Driving Licenses/Certifications?

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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Yesterday we transported an older man home from the hospital. He asked if I was the ambulance driver. I told him that I was an EMT, but ultimately said "Yeah, Im going to be driving the ambulance."

In Michigan there is no required training to drive an ambulance. Ambulance driving is not part of a regular EMS program, just pointers included in the EMS textbook. Is this weird to anyone?

You need a special certification to drive a taxi, but not to drive an ambulance?
 
Yeah, in NY, there is no special requirement - each Department sets its own rules. Same for Firetrucks.

In my FD, the "rule" is that you need to have be 21, take the department ambulance orientation plus EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator's Cert) or department driver training cert. Of course there are a couple people who are grandfathered in because they've been driving the ambulance since before I could walk, and they do a pretty good job on it.

In the ambulance corps you have to be 21 and go through driver training and a certain number of lights & sirens calls with an instructor present.
 
Originally posted by rescuelt@Jul 11 2004, 06:27 PM
Yeah, in NY, there is no special requirement - each Department sets its own rules. Same for Firetrucks.

In my FD, the "rule" is that you need to have be 21, take the department ambulance orientation plus EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator's Cert) or department driver training cert. Of course there are a couple people who are grandfathered in because they've been driving the ambulance since before I could walk, and they do a pretty good job on it.

In the ambulance corps you have to be 21 and go through driver training and a certain number of lights & sirens calls with an instructor present.
Click to expand...
Our program is identical to yours.
 
That's how I thought it would be. :unsure:
 
When I was in South Dakota, the state law was written that anyone could drive the fire truck to the scene and back to the station, as long as they were legal to drive.

If you were not responding to or returning from an emergency call, you have to have a CDL to drive the truck (this included for parades, getting fuel, etc...).
 
California has an Ambulance Driver Certificate that's considered an add-on to your regular license (similar to a passenger or other endorsement on a commercial license). Can be added to any license class other than the motorcyle or moped-only licenses as long as you're over 18. It expires the same date your regular license expires.

Getting the certificate requires a LiveScan fingerprint check, a medical authorization (basically the same as for a commercial license) and passing a 20-question multiple-choice test. You also have to have your EMT certification within 1 year of getting the driver cert or it expires.

The driver cert is required to drive for a private ambulance company or for any volunteer agency, except in certain unincorporated areas with a low population. This means that volunteer firefighters who drive ambulances (like myself) have to have the cert.

Paid firefighters, on the other hand, are exempt. When the CSFA asked the state why paid firefighters were exempt but volunteers weren't, they were told rather bluntly "We know there are one-armed volunteer firefighters out there." :o

On a related note, to drive most fire apparatus, you have to have a Class B license. Class A and Class B are our two commercial license categories (Class C is auto/light truck). There is a special category of Class B specifically for firefighters which only allows you to drive fire apparatus, but most get the full Class B which lets you drive anything up to a certain GVWR limit.
 
In western MA, we have CEVO (coaching the emergency vehicle operator). Similar to NY's EVOC.
 
We have CEVO also, I think here it is more of a "train the trainer" kind of thing.
 
This morning I wake up and look at the pager:

All Crews: Mandatory drivers training has been set for Saturday.....

That's a bit ironic.
 
In Saskatchewan we have to pass a 18hr mandatory driving school incorporated with our medic training called National Academy of Professional Driving(NAPD) and we also have to take a test through SGI(Saskatchewan Government Insurance) to get a different class license. Normal drivers get a class 5 and ambulance, police, taxi, school bus etc get a class 4.
 
I'm going to start the "driver training" process at the Ambulance Corps. I am a driver at the Fire Department, but each agency has their own standards... The only reason I'm even considering being a driver at the corps is because you have to be an ambulance driver to take the 80 car, and as an ALS provider I qualify for the 80 car.
 
Originally posted by MMiz@Jul 11 2004, 08:23 PM
Yesterday we transported an older man home from the hospital. He asked if I was the ambulance driver. I told him that I was an EMT, but ultimately said "Yeah, Im going to be driving the ambulance."

In Michigan there is no required training to drive an ambulance. Ambulance driving is not part of a regular EMS program, just pointers included in the EMS textbook. Is this weird to anyone?

You need a special certification to drive a taxi, but not to drive an ambulance?
Click to expand...
Here in Florida you need to have a non-commercial business license with an emergency vehicle endorsement (much like the add-on to drive a motorcycle) in order to drive an ambulance. It's an extra test full of bigger-vehicle road rules that you have to take on top of the regular operator's license.
 
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