# Oops!



## Jon (Jan 19, 2009)

[youtube]-dkNXabcSfw[/youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dkNXabcSfw&feature=related


This came across the Firefighter Close Calls email list today. This is out of Southern Ohio on wet/icy roads.

Remember to slow down and drive safe, folks! We can't help anyone if we don't get to the scene.


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## karaya (Jan 19, 2009)

Just a weee bit too fast for the conditions??


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## imurphy (Jan 19, 2009)

Bah! He didn't even make a full 360! He should try harder!


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## KempoEMT (Jan 19, 2009)

bad juju... thats not supposed to happen


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## marineman (Jan 19, 2009)

good song, I'd be happy that I didn't roll it and say good enough. Roads that icy sometimes there's just not a whole lot you can do but yeah probably a tad quick.


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## WiFi_Cowgirl (Jan 20, 2009)

That was cool! EMS On Ice, next show coming to the Carson Theatre!


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## JAM-EMT (Jan 20, 2009)

Wow thats skill right there.


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## medic417 (Jan 20, 2009)

Both drivers should be fired and lose certification.  That was completely idiotic and unsafe.  I can not believe people are so unprofessional and ignorant to think that laws of physics do not apply to them.


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## marineman (Jan 20, 2009)

medic417 said:


> Both drivers should be fired and lose certification.  That was completely idiotic and unsafe.  I can not believe people are so unprofessional and ignorant to think that laws of physics do not apply to them.



I'm going to go on a limb and guess that you live in a southern state, correct?


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## Sasha (Jan 20, 2009)

marineman said:


> I'm going to go on a limb and guess that you live in a southern state, correct?



That's not a lack of ice, Marine. It's a lack of understanding that ice, and water are slippery, especially on an oily road.

Don't blame the south >:O!


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## marineman (Jan 20, 2009)

Just a couple weeks ago we had ice to the point that I hit my antilock brakes at 20mph and came to a stop 1.5 miles down the road. At a certain point crap happens when ice is involved, I'm sure anyone that lives in an area that receives that amount of ice is fully aware of the physics involved in driving on such. I personally think the driver did a fine job keeping the vehicle on the roadway without hitting anything.


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## Sasha (Jan 20, 2009)

marineman said:


> Just a couple weeks ago we had ice to the point that I hit my antilock brakes at 20mph and came to a stop 1.5 miles down the road. At a certain point crap happens when ice is involved, I'm sure anyone that lives in an area that receives that amount of ice is fully aware of the physics involved in driving on such. I personally think the driver did a fine job keeping the vehicle on the roadway without hitting anything.



Oh no no no. I was referring to the whole lack of understanding to the poster who said that their licenses should be revoked.

I understand ice is slippery, wet, and bad things happen!


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## medic417 (Jan 20, 2009)

marineman said:


> Just a couple weeks ago we had ice to the point that I hit my antilock brakes at 20mph and came to a stop 1.5 miles down the road. At a certain point crap happens when ice is involved, I'm sure anyone that lives in an area that receives that amount of ice is fully aware of the physics involved in driving on such. I personally think the driver did a fine job keeping the vehicle on the roadway without hitting anything.



Honestly the driver was not in control.  They got lucky.


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## emtbill (Jan 20, 2009)

The best part is the stupid wacker filming while following the ambulance POV because he thought it would be cool, and then having to tear up someone's yard so he doesn't hit the truck himeself! haha...


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## Kendall (Jan 20, 2009)

medic417 said:


> Honestly the driver was not in control.  They got lucky.



While driving on icy roads, its difficult to stay in control period, it doesn't matter how slowly you are going. I can vouch, I live in Edmonton!

Good job to the driver for not hitting anyone, not rolling his truck and staying on the road!


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## Buzz (Jan 21, 2009)

You're never really driving on icy roads. You might be out on them moving around, but you're really just waiting to hit something--at least, that's how I look at it.

Not too long ago, we had a rapid drop in temperature out here on I-94 in an area the service I work for does 911 coverage for. We'd gotten dispatched for an accident in the same location we'd just heard two other units sent just minutes before. While rolling up on the scene, we stopped at the first accident in the location and hop out and proceed up to the car. No patients. I walk over to the state trooper sitting in his vehicle and ask if he knew if anyone had called EMS. He directed us up to another accident further down the road. We notified our dispatcher, who, by this time, had sent all available units to the area. We stop at another multi-car pile up on the side of an on-ramp and were sent onward by fire because all occupants were uninjured. At that multi-car pile up, two pumpers and a rescue were also hit. We received an order to just drive and "find an accident with patients." My partner turns around at the edge of our district and begins heading back west. The roads were icy, so we were doing about 20-30mph... around the same speed as everyone else, just that we were running with our lights on. Maintaining that speed seemed safe, until we hit a particular spot in which we started to slide more than was normal for the time. My partner reduces speed to around 15mph, and we started to spin and drift towards a wall. His attempt at correcting the spin nearly made us flip--we two-wheeled it twice.

