Use of Backup Spotters

rmabrey said:
It doesnt take long to find ways around it. Reverse > gun it > neutral
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we used to do that but they are calling people on it now. Just because it doesn't cause an "infraction" doesn't mean they don't see it when they do random audits on some truck downloads. Plus the fleet guys throw a fit when they hear you are doing that.
 
DEmedic said:
At my service it is mandatory that we have a backer at all times, unless we are alone. If you're observed by the supervisor backing up a truck while you have a person who can act as a backer, both of you will receive written discipline. As in, you're backing up and your partner sitting is in the passenger seat. You both get paper.

They don't mess around with it here.
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Same as here.

Our RSI backup buttons were disconnected last year. Only way to get caught is to be observed by someone or hit something without a spotter and the investigation reveals there was a capable spotter available.
 
Everywhere I've ever worked has had a spotter policy. My theory on the matter is that I will happily back you up in all weather, no matter what, and I won't rat you out if you don't use a spotter, but if you hit something without a spotter I'm throwing you under the bus.

All of my work-related vehicle contacts have been in drive. Go figure. I exist to mess up the statistics.
 
We will soon be losing the back up cameras to have black boxes installed with the button in the back we have to press when spotting the driver.
 
the policy is not enforced by supervisors however if the boss man is around town and sees you back into the bay w/o lights and a spotter your toast
 
Medic Tim said:
we used to do that but they are calling people on it now. Just because it doesn't cause an "infraction" doesn't mean they don't see it when they do random audits on some truck downloads. Plus the fleet guys throw a fit when they hear you are doing that.
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The only thing they care about here is "unsafe reverse". Guy in charge has too many commitments to keep up with that consistently.
 
Damage from backing up is 100% preventable, with a good spotter. Obviously there are situations where having a spotter is not possible, but in every other, it's foolish not to use one.

I'm curious-- does anyone here think that a backup camera immediately replaces a spotter? I think someone mentioned a service removing theirs in favor of RSI.

Are there any services that advocate the provider in the back getting out while patient loaded in order to spot? Is that ever seen as abandonment?
 
emt.dan said:
Damage from backing up is 100% preventable, with a good spotter. Obviously there are situations where having a spotter is not possible, but in every other, it's foolish not to use one.

I'm curious-- does anyone here think that a backup camera immediately replaces a spotter? I think someone mentioned a service removing theirs in favor of RSI.

Are there any services that advocate the provider in the back getting out while patient loaded in order to spot? Is that ever seen as abandonment?
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Having learned to drive in vehicles without them I find that when I'm in an ambulance with a backup camera I don't even use them. Honestly the only thing I use them for is to check that nothing is immediately behind me. You can't back up using ours, that's for sure. The perspective is all wrong for that.
 
Haven't joined an agency yet (right out of EMT-B class), but the instructor stressed having a backer as she worked for Acadian and backing up without a spotter was punishable by (up to) being fired.
 
medic tim said:
where i used to work we had a "back up button" our spotter had to push every time the truck was put in reverse. There was an actual button on the rear of the ambulance that had to be pushed. There was also one on the inside back door. We had key fobs and everything was monitored. The only time per policy we didn't have to push it was when backing from a roadway into a driveway as they did not want us standing in the middle of the road to do it. We have to fill out an incident report every time the button is not pushed.
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i feel your pain
 
My volly service has a backup camera and no spotter policy, but at my paid job they require a spotter anytime the second provider isn't engaged in patient care.
 
One of my departments has a very strict back-up policy. We have a driver monitoring system in our trucks, one of the things that is recorded is whether or not the spotter button on the back of the truck (or in the patient compartment) is pressed when put into reverse. Drivers have lost driving privileges as a result of not using a spotter.
 
Tigger said:
Having learned to drive in vehicles without them I find that when I'm in an ambulance with a backup camera I don't even use them. Honestly the only thing I use them for is to check that nothing is immediately behind me. You can't back up using ours, that's for sure. The perspective is all wrong for that.
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That is EXACTLY the point of backup cameras. I saw a girl back a medic into a pole once because she kept using the camera as she was turning and pulling out of a spot and didn't see the pole on the side of her truck.

1) Put the medic in reverse
2) check the camera for anything directly behind you (which also give enough time for a few beeps of the backup alarm to give pedestrians some warning)
3) Scan mirrors as normal while backing up slowly, perhaps with a glance at your camera once in awhile, but you SHOULD be able to see anything entering you rear blind spot long before they get into you blind spot. (Exception, a kid on a bike who whizzed behind us once)
 
Halothane said:
How do you put a paramedic in reverse?
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In the EMS breakroom at the hospital, as he has a donut in one hand and a water in the other, when you are both standing there and face to face, when he least expects it, give him a nice, hard shove in the chest. He will usually go in reverse, but as most paramedics lack backup cameras, there is also a non-zero chance that he gets involved in an accident. Fortunately, you are already in a hospital! :D
 
For the longest time a company that I used to work for never had a backing policy. But then we hired some dumb guy who backed into a building and two vehicles within his first six months and ruined it for all of us. They didn't terminate him (God knows why they didn't...) but we all needed to have a backer after that.

Company that I'm at now is very strict about backing. Get caught without a backer and you're at the very least getting a write up, second offense is terminable.
 
For us, use of backers at the main station is strongly enforced, at the remote stations, not so much. How do you use a backer if you're bringing a rig back by yourself? For me, I prefer a backer if they know what they are doing. Unfortunately some backers look like they are doing the tango while conducting an orchestra.
 
at the last company i worked for, a backer was always required unless there was a patient in the back. we even had back up cameras and sensors on all the rigs. if a supervisor caught you backing without a backer (and no pt in the back) you could be written up or fired. it is a safety and liability thing. also, you never know if you are going to hit a curb, tree, etc and cause damage to the rig.
 
Both companies that I've worked for required backers but didn't really enforce them. Personally, I don't care. Poles don't jump out of nowhere and you should know that the pole was there before trying to back up anyways. For lateral area, just put your wheel on the inside of the parking line. Personally, even when I had a backer, I normally didn't even look at them. Spartial awareness and proper use of mirrors does a lot.
 
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