I suck at driving the ambulance. (I'm a medic, not an ambulance driver! ;-)

I had a go at being employed as an EMS provider recently. That ended after about a month because of, I kid you not, lack of driving skills. I'm OK driving in my personal vehicle, which is a small manual. The ambulance is a different story. Didn't hit anything, but came close a few times. Mind you, this was not recklessness, but inexperience and nerves. This for me is very reminiscent of when I learned to drive at 16. I made a lot of mistakes at first, but there were the advantages of driver's ed; the GDL program; and, most importantly, having my own vehicle to practice in; and I made it to where I am now without MVC involvement.

I'm stymied at this point. On-the-job training doesn't seem like much of an option. I would love to go back ASAP, but I don't want to just apply at a different place only to have the same thing happen or even potentially cause a collision. I'm confident that I could become a safe driver, given time and practice.

The ideal situation would be to obtain an ambulance off Craigslist and tool around some back roads for a while. Since, that's not an immediate option, I'm looking for suggestions on where to find good training. I'm located in the Midwest, but for a really good program, would be happy to travel.

Also, has this happened to anyone else? Driving was hardly on the radar during school. I didn't get behind the wheel of an ambulance until my first day on the job and was flummoxed to discover that maneuvering a little four-door didn't automatically translate into operating the box. Am I just in a lower percentile, driving-wise?

My recommendation to use fairly simple: get some experience driving larger vehicles. Ambulances are really nothing more than large vehicles, typically a large van. I don’t think that you need to go to Craigslist to acquire an ambulance, I think you probably should simply look at getting some experience driving a large passenger van. Another option that might be available to you is to acquire a higher level license the typical regular drivers license. In California, that would mean that you would be looking for a class B license, an upgrade from a class C. The commercial class B license allows you to drive any single vehicle that is over 26,000 pounds. Most of the medium duty trucks and very large ambulances fit that category. Even though it class C license allows you to drive any single vehicle up to 26,000 pounds, if you don’t have experience driving vehicles larger than say 4000 pounds, you might have difficulty driving a vehicle that has a weight limit of 12,000 pounds. That would be perhaps an ambulance…


Getting experience and perhaps licensed as a class B truck driver would probably provide you the requisite experience and knowledge to safely drive an ambulance. I mean simply because of the size differential between your usual car and an ambulance. The training course to obtain a class B truck license will teach you all of the things that you would normally have to consider when driving a larger vehicle. I would suspect that since most ambulances are not class B trucks, you will find driving those ambulances a whole lot easier than driving a medium duty truck that has a gross vehicle weight rating of approximately 40,000 pounds. Those medium duty trucks are probably quite a bit bigger than most ambulances you will ever drive it in your life.

I'd rent a uhaul and find some cones and a parking lot. Bring a friend make a crude EVOC sort of course to get a feel for driving something a bit wide than usual and using your mirrors. Then go drive in as much traffic as you can find.

I am still new at it myself.

What driving skills are you actually having trouble with? Fitting within lanes? Not weaving? Not being able to see over hood in front of the vehicle? Backing up? Shuffle steering? Obstacle courses? Reverse serpentine, offset alley, j-turn, diminishing clearance? Giving passengers a smooth ride? Braking? Turns? The over-swing of the front of the vehicle when backing up? Overall large size of the vehicle when backing up? The mass of the vehicle? Getting the vehicle to go slow enough for fine maneuvering?

Did you have an EVOC course? Did you have a good obstacle course in EVOC? Much time on it?

Your personal vehicle may be more useful than you think. It isn't that the ambulance is so big but that the roads are so small - in comparison. Instead of making your vehicle bigger, make your world smaller; you can do a lot with a car if you scale the course down to just barely fit the size of your vehicle. Google EVOC course diagram for some ideas. And run the course forward and backwards. Put narrow cones on your driveway, if you have one, and practice backing in. Put a line of tape or cones on the opposite side of the street so you have less room than normal to do so. Keep moving the line closer until you can back in with the absolute minimum of available space.

