does this ring any bells with anyone?

Yes, amazes me how many times I see an ambulance in my rear mirror and pull over. The cars that were between me and the ambulance (so right infront of it) haven't yet seen it and pull out and over take me! Grrrrrr.

They could do with a third person in the ambulance to take down the registration numbers of all of those people who choose to use their mobiles/not look in their mirrors/refuse to move over.

Then send them all massive fines. Perhaps people might try to pay more attention then.

TiggyD - I am laughing at the thought of an ambulance house.

A house that has all the people who drive ambulances living in it awaiting a 999 call.

VivaleBeaver - I think you are rght about the braking when hearing sirens comment, if people continued foward & checked their mirrors, signalled when a safe stopping place has been found it would be a lot quicker & safer.

i was not drink driving!!!

i only had coke

lol