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Permalink Reply by mike ludke on May 4, 2010 at 4:32pm

peopel should watch out for fire and ems and cop cars and i think they should force a law that if u do not pull over or move over for a fire or ems or cops that they should be able to take your D L away and pluse a fine. fire and ems and cops should always have right away as long as the red lights and sirne is blowing and if the sirne and red lights aint flashing then they should have the same laws as us driving a car and i see cops driving whaile on cell phones they should not allow them to talk on cell phones as well if we cant then they cant and it should go for every one not just some people i dont care if u are a cop or fire or ems or in the forces or what ever the law is the law and we are all human and the law should be for every one even for the goverment agancys laws for every one that is human that should be the way it gose

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Permalink Reply by mike ludke on May 4, 2010 at 4:38pm

if the fire truck was going to a call and the fire sirne and light was flashing then i would say the suv never stop to let them go through the intersection and she faild the right of way to a fire truck going to a car crash and people always try to bleam the fire dept wich is bull sh-t if the stop talking on cell phones and ipods and cd players and radios and dvds and tv and what ever else they have in the car or truck or van or what ever it may be and not have the music up so loud they porbley would of heard the fire truck coming now days dam people got the radio up so loud that they cant hear nothing in tell it did hit them people need to wake up and start smelling the coffie

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Permalink Reply by Station10Capt106 on May 4, 2010 at 4:55pm

Mike, no offense, but you really need to work on your spelling and punctuation. I had a hard time reading your post.

I don't think we can jump to a conclussion as to who is at fault. Regardless of who has the right of way, as Emergency Responders we have the obligation and responsibility to ensure our safetly and those around us. Just because we have lights and sirens on doesn't mean that we do not need to pay attention to what is around us.

I do agree that there are far too many distractions that include phones & texting, radio, friends, video and everything else you can imagine. But as firefighters we need to make sure that when we approach an innersection (even if we have the green light) that we visually make sure that the road is clear and try to make eye contact with each lane of traffic to make sure oncoming traffic is aware of us.

lets stay safe out there everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Dixon on May 4, 2010 at 11:14pm

Mike,

Going code is not a license to break the law, if you do, and your hurt someone due to a lack of your due diligence, you'll be liable and will pay the price. You have to respond as if everyone on the road is deaf, dumb and blind, if taking a couple of extra seconds is what you have to do, so be it. We're in the business of saving lives and property, not putting them in harms way!

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Olivia Jones on May 5, 2010 at 12:18am

Regardless as to what the investigation decides as to fault, in my opinion the engineer is mostly responsible. As an emergency responder we should be held to a HIGHER standard than that of the general public. We should set the good example for John Q. Public. I have worked fire/ems in several states and while I cant speak for all states the ones I have worked in have very strict rules as to what we are and are not allowed to do while running code to a scene. In all the states it has been law that at an intersection you MUST slow down or come to a full stop and insure that it is safe to proceed through the light. A good rule of thumb is slow down enough that during daylight you can see the color of the drivers shirts.

Not to mention that if we drive like asshole maniacs what gives us the right to "lecture" the public on driving habits that are unsafe?

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