I would suggest you consider temporarily obscuring the rear window and rear side windows and backup camera of your personal vehicle so you have to use the side mirrors to back up. Then practice in an lit empty parking lot, at night. Adjust your mirrors so you can actually see the cones. A case of water battles or some disposable red solo cups can be substituted for cones, if needed. Note that these improvised cones are too short to be knocked over by the corners of the vehicle but are still useful and very cheap. You can affordable set up a whole EVOC obstacle course with those. You can buy cones at hardware or auto parts stores, ebay, zoro tools, etc; get some taller ones. Even two to four real cones will make a big difference. Put those in key locations to test if you are hitting with your bumpers. Start with just a simple straight line of cones. Put the cones about a vehicle length apart, or slightly less, in a straight line. Bear in mind the vehicle turns around its rear wheels; so to do a reverse serpentine or offset alley, back up putting the wheel as close to the cone as possible without hitting it, then turn hard until you begin to see the next cone in the opposite mirror (reverse serpentine) then straighten out and aim to just miss that cone. Some common mistakes: not to get close enough to the cone on the inside of the turn which doesn't leave enough room for the front of the vehicle. Trying to straighten out too late which means you take up too much room on the sides of the course and end up too far past and/or away from the next cone you need to pivot around. Do the reverse serpentine again but put lines of cones, tape, or flagging tape to box yourself in if needed. The ambulance also pivots around the rear wheels when you go forward so paying attention to them when doing a forward serpentine makes sense. You can also use the serpentine course to do an offset alley; drive around two cones instead of one. Try driving the course faster and making the course tighter. Put a dishpan on the floor of your car and put a cup of water in the pan and try not to spill it (giving the patient a smooth ride). You can also add a raised bra on your vehicle to simulate forward blind spots.

Just a little bit of time doing this makes a difference.

Then rent a u-haul truck if you feel you need to. You could also build a detachable life size frame out of PVC pipe and attach to your personal vehicle. Find a box truck, oversized pickup camper, class C RV, step van, 15 passenger van, etc. There are various jobs you might be able to get temporarily that involve larger vehicles.

There are some youtube videos. Search for EVOC. Also search for "bus driver skill".
Here is a good example of the reverse serpentine:
Notice how the driver drives very close to the cone he is turning around, turns when the wheels are about even with the cone, and the straightens out when the next cone first comes into view through the opposite side mirror.
This one is not a very good example; the cones/barrels are way too far apart and would permit bad technique:

There are probably EVOC courses offered in your area at regular intervals.

Also, if you volunteer you can practice your medical and driving skills.

I agree with tigger, go rent a uhaul box truck or 15 passager van and practice in empty parking lots as well as on the road

Even a uhaul cargo van (the newer ones are basically Sprinter type vans) would be good to rent, then step up to renting a box truck. The 14' truck is very similar in handling to a Type III truck

umm...your employer should teach you how to operate the ambulance and provide you with FTO time until you are comfortable on your own. If they don't have a driving program id probably pass on employment there. Driving an ambulance isnt inherently difficult...it just takes practice. You should have stuck with it longer.

I'm not sure I'd pass on employment...

My first two ambulance jobs had very little in the way driving training (one had an EVOC video). You drove to all the non-emergent calls first and then once you proved you were not completely horrible you could drive with a patient and emergent. Both were and remain reputable places of employment.

You should already know the applicable laws regarding operating an ambulance. As for EVOC, I found it vaguely useful but most of what was taught should already be standard practice for good drivers.

Thank you for the suggestions. I do have access to a 15-passenger through a friend, and that at least is a vehicle with greater weight and size than mine.

Akulahawk said:

Another option that might be available to you is to acquire a higher level license the typical regular drivers license. In California, that would mean that you would be looking for a class B license, an upgrade from a class C. The commercial class B license allows you to drive any single vehicle that is over 26,000 pounds. Most of the medium duty trucks and very large ambulances fit that category. Even though it class C license allows you to drive any single vehicle up to 26,000 pounds, if you don’t have experience driving vehicles larger than say 4000 pounds, you might have difficulty driving a vehicle that has a weight limit of 12,000 pounds. That would be perhaps an ambulance…

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That's what I would really like to do. Any tips on the best way to obtain training to that level? What should I be looking for in a course?

