Is hitting 90 mph transporting L&S on interstate acceptable?

Self-righteous condemnations aside, I suppose it actually depends on where you are when you want to do 90 on the Interstate. In parts of rural Texas I'd go for it; New York, not so much.


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The rule in some states use to be 10 MPH over the maximum speed limit was allowed. However, that has changed in many places to a statement like this "
The driver of an emergency vehicle or ambulance must not exceed any designated speed limit to an extent which endangers persons or property." (eg Oregon law).
So if by acceptable, you mean "legal" it depends on your states law (and agency policy) for operating emergency vehicles, but if no numerical figure is given and its a blanketed statement like the one above I would avoid it and just go by your maximum speed limit (or slower pending road and weather conditions).
 
Rural night time in my part of the country = deer, hog, or alligator.

None are fun to hit at any speed, however one would think at a higher speed, your reaction time is less, your visibility is less, and you are apt to over correct to avoid and crash or you will strike it and crash.

The important part of your asinine post (troll alert) is that as my partner, you would never, ever get near that speed. I will never allow a reckless person such as you to endanger MY life. You take stupid risks on your own time...when we are together, we take calculated risks in our business, however this one has been proven repeatedly and was recapped in an earlier post in this thread.

Risk versus Benefit is NOT present in this scenario.
 
In Shallah....if he wills it, then it shall be. :)
 
TransportJockey said:
In some areas of texas, the speed limit is 80-85 anyway...
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Sure, but just because it's not way over the legal limit doesn't make it any safer. Ambulances are equivalent to mid sized trucks, are we OK with dumptrucks being driven at the speed? I'm not.

It is still an unsafe action, regardless of perceived benefits or regulations in place.
 
Tigger said:
In the event this is real:

When you nail a deer (or worse) at that speed do you think your employer will be pleased?

Inquiring minds want to know.
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This ^.

Rural Tennessee 0100-0400 implies deer, and in some areas of Tennessee they have elk. Either of which, if hit, will ruin your night. If it's an elk, or even a lowly member of the bovine species, you are looking at potentially disabling your vehicle. Never mind potentially running off the road. What's that gonna do for your patient? It's really going to be neat when the tow charge comes in to the office and the repair bill for the ambulance.

I hope you were not serious when you posted that.
 
akflightmedic said:
at a higher speed, your reaction time is less, your visibility is less, and you are apt to over correct to avoid and crash or you will strike it and crash
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^ in. bloody. spades. Not to mention the control issues while driving a 5-7 ton worth of metal.
 
90 mph would be unsafe in any vehicle in any condition, let alone a modified van with a patient inside. Over the past year, I've never gone over 5 MPH the posted speed limit. My partner, on the other hand, is a different story.
 
Per your scenario from another thread of yours...

"...all of a sudden a tractor comes out of no where..."

Rural or not you've already stated YOURSELF in another thread that you think driving fast is dangerous and "we put people at risk for no reason"...and on...and on...
 
A cousin of mine died in a deer/car collision. Tox screen came back completely clean, no drugs/alcohol. Contributing factor to fatality of crash: excessive speed. This was in a passenger car. 90 in an ambulance? No <expletive>ing way.
 
As someone whose crashed an ambulance where excessive speed was a factor, I'm just going to say that its not acceptable going 90 on the interstate in any state.
 
Two thoughts.

1. Don't drive any faster than you can react and maintain control in the conditions. This is usually far, far less than 90mph. Rural TN has roadside trees, valleys, bridges, ect. 90mph is a poor choice.

2. There's some people who don't know just how desolate West Texas is. You can see for 15 miles in every direction on a table flat, string-line straight road. I can't say I'd be particularly uncomfortable going 90 in a modern vehicle, ambulance or not, in those conditions.
 
usalsfyre said:
Two thoughts.

1. Don't drive any faster than you can react and maintain control in the conditions. This is usually far, far less than 90mph. Rural TN has roadside trees, valleys, bridges, ect. 90mph is a poor choice.

2. There's some people who don't know just how desolate West Texas is. You can see for 15 miles in every direction on a table flat, string-line straight road. I can't say I'd be particularly uncomfortable going 90 in a modern vehicle, ambulance or not, in those conditions.
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I take it you've been on ten between stockton and el paso? Lol
 
There have been a handful of times that I've bumped up against the engine governor in an ambulance while going L & S. Literally a handful. I hated every minute of it every single time because I knew just how risky it was. I do not condone the practice and you had better trust your partner 100% to keep his/her head out on a swivel and handle everything that is inside the cab while you spend 100% of your time concentrating on what's outside the cab if you ever do find yourself having to go that fast. Going that fast in a vehicle that is not exactly stable when going that fast is incredibly dangerous and you absolutely must drive with extreme care and precision to prevent losing control.

There's a reason why I call that speed "Ludicrous Speed."
 
Mufasa556 said:
I get uncomfortable anytime I get up near 88mph, because I'm afraid I'll go back in time.

My second week at work we responded L&S to a hospital for a brain bleed transfer. My partner was doing 100mph, that was as fast as the rig would go, and it was a little frightening. They're cumbersome vehicles and shouldn't be going that fast.

We're governerd by our tracking system. Anything above 72-76mph (it's debated) the Sup automatically gets an email with our rig number and speed. We're also not allowed to use L&S on the freeway unless speeds are sub 40mph.
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It's 75 for you guys. Your allowed to do 10 over the speed limit L&S [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
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