Dangerous Driver- Advice Needed

[HotelCo]

 

[lampnyter]

Your name is ironic.

 

[mycrofft]

Ask politely and in advance not to be assigned to him anymore.

If they ask, just say his driving scares you. The last nail is what he needs driven in.

 

[WolfmanHarris]

You need to write out a written complaint with all details and turn it in to your supervisor. Talking to him in my opinion isn't your responsibility and if he takes it the wrong way could possibly pose a risk to your safety. This is a problem that should be handled by your supervisor.

Regardless of whose responsibility it is in terms of the workplace, being up front with someone, bringing a concern to them directly and giving them the opportunity to address it should be the first step. It's not about ratting, or not; it's about how you as an individual address problems. Certainly if it's not resolved or if the individual shows no regard for your complaint, than take it right to the Sup. At least you can do so without any regrets.

 

[CAOX3]

Put the nail in his coffin, people like this don't learn their lesson until they have injured or killed someone.

Get it in writing or you'll end up going down with him.

 

[Farmer2DO]

"Hey, man. You were driving pretty rough the other day. Was something going on?"

If he says no, tell him he should think about toning down his driving, especially while driving an ambulance.

If yes, suggest he not drive while he's upset/elated/whatever.


There's no reason to take this to a supervisor, before you've talked to the person. Man up and talk to them. Don't wimp out and go run to the supervisor.

I agree with HotelCo. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Once. Maybe it was a bad day, and even if he's a d-bag, that might have been worse than normal for him.

Do you have drive cams? We do, and there are panic buttons on the bottom. They are also activated by G forces. They record video in the cab and in the front of the ambulance, as well as the audio, for 10 seconds before and 10 seconds after the activation. They are a great way to catch someone like this being dangerous; they also have saved jobs. If you don't have them, you should. Talk to your management. Most insurance companies will reduce rates if they are in all the rigs.

 

[EMSrush]

I agree with HotelCo. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Once. Maybe it was a bad day, and even if he's a d-bag, that might have been worse than normal for him.

Do you have drive cams? We do, and there are panic buttons on the bottom. They are also activated by G forces. They record video in the cab and in the front of the ambulance, as well as the audio, for 10 seconds before and 10 seconds after the activation. They are a great way to catch someone like this being dangerous; they also have saved jobs. If you don't have them, you should. Talk to your management. Most insurance companies will reduce rates if they are in all the rigs.

Yes, we do have DriveCam, and I did consider using it. However, I did think twice about waging war so loudly as a new employee. Popping the DriveCam is pretty extreme- I don't know about you, but here, DriveCam activations go straight to the Brass. I agree though, they can be useful in a lot of different situations...

 

[EMSrush]

If they ask, just say his driving scares you. The last nail is what he needs driven in.

And of course, they will ask...

 

[EMSrush]

First of all, I appreciate all of your advice, whether I agree with it or not. I asked for advice because I wanted some opinions other than my own.

I'm a bit surprised, though. I expected to see a bunch of posts about people who have gone through similar situations. If you've never been through anything like this, consider yourself lucky. I don't get scared too easily, but this was truly upsetting.

 

[firetender]

Here's a hammar!

He is an EMT, and from what I understand, he's already hanging by a proverbial thread due to habitual lateness and inability to get along with others. I'd hate to put the last nail in his coffin...

You're not exaggerating, are you?

If not then open your mouth, for all of you!

If he doesn't hear you and respond affirmatively when you bring it up, go to a Supervisor. You have no reason to give him more than one chance. Purposely scaring you AND a pedestrian is dangerous.

 

[Aerin-Sol]

Also, I don't look at taking something important to a supervisor as "wimping out". If this person wasn't reasonable enough to unglue himself from the Xbox for 5 minutes or drive like a responsible driver, I find it hard to imagine that anything else that I say would matter to him.

A lot of people in EMS want to be macho macho men; that applies equally to your crappy driver & people who say things like "man up & don't be a wimp."

I wouldn't give someone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to dangerous driving. I'm not willing to be injured because someone is having a bad day and can't handle his emotions. Talk to a supervisor, and if you have to work with this guy again & he continues to drive that like, refuse.

 

[EMSrush]

You're not exaggerating, are you?

If not then open your mouth, for all of you!

If he doesn't hear you and respond affirmatively when you bring it up, go to a Supervisor. You have no reason to give him more than one chance. Purposely scaring you AND a pedestrian is dangerous.

No exaggeration here, wish there was. I think another issue is that a lot of the supervisors go from being an employee to a supervisor and are faced with the challenge of having to discipline someone who they have been friendly with in the past.

