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Common Uncourtesy
This is somewhat of a rant, but also a haven for other people to share their stories correlating to my post as well.
Granted, POVs where I live are NOT designated emergency vehicles, we are allowed to run blue lights as a courtesy light. Generally people will move out of the way for vehicles utilizing blue lights, but the other day something weird happened.
Responding to my station, blue lights activated, we have a street that runs perpendicular with our main road that runs down to the station about 250-300 feet. At this intersection people will usually yield and let me go by. However, this day, people kept on rolling. I'm not talking a few cars, I am talking about 45 seconds to about a minute of constant traffic not stopping. Even a local transit bus didn't stop. I was clearly visible as it was dark out, and I use LEDs since they're brighter and save energy.
The best part is that the people driving by not giving me the common courtesy were driving into a blatant red light about <100 feet behind me at the intersection. It's as if people were SO busy that they had to make it to that red light. It was so important, dire if you will, that they couldn't let me go by. People will generally even stop for people if it's a red light so they can turn through the intersection just to be nice. It just baffles me.
Anyway... Anyone else have any sort of problems like this?
Granted, POVs where I live are NOT designated emergency vehicles, we are allowed to run blue lights as a courtesy light. Generally people will move out of the way for vehicles utilizing blue lights, but the other day something weird happened.
Responding to my station, blue lights activated, we have a street that runs perpendicular with our main road that runs down to the station about 250-300 feet. At this intersection people will usually yield and let me go by. However, this day, people kept on rolling. I'm not talking a few cars, I am talking about 45 seconds to about a minute of constant traffic not stopping. Even a local transit bus didn't stop. I was clearly visible as it was dark out, and I use LEDs since they're brighter and save energy.
The best part is that the people driving by not giving me the common courtesy were driving into a blatant red light about <100 feet behind me at the intersection. It's as if people were SO busy that they had to make it to that red light. It was so important, dire if you will, that they couldn't let me go by. People will generally even stop for people if it's a red light so they can turn through the intersection just to be nice. It just baffles me.
Anyway... Anyone else have any sort of problems like this?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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I've never encountered this before. I use my lights and honk my horn when I can clearly tell that a vehicle has a definite safe place to move. If it's heavy traffic and I can tell that my responding it actually hindering traffic, as well as the time of my response, I'll run cold.
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No, I was actually out waiting for calls at my fire house. By this time I am running about a year and a half in my dept. (which I know is nothing compared to some others).
In my dept. I am an ambulance driver. It's kind of hard to drive an ambulance without one of those.
As for my firefighting experience, my dept. goes through their own training.
This thread is not about the fact of my time length within the department, it's about people being completely negligent to the common courtesy of letting someone in the emergency services have a momentary right of way. It takes about 3 seconds to do so.
I'm not rethinking my position, and I can see that you're here to boost your ego by cutting down my personal views on the subject at hand.
As for the probationary status - I guess you started at a much higher level of reputation in your firefighting/EMS career.
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Dispatch priority is based on the severity of the emergency. I personally like it.
As for the priorities it's from most dire to least:
Echo
Delta
Charlie
Bravo
Alpha
Omega
I had never even heard of an Omega response until about a month ago when we received one.
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The rant was about common courtesy. It's like someone not giving an extra second to hold the door for your when you're entering an establishment as they're exiting.
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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Give it up man. She's not going to understand what you are trying to say.
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That's true. Some people are just so close-minded these days Captain.
Stay safe out there.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Are you sure that wasn't an "OH MY GOD" response instead of omega? :-D
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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"Some people are just so close-minded these days" Truer words have yet been spoken.
I've followed this discussion with amusement. I agree that far too often apparatus respond lights and siren for nonsense calls. Then again, hard to tell where the nonsense ends and the work begins so, it is what it is, or what I like to think of as department SOP's. You run the way you're told to run.
Regarding POV's and "courtesy" lights...when you have POV's running in from all different directions, to the scene (?), to the station, it's an awful lot like cockroaches scurrying when the lights come on. Which one do you try to step on. Same thing with POV's/courtesy lights, which one do you stop for?
I fully understand the concept of these lights and will gladly pull over when one comes up behind or approaches towards me. I understand the "need." But as some (one, many) pointed out, if people don't see/hear the BRT's coming at them and pull over (which they are required to do) then a blinking blue light won't even come up on their radar.
To be so full of ones self to rant about people that won't let you out into traffic says more about you than the people you're ranting about. Let me say it one more time, if people will NOT pull over for the BRT, why then should you be so all upset when they don't pull over for you? At this rate (and with such a high level of anger) you're going to stroke out one of these days while your banging the steering wheel and screaming at the rude, DIScourteous people who aren't giving you cutsies.
Drive carefully, defensively, get there so you can get there to help. If need be, find your happy place. I've got an extra to spare if you need one.
stay safe-ish.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Andrew;
No; they are not close-minded.
They have the benefit of wisdom and therefore, have a wider perspective.
It's not about who's right; it's about who has the experience to make better decisions.
That would include driving, getting to the scene, being productive and safely returning home.
TCSS.
Art
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WOW.
Dispatch has already taken care of size up and assessment.
Now; that was easy.
Art
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Permalink Reply by blair4630 on
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We used to be ALS or BLS, I liked that, hell we're not a tiered county, so I thought even THAT was too much, but better than what is listed above, which is exactly what we now have.
I think it's pretty dumb, I can't tell you how many alpha and bravo calls I take in ALS, alpha response for a possible CVA, bravo response for diabetic problems, alpha response for cardiac arrest a syncopal episode, etc., etc....
We run cold or hot based on the disertation, not on what that damn computer says.
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That is something I have to agree with Jack. Andrew, you do have to remember that the POV is just asking for the right of way. I do agree it sucks when someone won't move but that's just the way it is. They don't really move for apparatus either. Kali did make some valid points. I can see where everyone is comming from. Like Jack said, drive carefully and defensively. You can't help anyone if you need help yourself.
Stay safe bro!!!
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