Radio Hi-Jack device for Ambulance

[EMDispatch]

WASHINGTON - Ambulances are equipped with flashing red lights and screaming sirens, but sometimes they still have a hard time getting through traffic.

In Guayaquil, Ecuador, they're trying something different to get drivers' attention. According to gizmodo.com, ambulances are hijacking car radios to blare a warning that the ambulance is coming.

The ambulances uses a low-power broadcast that overrides AM and FM radio signals when the ambulance is within about a half-mile of the vehicle.

It has been estimated that the radio hijack is cutting response times by 40 percent.

Source: WTOP

Video about the device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RYaYw6zhSOY

Do you think it would work in the US?

 

[ffemt8978]

Maybe, but not as well as some people would think. Given the large number of people that listen to mp3 players, CD's, satellite radio, and their GPS fewer people are actually listening to their radio anymore.

Also, the FCC is going to have something to say about this.

 

[Meursault]

within about a half-mile of the vehicle.

So radios in the Longwood area, and parts of most cities, would be more-or-less permanently unusable? What if you have two units responding together?

Instead of changing the law to excuse deliberate radio interference, why not legalize the bumper tap? Audible, visible, and tactile warning devices!

 

[JPINFV]

So radios in the Longwood area, and parts of most cities, would be more-or-less permanently unusable? What if you have two units responding together?

Instead of changing the law to excuse deliberate radio interference, why not legalize the bumper tap? Audible, visible, and tactile warning devices!

Do you really want to teach ambulance drivers to do a PIT maneuver?

 

[Meursault]

Do you really want to teach ambulance drivers to do a PIT maneuver?

I don't think that would go well in a Type II. But no, just a little tap square on the rear bumper to encourage those drivers who decide to stop at intersections and not move from the left turn lane, or who drive normally until they notice grille lights in their rearview mirror and then panic stop. Case in point:

Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the Ladder 14 truck clipped the rear bumper of the passenger car, but caused no further damage during the 8 a.m. incident near 667 Cambridge St.

“There was a woman in the car in the left hand lane and a fire truck coming up behind her,’’ MacDonald said. “Rather than yield and move to the right, she stopped dead – and the (Ladder 14) driver had to swerve to the right to avoid her and clipped her bumper.’

The comments: people wondering why it's hard to maneuver a ladder at speed, people wondering why we tolerate firefighters driving fast in traffic, and symmetric screaming from firefighters about how the public sucks and from the public about how firefighters suck.

 

[MMiz]

Cool idea, but I'd rather have a rumbler.

 

[Medic Tim]

Cool idea, but I'd rather have a rumbler.

and a driver that isn't crazy

 

[JPINFV]

The comments: people wondering why it's hard to maneuver a ladder at speed, people wondering why we tolerate firefighters driving fast in traffic, and symmetric screaming from firefighters about how the public sucks and from the public about how firefighters suck.

You mean, except how the law requires emergency vehicle operators to drive with due regard? Just because the lights and sirens are on doesn't mean that the driver gets a pass on defensive driving. The expectation in regards to speed should be that people don't move out of the way, not that they will. There's also that great video of two fire trucks t-boning at an intersection while both responding to the same call. You know... because the lights and sirens are like a magical force field and all.

...of course this is Massachusetts. I can't count the number of times that I saw idiot EMTs or paramedics in Boston push lines of cars through intersections against a red light or, my personal favorite, cruising down the freeway with lights on, but slower than the speed of traffic. If you're being passed with your lights on, then it's time to turn them off.

 

[EMDispatch]

Cool idea, but I'd rather have a rumbler.

They're cool, but honestly the few times I've experienced one I wasn't impressed. It jolts you, which in my opinion increases the chance that you'll do something erratic in front of an emergency vehicle. After a few times, your body gets used to it and you don't really notice it.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Cool idea, but I'd rather have a rumbler.

All of our new ambulances have them (so far about 10 units). I love using them.

 

[TRSpeed]

All of our new ambulances have them (so far about 10 units). I love using them.

The rumblers were nice but desert come out to hall it is amazing over here. On my first week of fto over here. Dual sirens and EQ siren and dual real Train horns

 

[exodus]

They're cool, but honestly the few times I've experienced one I wasn't impressed. It jolts you, which in my opinion increases the chance that you'll do something erratic in front of an emergency vehicle. After a few times, your body gets used to it and you don't really notice it.

