My Ambulance

[Mountain Res-Q]

hear that they've got plenty of headroom in back but are capped at 86mph.

Since the last time I checked California State Law for Code 3 Driving is that you are allowed to exceed the spped limit by 15 mph and AMR policy is 10 mph and I know of no HIGHWAYS in Califiornia that exceed 70mph... how is that a bad thing?

 

[AZFF/EMT]

All new ambo's and fire apparatus will be capped at a certain speed based on wieght. Our new rescues top out at 76 and any new engine ordered will be a max of I believe 68mph. New NFPA standards. Not a bad idea. I work in an urban/ urban/rural interface district and I have responded as far as 60 miles to an MVA and transported over 80 miles and we used to be able to go 95mph in our old rescue (which have all been retrofitted now) and I feel much safer topping out at 76mph. May take a little longer but 95mph crashes are never good.

 

[DV_EMT]

Since the last time I checked California State Law for Code 3 Driving is that you are allowed to exceed the spped limit by 15 mph and AMR policy is 10 mph and I know of no HIGHWAYS in Califiornia that exceed 70mph... how is that a bad thing?

well... i just like going fast... so having them capped just isn't as fun lol.

and there are parts of I-5 that are 75mph.. i believe... toward sacramento.

but the older f-350 dissel turbo's... those things can haul :censored: My ride along we got that puppy up to 100ish pretty quick

 

[JPINFV]

Since the last time I checked California State Law for Code 3 Driving is that you are allowed to exceed the spped limit by 15 mph and AMR policy is 10 mph and I know of no HIGHWAYS in Califiornia that exceed 70mph... how is that a bad thing?

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21055.htm

Nope. Essentially the only rule when driving emergently is to drive with due regard. There is no legal speed limit for an emergency vehicle with its red lamp lit.

 

[Sasha]

well... i just like going fast... so having them capped just isn't as fun lol.

and there are parts of I-5 that are 75mph.. i believe... toward sacramento.

but the older f-350 dissel turbo's... those things can haul :censored: My ride along we got that puppy up to 100ish pretty quick

I'd be ticked the driver put all of you at such a risk if it were me.

 

[medic417]

I'd be ticked the driver put all of you at such a risk if it were me.

You and me both. Very unprofessional and stupid. If my partner were to drive like that they would be ordered by me to pull over no matter condition of patient and we would get another driver or ambulance leaving that idiot on the side of the road.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

well... i just like going fast... so having them capped just isn't as fun lol.

but the older f-350 dissel turbo's... those things can haul :censored: My ride along we got that puppy up to 100ish pretty quick

:excl: Dude, be warned that if you post opinions like that here you will get killed, as you have probably seen. SLOW DOWN and get there 30 seconds latter and in one piece.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21055.htm

Nope. Essentially the only rule when driving emergently is to drive with due regard. There is no legal speed limit for an emergency vehicle with its red lamp lit.

WRONG. You looked up the DMV's dummy online guide. The real California driveing manual is as thick as Websters Dictonary. Ask any california EVOC instructor, the top speed limit for code 3 driving is 15 mph over the posted speed limt, while operating with due regard. Most complanies out here put a further cap of 5 or 10 mph on that, which makes code 3 driving simply a way to safely run red lights... that is the only way you are getting to a call faster! I know this for a fact. I am in CA and have taken several EVOC courses out here (Ambulance and Sheriffs). This is fact, even if I can;t seem to find any official online referance, although serveral EMS Agencies websites specificly mention this fact.

Not that it matters, driving any faster than 10-15 mph over teh posted spped limt does little to get you there faster and increases your chances of a fatal crash dramaticly.

 

[JPINFV]

So you're saying that California driving code is wrong? Are you sure that those aren't just suggested speed maximums? (I don't have my CHP book anymore). Also, don't think that I don't understand the laws about EVO in California. Just because my current location is Boston doesn't mean I've always been here.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

So you're saying that California driving code is wrong? Are you sure that those aren't just suggested speed maximums? (I don't have my CHP book anymore). Also, don't think that I don't understand the laws about EVO operation in California. Just because my current location is Boston doesn't mean I've always been here.

I'm saying that just because the couple dozen sentances you found don't mention this fact, doesn;t mean that it isn't true. I just retook EVOC this last year and it was said again my the instructor. The encyclopedia that is California's Driving Code (not these few web pages) gives a CA code 3 speed limit of 15 mph over the posted speed limt.

I could be wrong, but I've heard it so often fromo supervisors and instructors that I will take it as law until proven otherwise. I'll see if I can find my old EVOC training manual and see fi I can find the references. But as I said before, it makes no difference since most companies impose a 5-10 mph limit and the need for a little more speed is rarely justified.

