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Ambulance drivers who abuse their sirens

murphy55d

murphy55d

Lifer
Yesterday driving home from work I noticed an ambulance coming down the road, with its lights and sirens on. I was at a red light, I watched to see where it was going, and it turned into a parking lot, parked in a space, and two guys went into a restaraunt. No stretcher, no equipment, no sense of urgency they just walked in. It seems like they just used their lights/sirens to get to lunch quicker.

Should this bother me? It sort of does.
 
You are just assuming they went inside for lunch. Hell maybe they are teaching a class on CPR and were running late.

Unless I saw something like that happen left and right and in crazy amounts I don't care. Those people don't get paid a whole lot of money and I can see it as just a perk to their job.
 
I know a lot of cops that abuse their privileges, but I don't know any EMTs that do. But regardless, I think it's bad of them to abuse their power.
 
Over the years, I've reiiden in a lot of ambulances, gotta say the vast majority of the drivers do not abuse the lights & sirens, it's illegal to use them as you describe.

Funniest use was on a return trip (no patient) the driver was a sheriff's deputy & pulled over a car & wrote him a ticket for speeding.

He said the look on the victim's face was classic😀
 
well... i use to think it was such BS for them to do that but now that i think about it, its not too bad.

i mean cops especially put up w/ a lot of crap and its dangerous.. why not just let it be a perk to their job? Like discounts for employees of a store..... just look at it as a job perk.
 
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
I know a lot of cops that abuse their privileges, but I don't know any EMTs that do. But regardless, I think it's bad of them to abuse their power.
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A lot of people assume that if we use our lights briefly just to get through a red light that we're abusing the privileges. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, but 9 times out of 10 we're trying to keep a low-profile while responding to a sensative call or we're looking for someone in the area.

Sure, it's possible that the ambulance crew was going to eat, but it's also very possible that they were responding to a medical call. Do you honestly think that the ambulance brings in a stretcher whenever they respond?
 
They may have been checking out a call that didn't sound high priority or something. Like maybe a guy was choking or something but the heimlich was performed already. Might just be there to check him out.

Regardless, this doesn't bother me that much. EMTs perform a very important job that has sh|tty hours and not that great of pay. Although I doubt many of them abuse it...because its a bit dangerous to blow through red lights even if your sirens are on.
 
I know I've seen cops in the past that seem to be abusing their privileges, but then you hear about stuff on the news or whatever and realize they were truly just keeping a low profile. A lot of times now they won't turn on the sirens, just the lights, and they'll make it through traffic a little quicker.

I agree with the EMTs though. They really don't get paid a whole lot and a minor perk after all they do is nothing I'll complain about. I dunno about you but I wouldn't be able to do a job where the possibility of seeing multiple people die in a single shift all the time without having some kind of benefits.
 
Originally posted by: aplefka
I know I've seen cops in the past that seem to be abusing their privileges, but then you hear about stuff on the news or whatever and realize they were truly just keeping a low profile. A lot of times now they won't turn on the sirens, just the lights, and they'll make it through traffic a little quicker.

I agree with the EMTs though. They really don't get paid a whole lot and a minor perk after all they do is nothing I'll complain about. I dunno about you but I wouldn't be able to do a job where the possibility of seeing multiple people die in a single shift all the time without having some kind of benefits.
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No one I work with abuses the siren, and the way that alot of us deal with death would be deemed insensitive and clincally insane to alot of people.
 
Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
Originally posted by: aplefka
I know I've seen cops in the past that seem to be abusing their privileges, but then you hear about stuff on the news or whatever and realize they were truly just keeping a low profile. A lot of times now they won't turn on the sirens, just the lights, and they'll make it through traffic a little quicker.

I agree with the EMTs though. They really don't get paid a whole lot and a minor perk after all they do is nothing I'll complain about. I dunno about you but I wouldn't be able to do a job where the possibility of seeing multiple people die in a single shift all the time without having some kind of benefits.
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No one I work with abuses the siren, and the way that alot of us deal with death would be deemed insensitive and clincally insane to alot of people.
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Most people would be horrified if they watched us laughing & joking the way we do around a corpse. :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
Originally posted by: bradruth

Most people would be horrified if they watched us laughing & joking the way we do around a corpse. :thumbsup:
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Ah, another nutjob on the boards. :beer:
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I don't think you guys could keep your sanity if you took them all seriously. That's prolly the best way to deal with it, in humor or insensitiveness, because otherwise you'd become depressed.
 
I always pull over and stop when they're coming with their siren on. If they begin to abuse it, my view will change completely and the only thing that will keep my doing it is fear of getting a ticket if I don't pull over.

I really hope they don't abuse it because then when someone is in the ambulance, people might not believe the siren 🙁
 
Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
Originally posted by: bradruth

Most people would be horrified if they watched us laughing & joking the way we do around a corpse. :thumbsup:
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Ah, another nutjob on the boards. :beer:
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What level do you work at? Municipal? County? State? Federal?

<------- Municipal.
 
Originally posted by: Yossarian
Originally posted by: SampSon
Way too anal.
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BS. abusing emergency privileges for personal benefit is illegal.
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OMG something ILLEGAL?
man, way too hardcore for me.

All thoes crazy criminals in oklahoma not having missionary sex, or we dirty scoundrel cons practicing sodomy in new york state should run for cover!
 
I think a large majority of police and ambulance drivers don't abuse their lights, even if it looks like they are. The governor of PA though, he does. His SUV has been seen going more than 100 MPH on the PA turnpike, using lights and sirens to clear the path (his driver is a state trooper). This is when he is just commuting between Philly and Harrisburg. His driver also collided with another car while illegally using lights and sirens to go through a red light. Granted, it was the other driver's fault for not yielding, but it never should have happened.
 
Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
I always pull over and stop when they're coming with their siren on. If they begin to abuse it, my view will change completely and the only thing that will keep my doing it is fear of getting a ticket if I don't pull over.

I really hope they don't abuse it because then when someone is in the ambulance, people might not believe the siren 🙁
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Working in the records unit for a semi-busy police department, I've seen plenty of tickets written for "Fail to Yield to Emergency Vehicle." If you disobey the law, you will be cited.
 
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