EBMEMT said:

What driving skills are you actually having trouble with? Fitting within lanes? Not weaving? Not being able to see over hood in front of the vehicle? Backing up? Shuffle steering? Obstacle courses? Reverse serpentine, offset alley, j-turn, diminishing clearance? Giving passengers a smooth ride? Braking? Turns? The over-swing of the front of the vehicle when backing up? Overall large size of the vehicle when backing up? The mass of the vehicle? Getting the vehicle to go slow enough for fine maneuvering?

Did you have an EVOC course? Did you have a good obstacle course in EVOC? Much time on it?

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Of the items that you mentioned, fitting within lanes (I was often too far to the right), backing up, braking, turns, the vehicle size in general, and the mass of the vehicle sound familiar. The weight, size, and lack of easy visibility were a problem for sure. I'd add changing lanes and any time I had another vehicle to the side of me such as multi-lane highways or at intersections because I was uncertain of my margins. Using the mirrors to change lanes and back up was a challenge. Another problem was that while I was concentrating on centered in my lane, braking, etc, I found it difficult to pay adequate attention to traffic movement down the road. Thank you for the videos, they may be helpful for practice on my own.

Tigger said:

I'm not sure I'd pass on employment...

My first two ambulance jobs had very little in the way driving training (one had an EVOC video). You drove to all the non-emergent calls first and then once you proved you were not completely horrible you could drive with a patient and emergent. Both were and remain reputable places of employment.

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My experience was similar. I also had a video the first day, after that, it was just non-emergent to calls at first. I drove emergent twice and with a patient non-emergent a few times.

A fifteen passenger van is a Type II ambulance that is not as top heavy. Should be fine, it did not take me long to get used to going from a Type II van to a Type I with a massive box. It take me a while to get comfortable with the Type II compared to a Subarau though...

By large/ truck style mirrors for your car and get used to using them everyday. Back into parking spaces whenever you go out.

Also, these incidents are when driving routine correct? I didn't know if you meant "take it out to some back roads" as in you gotta learn to drift the rig.

Your code 3 and routine response speed should hardly vary in a city

Are you a paramedic?

We have a paramedic at our organization who totaled an ambulance. Since then, he has opted to "ride" every call (e.g. he's always with the patient in the back). As far as I know, he hasn't driven even 1/2 a mile in over six months. He's well-liked by his partners because he wants to ride every call.

While I agree with the ideas in this thread concerning becoming a better ambulance driver, you could simply sidestep the issue that way.

rails said:

Are you a paramedic?

We have a paramedic at our organization who totaled an ambulance. Since then, he has opted to "ride" every call (e.g. he's always with the patient in the back). As far as I know, he hasn't driven even 1/2 a mile in over six months. He's well-liked by his partners because he wants to ride every call.

While I agree with the ideas in this thread concerning becoming a better ambulance driver, you could simply sidestep the issue that way.

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Just to add, not every service allows that. It might vary depending on where you live

rails said:

Are you a paramedic?

We have a paramedic at our organization who totaled an ambulance. Since then, he has opted to "ride" every call (e.g. he's always with the patient in the back). As far as I know, he hasn't driven even 1/2 a mile in over six months. He's well-liked by his partners because he wants to ride every call.

While I agree with the ideas in this thread concerning becoming a better ambulance driver, you could simply sidestep the issue that way.

Click to expand...

What happens when his partner wants to take a call? Sounds like he needs to man up and get behind the wheel...

rails said:

Are you a paramedic?

We have a paramedic at our organization who totaled an ambulance. Since then, he has opted to "ride" every call (e.g. he's always with the patient in the back). As far as I know, he hasn't driven even 1/2 a mile in over six months. He's well-liked by his partners because he wants to ride every call.

While I agree with the ideas in this thread concerning becoming a better ambulance driver, you could simply sidestep the issue that way.

Click to expand...

I am a paramedic, yes, but I don't think that that would be practical for me in the long run. For the time being, my local FD is going to let me run IFT without needing to drive until my skills get better. They don't get a lot of IFT calls, but it's something and hopefully it'll help me keep my head in the game.