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Ever been whacked?
So I am taking my daughter to breakfast Monday morning when I see red lights in my mirror. My natural instict was to get the hell out of the way, of course. There was a guy right beside me so after he finally moved I got over and looked as a small car with a red strobes and a FF sticker zoomed passed. It was a vollie in a small pov! Then I thought hey I'm in the city's jurisdiction with no volunteer dept. anywhere close by....I had been whacked. I looked ahead and my whacker friend was tailgating somebody and zooming ahead deeper into the city and further from any vollie depts.....If only I had had a rocket launcher on me!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Every state has vehicle codes.
Every fire department should have policies regarding (1) The use of POVs as response vehicles (2) Use of "courtesy" lights (3) Policies with regard to safe operation of vehicles.
If the department doesn't have policies in place to address the driving behavior, then it is not a failure of the firefighter; it is a failure of leadership.
Think of the liability and public relations nightmare that you would have on your hands. If the driver isn't thinking about it, then he has no business on the department. He will cost you in many ways.
I was chief, had every right to use red strobes, but chose not to.
In closing, I would bet my pension that the person described did NOT have permission to be running red. That permission must come from the authority having jurisdiction. That would be the fire board. And if they are smart, they will make strict policy on it.
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Permalink Reply by Russ on
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the title interested me so i clicked it and what do i see? one of my favorite subjects...Rubberguns. Having buffed FDNY i am familiar with the group of folks that buy old police cars and reinstall the warning equipment and then go around giving the real folks a black eye jamming up scenes because they are wannabe's-cantbe's or kooks. the term whacker is new to me and yes i know it is a problem and i have been whacked myself righ here in florida. we have a law here that allows you to deck out your car as a police vehicle if you own a company that installs that type of equipment. you must have adversisment on the vehicle that clearly identifies the vehicle as a supplier or installer BUT you cant read the side of a police inteceptor that just pulled up behind up you lights and siren going or not because the signs are on the sides not the front or rear. then there is the identification / intimidation factor of a "police car behind or in front of you". so far i have seen several unmarked (with business stickers on the side) and at least 2 marked vehicles around town. since most of the departments in town that were combination are full paid, the only time i see lights on POV's are on the vehicles of the vollies in the boonie section of town and i know of no abuse issues. there is a security guard here that has a full lightbar on a vehicle and K9 markings. since its an LED bar, you cant tell what color it is until its on. he gets stopped all the time and since the lightbar is actually amber and he does have a dog, its legal.(scary)...i use my lights when i'm stopped at a scene to protect myself not to respond, but i agree that rubberguns-(i cant latch on to wacker)--are a menace and should be reported. not only are they a danger but when they get into an accident it starts the "take all lights away from them all" ball rolling and i dont agree with that. stop the rubberguns, keep the pros and the vollies...(great subject!)
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Permalink Reply by Karr Quintero on
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As a Volunteer here, we dont run lights and sirens on our pov's, unless your the chief and been cleard to run hot outside of our boundry. that guy couldnt possible a real FF? Its sad to hear or see people give use a bad rap, but it doesnt stop us from doing what we do.
We got 18 VFD's and 1 paid staion out here, all of them give their all..
God bless all in the trade...
why run lights on pov's? who's liable for that vehical? as a FF, isnt public safety our main concern?(next to going home).
Anyways, as a driver in any vehical, use your best judgment and remember that the incednt will be there when you get there...
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Permalink Reply by John Dobson on
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We have blue lights and the only thing there good for is to give a warning light on the side of the road if you responded in your pov. Or to guide in EMS or fire apparatus to a remote location at night like a beacon. No one yields to a fire apparatus around here they sure won't yield to pov.
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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and no doubt - YOU - deserved it every time
so on this website - you essentially have become your mom - good to know ;-)
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spike strips
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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Risk Manage it- put a total ban on lights on POV's. Remove any and all legislation that allows it.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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mate, that's hardly risk management. You've now increased response time and reduced the level of service the department can provide.
I would suggest putting a GPS in any private vehicle that responds emergency, and periodically have a 3rd party audit it for time of response and speed. This allows quick response, and will catch the guys abusing it. The third party review eliminates a local chief letting his crew break the rules.
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Permalink Reply by DUST on
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I thought about getting his plate # but he was too swift and eluded me. That's why I like rocket launchers...they are pretty damn hard to out run! I have no problem with responsible use of lights in certain jurisdictions where it may be necessary.
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A patriot may be a little over kill! LAWS are nice....I have a "get out of jail free" card in my town since my dad is a retired cop but a presidential pardon would come in handy. No dept. sticker on the car only the Thin Red Line of "I get to tailgate and drive fast as hell" or whatever it stands for, for that guy!
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About a year ago, we had some dirtbag that was not a cop but had an unmarked cop type of car with lights pulling over women at night and sexually assaulting them. Scary.
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