I dont blame you for wanting to vent on that lamont,I would do that as well,especially since it was bs reasons for the cop to cite you for rolling thru a stop sign,especially since there was no traffic,and you did have your blue light on. I would of fought the ticket.
Ticketed for rolling through a Stop Sign
- Thread starter lamont317
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sosborne
Forum Ride Along
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Ok, I'm new here.. but far from new to EMS and I gotta say I agree with oldschoolmedic on this one. I hope I am not offending anyone by saying this but I wont appolgize for giving you advice that might save your life either. At the risk of sounding judgemental you can tell very quickly by scanning through this string who the experienced responders are. Those of us who have been in this for a while, recognize the risk involved to everyone when responding to emergency calls even when you obey all the traffic laws and are practicing your best defensve driving tactics.
Lets face facts, people (meaning citizens in general) do not respect emergency vehicles responding to calls as they should. Everyone only thinks of themselves. So they aren't gonna be paying attention to you rolling through an intersection. I know you said it was clear, but what if it wasn't? What if you missed something? Is it really worth the risk? I was reading through some other posts today and I am reminded of the one I read about theme songs. Someone said thier theme while responding to emergency calls was Ludacris' song "Move b*tch, get out the way". As comical as that is, do we really want our "professional responders" thinking in this manner while responding to calls?? This all ties in with so many bad things I see emergency vehicles doing all the time. Tailgating, passing on the right, going down one way streets the wrong way... all of it is simply asking for trouble, and if an something goes wrong it's gonna be the responder who is held responsble. Just slow down.
You have to realize, whatever your reason for responding is and regardless of the type of vehicle you are in there are still situations where even you MUST yeild. The law in most states that I have worked in (and I have been in several) does not give anyone under any circumstances the "right of way", this includes emergency vehicles. That means when you come to a stop sign, or a light, you STOP. I dont care if you wanna count to three or whatever... the point is clear the intersection appropriately before proceeding.
Come on... even if you've only been doing this a year I know you've had the opportunity to hear someone who's been in a motor vehicle collision say, "I never saw them comming." We are all human, just cause we have a light, siren, badge... whatever... we are not omnicient. You just never know when that phantom vehicle or kid may come out of your blind spot and there goes your career and maybe someones life. And you really aren't saving yourself any time by rolling through the sign/light anyway cause some old blue hair is invevitably gonna get in your way at the next intersection and she's gonna vapor lock and nose over right in front of you slowing you down anyway. So why take the extra risk. There are enough risks in the job without you contributing to them yourself. Just be careful, it's not worth the risk.
Lets face facts, people (meaning citizens in general) do not respect emergency vehicles responding to calls as they should. Everyone only thinks of themselves. So they aren't gonna be paying attention to you rolling through an intersection. I know you said it was clear, but what if it wasn't? What if you missed something? Is it really worth the risk? I was reading through some other posts today and I am reminded of the one I read about theme songs. Someone said thier theme while responding to emergency calls was Ludacris' song "Move b*tch, get out the way". As comical as that is, do we really want our "professional responders" thinking in this manner while responding to calls?? This all ties in with so many bad things I see emergency vehicles doing all the time. Tailgating, passing on the right, going down one way streets the wrong way... all of it is simply asking for trouble, and if an something goes wrong it's gonna be the responder who is held responsble. Just slow down.
You have to realize, whatever your reason for responding is and regardless of the type of vehicle you are in there are still situations where even you MUST yeild. The law in most states that I have worked in (and I have been in several) does not give anyone under any circumstances the "right of way", this includes emergency vehicles. That means when you come to a stop sign, or a light, you STOP. I dont care if you wanna count to three or whatever... the point is clear the intersection appropriately before proceeding.
Come on... even if you've only been doing this a year I know you've had the opportunity to hear someone who's been in a motor vehicle collision say, "I never saw them comming." We are all human, just cause we have a light, siren, badge... whatever... we are not omnicient. You just never know when that phantom vehicle or kid may come out of your blind spot and there goes your career and maybe someones life. And you really aren't saving yourself any time by rolling through the sign/light anyway cause some old blue hair is invevitably gonna get in your way at the next intersection and she's gonna vapor lock and nose over right in front of you slowing you down anyway. So why take the extra risk. There are enough risks in the job without you contributing to them yourself. Just be careful, it's not worth the risk.
KEVD18
Forum Deputy Chief
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on what grounds would you have fought that ticket. the grounds that youw ere in violation of the law? that you were rechlessly endangering the public by blowing a stop sign at 15 MILES PER HOUR over the speed limit? that you were abusing your status as a emergency responder? is that the argument you would have made? i would love to be in the courtroom when you presented that argument.
as i said previously, i have been involved in an mva while responding to a call. i have been to court over it and i have had to defend my actions. i can personally attest that, if you made that argument in Mass, you would have been found at fault, charged the fines for your offences, lost your job, possibly your license and quite possible been charged with the CRIME of reckless endangerment.
as stated earlier, this is a clear cut case of operator error. the offender should be thankful that no one was hurt and all that was received was a citation. anybody supporting his veiwpoint is both wrong and foolish.
BossyCow
Forum Deputy Chief
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Amen! Couldn't have said it better myself!
WannaBEMT
Forum Crew Member
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You were wrong, pay the fine, learn the lesson here, do not do it again.....End of story, the others that agree with me have stated EXACTLY how I feel.
Good luck,
Jenn
Good luck,
Jenn
True, but I bet this guy probably did the same thing...
"Volunteer Firefighter Killed In Accident
A volunteer firefighter was killed while assisting an injury accident.
Police say 28 year old Steven Eric Vanderpool Jr. of West Liberty was responding to an accident on Jones Creek Branch in Morgan County when he ran a stop sign. Another vehicle hit him in the left side. He was ejected out the driver side door and transported to Morgan ARH and then flown to the U.K. Medical Center. He was pronounced dead by the Fayette County coroner."
Just some fuel for thought Jason.
KEVD18
Forum Deputy Chief
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still interested in hearing the argument you would have made....