# As it happened: London roadside emergency



## Martyn (Dec 6, 2011)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16030644


----------



## bigbaldguy (Dec 6, 2011)

Why do London medics wear body armor?


----------



## systemet (Dec 7, 2011)

They're in a fairly dangerous large urban center of 8 million people?  Where there's a lot of violent crime, sometimes directed at paramedics?


----------



## Smash (Dec 7, 2011)

Only seeing 3 fatals in a ten year career is pretty spectacular!


----------



## FourLoko (Dec 7, 2011)

they don't even have guns in that silly place


----------



## Aidey (Dec 7, 2011)

Just because it is body armor doesn't mean they are bullet proof vests, might be stab plates instead.


----------



## Shishkabob (Dec 7, 2011)

Most likely stab vest, as although shootings are relatively rare, stabbings are not.


----------



## Scott33 (Dec 8, 2011)

FourLoko said:


> they don't even have guns in that silly place



How backwards of them.



Linuss said:


> Most likely stab vest, as although shootings are relatively rare, stabbings are not.



Correct.

_"There were 1,006 physical assaults against ambulance staff in England for the year 2006/7"_

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7088341.stm


----------



## systemet (Dec 8, 2011)

These are stab vests.

There's real violence in the UK.  There's real poverty, and there's real social problems.  

They just don't have as many firearms.  So when someone wants to hurt someone, they tend to use a knife, or an impact weapon, and less people die, because all the "a gun is just a tool" talk aside, it's a little harder to kill someone with a knife.

http://www.nysun.com/new-york/ny-fares-well-vs-london-in-a-new-study/83495/

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/17/world/as-crime-rises-london-looks-to-new-york-for-lessons.html


----------



## systemet (Dec 8, 2011)

Smash said:


> Only seeing 3 fatals in a ten year career is pretty spectacular!



Yeah, I'd have to agree!


----------



## Martyn (Dec 8, 2011)

FourLoko said:


> they don't even have guns in that silly place


 
Oh how wrong you are:


----------

