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Rule and Regulations on Drivers regarding Minimum Age to Drive
My department is again considering to drop the age to be allowed to drive apparatus. I will give oursleves a pat on the back regarding that we do have a extremely good drivers training program. I have my reservations about again dropping the age back to 18 years of age as the minimum.
A couple years ago our board of fire commissioners under the recommendation of their insurance company raised the minimum age to drive to 21 years of age. The insurance company stated they were not in favor of this under age driving and would be carefully looking at the premium if the action was not looked at and acted on internally by the district. (NO I DO NOT SEE THAT AS A THREAT FOR INCREASING PREMIUM)
I am looking for input as to what other districts are doing out there and the reasons. I am researching this on my own because I feel even though I was one of those under age drivers way back when, that younger drivers today are not the same as we were way back then and the legal happy public is looking more closer at us these days.
I am curious to see why my department is making this move again to change the age and if the insurance company is aware of this. I think certain members of the district maybe looking to this as a way to get rigs off the floor or to retain members, both of which are the wrong way to view it and more likely the right way to see ourselves into a law suit down the road for sure.
Any input I receive here and from discussion with friends around the fire services network will be taken into consideration as to my recommendation I will make to my board of commissioners. As a safety officer it is my duty to make what I feel will be a safe open minded opinion that they will seriously look at.
I anxiously await your ideas, rules, opinions and reasons behind any of them. Please don't hold back, because I am not going to say well this is why the ABC Fire Dept over in Anytown, USA does this and I think we should do that too. But again if that is keeping ABC out of court why not look at that for direction.
I hope you all get what I am looking to do here and why. Let me say in advance to you all that reply to this discussion, thanks for any and all input you give it will greatly appreciated.
A couple years ago our board of fire commissioners under the recommendation of their insurance company raised the minimum age to drive to 21 years of age. The insurance company stated they were not in favor of this under age driving and would be carefully looking at the premium if the action was not looked at and acted on internally by the district. (NO I DO NOT SEE THAT AS A THREAT FOR INCREASING PREMIUM)
I am looking for input as to what other districts are doing out there and the reasons. I am researching this on my own because I feel even though I was one of those under age drivers way back when, that younger drivers today are not the same as we were way back then and the legal happy public is looking more closer at us these days.
I am curious to see why my department is making this move again to change the age and if the insurance company is aware of this. I think certain members of the district maybe looking to this as a way to get rigs off the floor or to retain members, both of which are the wrong way to view it and more likely the right way to see ourselves into a law suit down the road for sure.
Any input I receive here and from discussion with friends around the fire services network will be taken into consideration as to my recommendation I will make to my board of commissioners. As a safety officer it is my duty to make what I feel will be a safe open minded opinion that they will seriously look at.
I anxiously await your ideas, rules, opinions and reasons behind any of them. Please don't hold back, because I am not going to say well this is why the ABC Fire Dept over in Anytown, USA does this and I think we should do that too. But again if that is keeping ABC out of court why not look at that for direction.
I hope you all get what I am looking to do here and why. Let me say in advance to you all that reply to this discussion, thanks for any and all input you give it will greatly appreciated.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by joe on
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ok i think that you need to look at your dept. and see whats best if you have a problem with getting trucks out then it might be a option for you to lower the age . if you do you look into a more intense training program to help out with this . As a driver trainer i have got many guys at the age of 19 or 20 oked to drive the pumpers. it is not a easy thing it takes about 3 to 5 months to train and let then go on there own. they drive with older members in the front seat next to them on the way to some automatic calls just up the street. then they ride with the officer to a few and then the officers put them on a probition time . if the screw up then they get retrained before the go again with officer. but in ct. you have to have what is called a Q license and is give by the dmv here. or a cdl is required to drive but it is forty hour class before they can ever thing of getting behind the wheel to drive . we also make everyone in the dept go to evoc training for there cars and lighter trucks . they must do evoc before getting a bluelight permit to respond to calls . so far it has worked good luck
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Look at what is happening across the country RIGHT NOW.
I am talking about all of the apparatus accidents.
Are these drivers 16, 18 or 21?
No?
The bottom line is that this is driven by insurance companies, based on empirical data drawn on decades of information.
Yes; I believe that the minimum for apparatus, including ambulance should be 18. Why? If you accept them on your department at 18, then they should be trained to drive the equipment. Period.
However; my point is that, at any age, anything can happen. Whether it be in a POV or an engine, we seem to find new and creative ways to die.
TCSS.
Art
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Permalink Reply by FRANKS on
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I felt i should comment on this.......The day i joined my volunteer fire dept is the day the insurance company "ordered" us to only allow anyone the age of 25 and/or older to drive our trucks. Yeah 25, i join when i was 19. Currently i am 23 and still "not old enough" to "drive" our trucks. But currently i am EMS CAPTAIN....so that means the Captain can't even drive!?.....I live 3 blocks from the station. We dont' have the best turn out for medical calls in our district anyways. So I am suppose to sit at the fire station and wait for someone older than 24 to drive truck. So i am suppose to let someone die, or let some house burn, just because of my age!? I don't think so. Because alot of our department are farmers so they always go direct to scene. So sometimes its just me at the station and everyone is arriving on scene. I just let the insurance company think what they want....I still drive.
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Permalink Reply by Scamehorn on
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I believe that if the dept considers you old enough to be on the dept..... Than your old enough to respond.... I agree, everyone should have to take a drivers saftey course (Does it happen within our dept.... NO!!!) Should it, YES!!!!! And it's in the works!!!!!!. BUT Despite the fact that our insurance requries you to be 25..... There our many times when most of us responders go direct (EXSPECIALLY IN A MEDICAL CALL) and we are to PRAY that someone over 25 goes to the station, to bring our medical truck? If you ask me, if the newest member has taken a drivers course, and has been approved by the chief........ He should be legal as far as INSURANCE (Which we all know as a scam) to drive!!!!!!!
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If you have members younger than 25 who are qualified to drive apparatus but can't because your insurance company doesn't it; guess what?
I'd be finding a different insurance company.
Last time I looked, insurance companies don't run fire departments.
You should tell them, that, since their building/office isn't sprinklered, you won't buy insurance from them.
TCSS.
Art
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