When backing up.

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exodus

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What lights do you use? I use full code 3 lights -always-. If I'm backing up, I need to be sure that I can be seen and people will stop and not try to weasel by.

Company policy is to use secondary (flashing yellows), but they have not had a problem with using full code lights. Especially when I'm backing with a patient without a backer...
 
On scene, or at bases where the driveway is too short and I need to back from the road I put on the Primary light pattern, roll down the window and if possible have my partner back me up.

When into a base where I'm not on the road at all, I don't hit the lights and I silence the back up alarm. Now when our trucks are in reverse the rear flashers are hardwired to activate. I then have my partner back me up and hook up the nederman system and make sure I don't scrape up the side on some of our really narrow doors.

We also have back-up cameras on all of our newer trucks. (Might actually be all of them now as about 30 brand new trucks were sitting at HQ waiting to go to their bases, so the old crestlines are on their way to spares.)
 
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We are required by the city to have a backer every time we put it in reverse. Not that we always DO, mind you. We back up out of the parking spots at the hospital all the time with no backers, because there is nothing complex to back around and the only people out there are other EMT's that know what the "BEEP BEEP BEEP" of our backup alarm means.
 
If I'm backing up on an active road, then I'll turn on all of the emergency lights (primaries + light bar). If it's in a parking lot, then I won't activate any of the emergency lights.
 
Our rigs have backup sensors, that beep the closer we get to things, and steady buzz when we're real close to it.
 
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