do you like driving?

[Joe]

just a random question. so far most the people ive talked to in person say either they hate driving or the love it. i know in the ALS units the emt is gonna drive to the hospital but what about you and your partner? do you love driving or hate it? im undecided. i am going to get a new partner tomorrow and i dont know what to tell him/her haha. we respond code to the call every time no matter what. we code to the hospital probably 70% or so ive noticed so far. i love driving to the call so far but with all the fd medics and my partner in the back i get kinda scared. i find myself going too slow sometimes. like wide open road speed limit of 55 im doing like 40 O__o ive picked up my pace a little more now

 

[Simusid]

I don't mind driving. I definitely do not *love* it. Most of the cars I've owned can fit easily in the back of an ambulance (fiat 128, Rabbit, RX7, Z4). I'll tell you what I *hate* though..... backing up..... ugh

 

[STXmedic]

I prefer driving. Not because I love it, but I don't trust other people to drive

 

[JPINFV]

I preferred splitting driving duties. I don't hate driving, but it sucks to attend all day OR drive all day.

 

[lightsandsirens5]

just a random question. so far most the people ive talked to in person say either they hate driving or the love it. i know in the ALS units the emt is gonna drive to the hospital but what about you and your partner? do you love driving or hate it? im undecided. i am going to get a new partner tomorrow and i dont know what to tell him/her haha. we respond code to the call every time no matter what. we code to the hospital probably 70% or so ive noticed so far. i love driving to the call so far but with all the fd medics and my partner in the back i get kinda scared. i find myself going too slow sometimes. like wide open road speed limit of 55 im doing like 40 O__o ive picked up my pace a little more now

:blink: Cereal?

 

[WolfmanHarris]

just a random question. so far most the people ive talked to in person say either they hate driving or the love it. i know in the ALS units the emt is gonna drive to the hospital but what about you and your partner? do you love driving or hate it?

We alternate call for call. I don't dislike driving and I do enjoy the focus and challenge needed to respond effectively and safely in our more urban areas, I don't really care which one of us is behind the wheel. When it comes to the odd out of town transfer we do, I would way rather be in the back. That's deadly boring.

we respond code to the call every time no matter what.

Really?! If the call information is stubbed toe? Or generally unwell? Or fall 3 days prev difficulty ambulating, you respond L&S to these? Do you have discretion not to?

we code to the hospital probably 70% or so ive noticed so far.

Why? I'd say less than 5% of calls here get an L&S return, if that. STEMI's, Stroke bypass, trauma bypass, pre or post-arrest and the very, very infrequent working code are about it.

i love driving to the call so far but with all the fd medics and my partner in the back i get kinda scared. i find myself going too slow sometimes. like wide open road speed limit of 55 im doing like 40 O__o ive picked up my pace a little more now

No. Slower is probably better in these cases. Well, certainly smoother is. Get them there safe without throwing anyone around.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I don't mind driving. I don't like to do it the whole shift but if we have an all ALS day I don't have much of a choice. Most partners are good about taking the wheel for a bit once they are finished charting or at least asking if you would like to ride shotgun for a bit. I do agree with poetic on liking to drive for the simple fact of not being super comfortable with some people driving.

I'm not a big fan of driving code to the hospital, for the sake of my partner's safety. In the rarity that we do a code return they are so busy that they usually aren't belted in. With that said our code returns to the ER are at the speed limit unless you have an open stretch and only really using RLS to clear intersections.

 

[DrParasite]

We alternate call for call. I don't dislike driving and I do enjoy the focus and challenge needed to respond effectively and safely in our more urban areas, I don't really care which one of us is behind the wheel. When it comes to the odd out of town transfer we do, I would way rather be in the back. That's deadly boring.

I much rather be in the back on the long out of town (and occasional out of state) transfers. driving the ambulance for more than an hour puts me to sleep, and it's not good when that happens if I'm behind the wheel.

Really?! If the call information is stubbed toe? Or generally unwell? Or fall 3 days prev difficulty ambulating, you respond L&S to these? Do you have discretion not to?

we do. stubbed toe can be referred cardiac pain from a diabetic (or so I was told on here or on another forum, i can't remember), plus people lie to dispatchers all the time, so what you are dispatched for and what is actually happening are often different things. no discretion, it's in written policy, and I happen to agree with it.