 

[medtech421]

Unfortunately, I have been in a similar situation. I was new and my partner just had no respect for anything. I asked politely if the person would please remember I am on the truck also and would like to go home to my family. I told him that "I love me too much to let you drive like a maniac when I am in a vehicle with you"
He had no idea what I meant so I told him when I felt something was dangerous in his driving manner, I would just point it out. Not to browbeat him but just so he could see my concerns. That went well for 3 days then he just told me I would have to get over it because he felt like he was "driving Miss Daisy". That's when I went up the chain-of-command.

 

[HotelCo]

Unfortunately, I have been in a similar situation. I was new and my partner just had no respect for anything. I asked politely if the person would please remember I am on the truck also and would like to go home to my family. I told him that "I love me too much to let you drive like a maniac when I am in a vehicle with you"
He had no idea what I meant so I told him when I felt something was dangerous in his driving manner, I would just point it out. Not to browbeat him but just so he could see my concerns. That went well for 3 days then he just told me I would have to get over it because he felt like he was "driving Miss Daisy". That's when I went up the chain-of-command.

Good job. You attempted to correct the problem at the lowest level, to no avail, before moving up the chain.

 

[crazycajun]

OK. Lets say you decide to talk to the guy instead of going to the supervisor. You are sitting on standby and you bring up that his driving scares you and makes you feel unsafe. He tells you to get over it and you decide after shift you will go to your supervisor. In the meantime this idiot pulls out of the parking lot as usual and you are t-boned in the passenger side and instantly killed. The EMT lives and tells everyone in his report you told him it was clear and he never saw the car coming. Does he learn his lesson? Maybe. He may go on to never drive like that again. You? You are just dead. Your family suffers and your kids cry each day because they miss you. There are times that talking to your partner is the best route. It is NEVER an option when it involves your personal safety. We face enough danger everyday we work. No one should have to go and tell your family you died because your partner was stupid and you didn't report it.

 

[HotelCo]

OK. Lets say you decide to talk to the guy instead of going to the supervisor. You are sitting on standby and you bring up that his driving scares you and makes you feel unsafe. He tells you to get over it and you decide after shift you will go to your supervisor. In the meantime this idiot pulls out of the parking lot as usual and you are t-boned in the passenger side and instantly killed. The EMT lives and tells everyone in his report you told him it was clear and he never saw the car coming. Does he learn his lesson? Maybe. He may go on to never drive like that again. You? You are just dead. Your family suffers and your kids cry each day because they miss you. There are times that talking to your partner is the best route. It is NEVER an option when it involves your personal safety. We face enough danger everyday we work. No one should have to go and tell your family you died because your partner was stupid and you didn't report it.

What if you tell the supervisor, and while you're in their office, a giant purple giraffe comes in and eats you? We can play what-if all day.

If your partner did say: "get over it," then step out of the truck and call your supervisor. You tried to solve it like a man, and it didn't work. Perfect time to take it up the chain. I've never advocated in this thread that you should continue to stay in the truck if, after you've talked to them, they say they will continue to drive dangerously.

 

[EMSrush]

I agree with CrazyCajun and Aerin-Sol. I can also appreciate the need to make an attempt to deal with the person first and work your way up when you have an issue with your partner. Then again, there are exceptions to the rule. Diverting narcotics would certainly be one of them, in my opinion. Wouldn't dangerous driving go in the pile of exceptions, too?

I don't group dangerous driving with leaving the toilet seat up, not making up the cot neatly or even acting like a jerk (or jerkette).

Just a note- I checked in with a supervisor after I posted this thread, and found out that I am just as responsible for the driver's driving as the driver is. I'm wondering if this new information has changed anyone's opinion about taking it up with the driver before the supervisor, because it definitely changed mine.

 

[HotelCo]

Nope. I'll continue to handle problems at the lowest level possible. I'd hope someone would talk to me man to man if they had a problem with me, rather than running to the supervisor.

 

[steveshurtleff]

You mentioned being called in to cover that shift. Do you know his regular partner and if so, are you able to ask him/her if that's his usual driving style? This wouldn't excuse his actions, but it could be he was deliberately trying to scare you since you hadn't worked with him before. He sounds a bit immature, he might have even thought that he was somehow "impressing" you by being an idiot. Hey, some guys do...

 

[EMSrush]

What if you tell the supervisor, and while you're in their office, a giant purple giraffe comes in and eats you?

I never realized that purple giraffes were hostile. I had always assumed that they were rather peaceful animals.