All of this on roads that looked just wet, had no snow on them, and at what should have been a safe speed. Obviously it's not a safe speed, if you have no control of the vehicle at the time, but on a giant sheet of ice, the only control you're going to have is if you're sitting still. We would slide if we tried to stop quickly even from idling speed.


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## Jon (Jan 21, 2009)

emtbill said:


> The best part is the stupid wacker filming while following the ambulance POV because he thought it would be cool, and then having to tear up someone's yard so he doesn't hit the truck himeself! haha...



Actually... the camera looks far too steady... maybe it is a chief officer with a drivecam?


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## karaya (Jan 21, 2009)

emtbill said:


> The best part is the stupid wacker filming while following the ambulance POV because he thought it would be cool, and then having to tear up someone's yard so he doesn't hit the truck himeself! haha...


 
I don't understand why it's assumed to be a "stupid wacker _[sic]_"_._ This is clearly a dash mount cam and could even be one on a LEO car. Furthermore, the driver of the dash cam vehicle was smart enough not to brake and drive around the situation.


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## lightsandsirens5 (Jan 21, 2009)

I live in Washington state and completely understand what happened to these guys. You can be driving along just fine with good traction an all of a sudden hit black ice. Just like that, bam! No traction.

Excellent driving skills there!


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## lightsandsirens5 (Jan 21, 2009)

karaya said:


> I don't understand why it's assumed to be a "stupid wacker _[sic]_"_._ This is clearly a dash mount cam and could even be one on a LEO car. Furthermore, the driver of the dash cam vehicle was smart enough not to brake and drive around the situation.



It must be. If you look at the traffic sign on the right sire of the road as the rig spins around, you can see lights reflected in it. These can't be from the ambulance as it would only reflect if thesighn was viewed from the same locaton as the source of the light. That means that the lights must be on the vehicle with the cam.


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## Scout (Jan 21, 2009)

Funny about the whacker comment, i assumed it was a fire truck


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## Kendall (Jan 21, 2009)

You can see the flashing lights of the "whacker" reflected in the ambulance's striping. The camera is too steady, it must be a drive-cam. I'd suspect its a supervisor's vehicle or a PRU responding with the ambulance.

Anyone who's driven on winter roads can say that the driver did a good job of keeping the ambulance on the road and not hitting anyone!


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## remote_medic (Jan 21, 2009)

Accidents happen...speeds did not look excessive. Good job on the camera vehicle not not hit the ambulance.


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## medic417 (Jan 21, 2009)

remote_medic said:


> Accidents happen...speeds did not look excessive. Good job on the camera vehicle not not hit the ambulance.



Had he been further back as should have been even on ice he would have been able to safely stop rather than destroy peoples property.  If that was my yard he tore up I assure you he had better have money to pay to fix it up.


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## jrm818 (Jan 22, 2009)

The driver of the second vehicle was pretty darn far back from what I saw - and neither looked to be going that fast (maybe 30ish tops), though drive cams always look faster and can be hard to judge.  As everyone has said, with ice, sometimes all bets are off - and even with those conditions the second driver did a very good job not hitting anything.  If the driver had tried to stop on the road than he would likely would have locked his brakes and spun also - instead he kept his wits about him and drove around the danger maintaining as much control as possible over the vehicle.   trenching yard > hitting ambulance/other cars on road.

One more vote for the "from the south" theory.


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## Second (Jan 22, 2009)

jrm818 said:


> One more vote for the "from the south" theory.



what is this ??


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## jrm818 (Jan 22, 2009)

when medic 417 first responded on page one someone suggested he/she was probably from the south, and thus not familiar with driving on ice.  I'm agreeing with that guess.


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## BossyCow (Jan 22, 2009)

emtbill said:


> The best part is the stupid wacker filming while following the ambulance POV because he thought it would be cool, and then having to tear up someone's yard so he doesn't hit the truck himeself! haha...



What are you talking about POV, that was the chief's car!


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## medic417 (Jan 22, 2009)

jrm818 said:


> when medic 417 first responded on page one someone suggested he/she was probably from the south, and thus not familiar with driving on ice.  I'm agreeing with that guess.




Yes from the south but I have spent much time on the ice.  So not proof of jack crap.


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## emtbill (Jan 22, 2009)

Whackers have POV lights too! That was just my first impression though, and I was just trying to make a joke; it could certainly be a chief or officer's car, though in my neck of the woods our chiefs' cars don't have camera's. Also, I don't think a chief or police officer would put music to the video and put it on youtube!


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## Kendall (Jan 22, 2009)

Stranger things have happened!


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## marineman (Jan 22, 2009)

Our ops director has a whole montage of video clips with music to it that he plays at all of our meetings to remind us to drive safely. In ours the music is mostly to cover the fact that in 90% of the videos the medics are *****ing about the ops director right when the accident happens.


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