Why? I'd say less than 5% of calls here get an L&S return, if that. STEMI's, Stroke bypass, trauma bypass, pre or post-arrest and the very, very infrequent working code are about it.

boss is trying to push for every single transport to be with L&S, regardless of patient condition. I told him if he put that policy in writing, as well as stated that in the even of a crash due to unnecessary use of L&S, they would cover all my legal fees and any other fees that resulted from the crash. I'm still waiting to see it in writing.....

and I like driving, only because I hate writing charts, and whomever drives tends to do the initial assessment on the patient. but we mostly switch off every call.

 

[Anjel]

I work a double basic truck. We alternate every other call driving.

I absolutely hate it. I have hit two things. And will not back up without a spotter.

 

[Joe]

wow there are alot more people on here that like driving than ive found in my division.

yea we are contractually obligated to respond l&s to every single call. if dude called and said he was having trouble pooping, chances are we respond l&s. and yea we do code to the hospital quite often

 

[Nerd13]

I hate driving. I love my job. Part of my job is driving. I've been forced to get over it. I still hate it but it's not as bad and being a paramedic I get most of the patients so its not so bad.

 

[Joe]

you know it was kinda funny. in school all i wanted to do as an emt is run l&s. now i think i actually get more enjoyment frrom the pt's and firefighters i deal with than i ever thought i could get driving. its kinda weird. i actually dont even mind the paperwork.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I absolutely hate it. I have hit two things. And will not back up without a spotter.

We have backup cameras

 

[STXmedic]

We have backup cameras

Our bus (bus, not ambulance) has three cameras, and I hate them. The backup camera is useful, but the sides blow.

 

[JPINFV]

We have backup cameras

I know how to use my mirrors.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I know how to use my mirrors.

Only thing I use the camera for is distance once I get myself in the spot, other than that, it's all mirrors.

We have a drivecam, backup cam and camera that turns on when your right blinker is on.

 

[cynikalkat]

I don't mind driving. I definitely do not *love* it. Most of the cars I've owned can fit easily in the back of an ambulance (fiat 128, Rabbit, RX7, Z4). I'll tell you what I *hate* though..... backing up..... ugh

I too have driven things that fit inside ambulances (even a vanbulance). Also, I loathe backing up! Im learning!

 

[CritterNurse]

I'm a fairly new ambulance driver. I can count on one hand how many times I've driven with a patient. I took AVOC a year and a half ago, and EVOC earlier this year. I also took the in-house driving practice which involves first driving around town with certain people in the department, then moving on to driving the ambulance back from the hospitals, before you start driving to calls and driving with patients.

I clench my jaw when driving. I'm white-knuckled. I'd rather clean up explosive diarrhea or projectile vomit from the back of the ambulance.

I'm more relaxed driving when there's no patient, but knowing there's a patient back there and that people are trying to work makes me stressed.

I know with time and practice I'll feel more comfortable driving, but right now if someone else volunteers to drive, fine with me.

In my own car I'll start to sing along with my MP3 player if I'm finding myself clenching my jaw. It helps relax me, and its hard to clench your teeth when singing. I'm afraid I can't get away with that in the ambulance. I know most people in my area haven't heard of the stuff I like. And I know I can't sing. We can listen to the radio on the way back to the station, but the radio is off when going to a call or transporting a patient.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I'm a fairly new ambulance driver. I can count on one hand how many times I've driven with a patient. I took AVOC a year and a half ago, and EVOC earlier this year. I also took the in-house driving practice which involves first driving around town with certain people in the department, then moving on to driving the ambulance back from the hospitals, before you start driving to calls and driving with patients.

I clench my jaw when driving. I'm white-knuckled. I'd rather clean up explosive diarrhea or projectile vomit from the back of the ambulance.

I'm more relaxed driving when there's no patient, but knowing there's a patient back there and that people are trying to work makes me stressed.

I know with time and practice I'll feel more comfortable driving, but right now if someone else volunteers to drive, fine with me.

In my own car I'll start to sing along with my MP3 player if I'm finding myself clenching my jaw. It helps relax me, and its hard to clench your teeth when singing. I'm afraid I can't get away with that in the ambulance. I know most people in my area haven't heard of the stuff I like. And I know I can't sing. We can listen to the radio on the way back to the station, but the radio is off when going to a call or transporting a patient.

Remind me to never be in a vehicle that you're driving.

Come on people, it's not rocket science. Think of it as a UHaul with red lights and a noise maker.

 

[Simusid]

I'm always conscious of the crew behind me and the patient's comfort too. But my ambulance doesn't corner like my tiny convertible. Once in a while that is a problem if I'm not paying attention. Once in a while I don't take the corners quite wide enough so that's a problem too.

I can't be blamed for the horrific new england pot holes though.