L&S Ambulance surrounded and stopped by ATV riders- What would you do?

[AllGoode]

By now, a lot of us have heard about Monday's event in Washington, where as many as 30 ATV riders essentially performed a rolling roadblock and stopped an ambulance that was transporting a child to the hospital with lights/sirens. One of the ATV drivers forced a door open and accused the ambulance driver of cutting them off. The ambulance crew was able to close and lock the doors and wait for LE to arrive on scene.

I would provide a link to the story, but haven't hit the post requirement yet.

Obviously, this is a ridiculous and excessive response, and hopefully doesn't happen often. Out of curiosity though, how would you react to this scenario if you were driving the ambulance?

 

[Jim37F]

First off make sure all lights and sirens are actually on (seems easy enough to do but hey, it wouldn't be the first time someone took off with one or the other off, especially at night people like to tone down their siren use, often turning them off except for intersections).

Make all the noise I legally can (The Peoples Demokratic Republik of CA actually legislates which siren sounds are "legal") including switching between siren sounds, air/electric horns......if available use the PA (one time when I was in a reserve rig without a functional air horn and people weren't pulling over for the sirens, I got on the PA and simply said "Pull to the right" and people actually began pulling over, it was pretty nice)

Oh and get on the radio "Dispatch, Unit X, we're delayed...we have a bunch of ATVs completely blocking the road refusing to let us through" and as soon as it looks like there might be an issue request law enforcement sooner rather than later.

And if at all possible, go around, or backtrack to the next nearest route if they wont clear the way

 

[phideux]

Rolling roadblock with ATVs vs Ambulance?? Ambulance wins. I don't know what they want, don't know whats gonna happen to me, my partner or my patient if we stop, I ain't stopping. Dispatch on the radio relaying info to PD. I'll pull over when PD catches up to us. Until then, we might need some tow trucks and a few more ambulances.

 

[AllGoode]

I ain't stopping. Dispatch on the radio relaying info to PD. I'll pull over when PD catches up to us. Until then, we might need some tow trucks and a few more ambulances.

I've seen this response on other forums a fairly surprising amount. Seems to me that you would be risking some serious potential repercussions- both professionally and legally. As an EMT working on an ambulance, would you be protected in that situation?

 

[CANMAN]

I've seen this response on other forums a fairly surprising amount. Seems to me that you would be risking some serious potential repercussions- both professionally and legally. As an EMT working on an ambulance, would you be protected in that situation?

"Thought I saw a gun displayed" end of story...
At the point of some unknown a-hole opens the door on a emergency vehicle I would assume that they have no good intentions and my safety is in jeopardy and would react.

And for the record, the unit did not have their lights and sirens activated at the time they were forced to stop.... They were on the return leg of a IFT transport with patient on board.

 

[AllGoode]

And for the record, the unit did not have their lights and sirens activated at the time they were forced to stop.... They were on the return leg of a IFT transport with patient on board.

That's interesting- I had initially heard that it was a 911 call with a high priority pediatric case.

 

[CANMAN]

That's interesting- I had initially heard that it was a 911 call with a high priority pediatric case.

Haha that's why you can never believe the media. It was a dedicated pediatric IFT team, transporting a critically ill neonate, however they werent running hot at the time.

 

[vc85]

Dual sirens on the phaser tone with the rumbler/howler ought to make them rethink their plan quickly.

If a weapon gets displayed with no way out for the crew. That is when the brush guard on the front of the rig gets some use

 

[DesertMedic66]

I've seen this response on other forums a fairly surprising amount. Seems to me that you would be risking some serious potential repercussions- both professionally and legally. As an EMT working on an ambulance, would you be protected in that situation?

There was a recording not too long ago in NY (I think) of a car that gets surrounded by bikers who did something to make the driver fear for their life. The driver took off and took out several bikers trying to get away. Last I heard the driver did not face any charges.

 

[BASICallyEMT]

If I seen a big group aggressively approaching our ambulance I wouldn't even hesitate to play some real life GTA.

 

[Underoath87]

There was a recording not too long ago in NY (I think) of a car that gets surrounded by bikers who did something to make the driver fear for their life. The driver took off and took out several bikers trying to get away. Last I heard the driver did not face any charges.

He was trying to pass them, one bike got in front of him and brake checked him, he bumped him and knocked him down, and was then hounded by dozens of riders for miles.
If I recall, he was also dragged from his car and viciously beaten in front of his terrified family once he got off the highway and got stuck in traffic...

 

[Chimpie]

Oh and get on the radio "Dispatch, Unit X, we're delayed...we have a bunch of ATVs completely blocking the road refusing to let us through" and as soon as it looks like there might be an issue request law enforcement sooner rather than later.

As soon as they opened the door the broadcast would be "Code Green, Code Green, Code Green". You're going to have at least a half dozen cops at your location as fast as the Tahoes would let them get there. Forget the politeness of "we're delayed".

 

[AllGoode]

As soon as they opened the door the broadcast would be "Code Green, Code Green, Code Green". You're going to have at least a half dozen cops at your location as fast as the Tahoes would let them get there. Forget the politeness of "we're delayed".

Code green?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[cruiseforever]

As soon as they opened the door the broadcast would be "Code Green, Code Green, Code Green". You're going to have at least a half dozen cops at your location as fast as the Tahoes would let them get there. Forget the politeness of "we're delayed".

Cops driving Tahoes?

 

[Chimpie]

Code green?

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Yes, that's what they say here to signal that they need help.

Cops driving Tahoes?

Correct. Many of the departments here are going all Tahoes now. Cheaper to maintain and have a higher resale value.

 

[johnrsemt]

plus Tahoes are great in snow areas, and you can carry a lot more equipment