Which is why we're supposed to only use them in the situations where people aren't moving out of the way and there's no other way by and dangerous intersections.

 

[EMDispatch]

Which is why we're supposed to only use them in the situations where people aren't moving out of the way and there's no other way by and dangerous intersections.

Yeah, the PDs in OH that had them, ran them constantly. Not the way they were intended.

 

[DesertMedic66]

The rumblers were nice but desert come out to hall it is amazing over here. On my first week of fto over here. Dual sirens and EQ siren and dual real Train horns

Nope. I love my division and response area.

 

[exodus]

Yeah, the PDs in OH that had them, ran them constantly. Not the way they were intended.

That would get very irritating, very quickly.

 

[Meursault]

cruising down the freeway

Yeah, no.

But to answer your actual point, on the Expressway, especially southbound through the city, a lot of lanes are de facto exit lanes and you need to commit to one and slow down to exit well before you leave the highway. A lot of exits also feature sharp curves and confusing merges.

I also don't think a responding ambulance needs to be moving faster than all traffic, and I think buying into that idea leads to a lot of dangerous driving. Ambulances and fire apparatus handle very differently from the M3 some a:censored:hole is driving at 70 in a 45 approaching the tunnel. The role of warning devices is to convince other drivers to give the vehicle a wide berth, which, at least in Boston, will not happen otherwise. Besides, the driver of a responding ambulance is already task saturated; the last thing they need to be doing is thinking about whether they should have the lights on.

 

[TRSpeed]

Nope. I love my division and response area.

Have you looked at our response area? Twice as big lol. BLS fire, all standing orders for our medics, protocols are aggressive. Priority dispatch, BLS uses king, combi, etc. And did I mention desert! Mucho desert lol

I was FT in riverside but just came here. Ask rocket medic and central Cal emt and joe how they like Kern county.

 

[JPINFV]

Yeah, no.

But to answer your actual point, on the Expressway, especially southbound through the city, a lot of lanes are de facto exit lanes and you need to commit to one and slow down to exit well before you leave the highway. A lot of exits also feature sharp curves and confusing merges.

...except I lost count how many times I saw ambulances driving code 3 Northbound on the 93 as far South as Neponset Circle (I lived in North Quincy for a year)... and being passed. Can you justify driving lights and sirens and being passed that far South from Boston? I certainly can't.

I also don't think a responding ambulance needs to be moving faster than all traffic, and I think buying into that idea leads to a lot of dangerous driving.

If you're being passed by the majority of traffic, then what's wrong with the idea of downgrading to code 2 until off the freeway? It's not light the lights, sirens, privileges are doing anything useful (oh, no, you're "speeding," along with 90% of the rest of the cars on the road. L/S doesn't change the safety of speeding, only the legality... which is de facto legal). Buying into the idea that once the lights on, they can't be turned off is dangerous.

Besides, the driver of a responding ambulance is already task saturated; the last thing they need to be doing is thinking about whether they should have the lights on.

If the ability to judge whether the lights and sirens are doing something useful or just being a liability is too much, than the driver is too stupid and incompetent to be performing such a dangerous task. It's really not that hard. "Can I get through this light without pushing 5 cars through the intersection against the red light? If no, turn off L/S and wait." "Are 90% of the cars on the freeway passing me? If you, turn off L/S. Turn back on when situation changes or I'm exiting the freeway."

If simple things like that are too much to ask, than EMS is really beyond the realm of all hope.

An incompetent attendant is a danger to the patient only. An incompetent driver is a danger to the patient, the attendant, the driver, and the general public.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Have you looked at our response area? Twice as big lol. BLS fire, all standing orders for our medics, protocols are aggressive. Priority dispatch, BLS uses king, combi, etc. And did I mention desert! Mucho desert lol

I was FT in riverside but just came here. Ask rocket medic and central Cal emt and joe how they like Kern county.

Still nope. I don't plan on ever leaving SoCal. I'm not a huge fan of changing locations.

 

[TRSpeed]

We are socal too, kinda lol