Not everyone is into putting stickers on their vehicles... Some might have a tendency to go a little overboard. Where do you stand on this? Do you have one or more fire department related stickers on your vehicle? Do you justify having the decals to prevent getting a ticket or do you just like stickers?
I have ones for the organizations I belong to. The department issued sticker, the SFFMA, (State Fireman's & Fire Marshals Assoc.), an NRA and one for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assoc. They are small and on the corners of the back window.
If one doesn't do anything to get a ticket, then there's nothing to get out of. My daughter hated my Crown Vic when she was a teen. All of her "friends" would scatter when I came home. Must of had something to do with the lightbar.
Sure I put a couple on it......So what..? Its my car and if I want to put something on it I will.....LOL I just put a new one on it....for those of you from NY you might appreciate it....it has a guy with his head up his ass...on it it says...."Gov Patterson, your problem is obvious"
Sometimes I think it would be better to drop a couple of the kids and add another dog. We're now trying to figure out how to add the grandson. I'm thinking baseball glove but don't have the final say.
I do believe that there is a small percentage of the population that is motivated by that...unfortunately not everyone sees it as a happen-stance residual perk...out of mutual respect...don't forget nurses too...they get let go all the time...and doctors...but the ones that burn my ass is the town council folk and politicians...how exactly do they risk their lives to belong to such a network? But if we do they do? Perhaps I am biased...but these are the same people that would close a firehouse in a heartbeat..or fire a cop to save their favorite frivolous budget item...
But let's agree that no matter how tame one drives...there is still a high likelihood that someone will not like your driving and say, "*&^%$#@ firefighters, whaaaaaa!"
You know this!
Human beings are hateful, jealous, easily-threatened, defensive creatures and they will hate things for reasons they do not fully realize.
Comdemned for action, condemned for inaction, what can you do?
Do you teach this crap to your students? Do you actually tell them it is "gracious" to accept the privilege of breaking the law? That it is okay to make a hamburger patty out of that defenseless driver who did not see you/your wife speeding down the road in time to avoid a collision because he, under the assumption you were doing the speed limit, pulled out? Oh, wait! What AM I thinking!! It is okay because you and your wife are invulnerable when traveling at high rates of speed – you have Volunteer Firefighter/EMT stickers on your car and, thanks to professional courtesy, are not accountable for your actions! Who cares that the other innocent drivers out there don’t have that immunity? Who cares that people die every day because of speeders? Why should you, as a volunteer firefighter/EMT, care? What’s it to you? Just another splat on the highway; no biggie!
What are you going to do if you get a call out and arrive on the scene to find your wife a victim, or worse, an innocent child she killed because of her speeding? How will “professional courtesy” feel then?
As public servants, we work hard to earn the respect of the citizens we serve, defend, and protect ... then we get folks like you (and by default, your wife) who pull this crap? Get over yourselves! Your wife earned citations which should have been paid and your insurance should have taken the hits for her (and your!) irresponsible behavior.
No professional I know takes speeding lightly … we have all seen what it can, and does, do.
Padre, I have read this as well and you are dead on!!! My department has a probationary member who has stickers all over the place, and on a recent dwelling fire, she stated to the assistant chief, yes I was "flying" to get here, I went through a school zone at 40mph on a road which the speed limit is only 25mph when the school lights are not on let alone the 15mph for the school zone. This "member" can not even ride the apparatus! I have two stickers and a magnet on my car, one sticker is for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the second is a dedication to the 343 brothers of FDNY we lost on the fateful day, and the magnet is for a friends uncle who I knew as well who was a police officer killed in the line of duty. As for blue lights, I have a small led light that you can not see easily as it is towards the top of my windshield under the blue tinted sunvisor, and I also have hide-a-way strobes, as for my using them, I do follow all limitations of the law, and if I miss a piece of apparatus, there are two more, if I miss all of them, and the call is in town, I can take my vehicle to the scene, I would rather make it to the scene, even if its under control safely, than to wreck and put myself or another member of the public at risk for injuries or worse!
I have an American Flag Maltese Cross, and a FD Scramble Maletese Cross in the upper corner of the rear window of my Ranger, and a Hawaiian Hono design in the lower corners. I also have a Red Stripe (Firefighter, not the beer) sticker on my bumper.
It is the Fire Department emblems on my truck which act as my "good Angel" whenever I am tempted to speed or rudely pass a slow-moving driver. I don't want to refelct poorly on the Fire Service by my actions.
The Red Light Permit inside of the windshield gives me legal permission to use my flashing Red Lights and siren when responding to a call, but the Maltese crosses inform the public that I am a Firefighter when they see me responding to a call (obvious as it seems to us, it isn't to everyone).
Soon, I will add my company logo to the sides on vehicle magnets since I will be using my turck as my work vehicle for my new Chimney Sweeping business.