 

[JPINFV]

Can you provide the legal code that the speed limit is under? I'm providing the exact excert from the law that governs, rules of the road wise, the use of emergency warning lights and sirens. After all, last time I checked, California DMV is the authority on the California Vechile Code. EVO books are not necessarilly going to be geared towards specific locations since the pricinipals of emergency vehicle operation doesn't change based on where you are.

In the same vein, just because you legally can do something doesn't mean that you should do it.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

Can you provide the legal code that the speed limit is under? I'm providing the exact excert from the law that governs, rules of the road wise, the use of emergency warning lights and sirens. After all, last time I checked, California DMV is the authority on the California Vechile Code. EVO books are not necessarilly going to be geared towards specific locations since the pricinipals of emergency vehicle operation doesn't change based on where you are.

In the same vein, just because you legally can do something doesn't mean that you should do it.

As I said before, I can't seem to find it yet. But I am willing to bet my shorts that it is somewhere in the California Vehicle Code. I will take a look at my old EVOC books for a reference to the correct section of the Legal Code. As I said, the entire REAL code is websters/911 commission/Bible thick and written in fine print. A few web pages can not be considered a replacemetn for the entire book.

 

[JPINFV]

Actually, the vehicle code on the DMV's website is more than just a few pages.

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vctoc.htm

 

[Sasha]

Does it really matter what the law says??

Common sense says driving real fast in a big truck with a longer stopping distance, probably with crappy breaks is a stupid and dangerous idea.

Why do you have a need to go above the speed limit? I understand time is important, but is the little time you shave off more important then you, your partner, and the uninjured and healthy motorists and pedestrians? All of which you are putting in danger when you decide to speed.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

ACCIDENTAL DOUBLE POST - SEE BELOW :blush:

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

Okay, found the code...

We are both right. I was right in that I remember there being a code stating that a California Ambulance could not exceed 15mph over the posted spped limit when going code 3. In are right in that no law still exists, from what I could find.

California Title 13, Section 1105 - Ambulance Driver's Responsibilities / Speed Restrictions:

Up until 2007-2008 the law read, "In no event shall an ambulance driver exceed a speed of 15 mph while disobeying any official traffic control stop sign or stop signal, or while exceeding a posted speed limt." See http://www.jurisearch.com/NLLXML/ge...822405&userid=PRODSG&noheader=1&Interface=NLL (this is the only online refernce I could find; it is also in my older EVOC books.)

However, the current reg reads, "In no event shall an ambulance driver exceed a speed of 15 miles per hour while disobeying any official traffic control stop sign or stop signal. This subsection shall not apply to publicly owned and operated dual purpose law enforcement vehicles during law enforcement work." The phrase, "or while exceeding a posted speed limt" seems to have been removed sometime in the last 2 years. See http://weblinks.westlaw.com/result/...rch=TRUE&ss=CNT&sv=Split&tempinfo=FIND&vr=2.0

So, while this law was on the books when I first took EVOC and presumably when you where in CA, you are correct in that it is no logger a law as I can see. However, it should be, as driving faster than this serves little purpose in my book. My division of AMR stored may of the post-crash ambulances for inspection from Central CA, so we saw them all; and it is amazing what those extra few mph can be to an ambulance... and their drivers.

 

[JPINFV]

Your first link doesn't include the part about exceeding a posted speed limit.

So, while this law was on the books when I first took EVOC and presumably when you where in CA, you are correct in that it is no logger a law as I can see. However, it should be, as driving faster than this serves little purpose in my book. My division of AMR stored may of the post-crash ambulances for inspection from Central CA, so we saw them all; and it is amazing what those extra few mph can be to an ambulance... and their drivers.

Oh, I will completely agree that driving fast simply because it's an emergency is stupid (now, if the speed of traffic is going faster than the speed limit, then I think there's a different argument), especially since peak speeds on surface streets are rarely maintained for any significant period of time. That said, as anyone who has seen me respond to threads like this, I won't let stand people masking good advice as the law. I've made the same type of arguments when people claim that "it's the law" in terms of "requesting" the right of way.

As I said a few posts earlier. Just because someone can doesn't mean that someone should.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

Your first link doesn't include the part about exceeding a posted speed limit.

OOPS. I posted the wrong link and can't seem to find it again. Best I can do is scan in the pages from the EVOC manual where it quotes it from 2005. Apparently ths hasn't been part of the driving code for several years. That first link was 2007 and the second is 2009. I took my first EVOC in 2005, so by that time it was in the code and apparently is still taught by some EVOC guys becasue I just heard it in early 2008. But it is really irrelevent. Anyone who thinks exceeding 70 in a 55 or 85 in a 55 while driving an ambulance (not the most agile of vehicles) is a moron. The diagreement was really just a matter of law, the principles that we agree with are the same.

 

[reaper]

well... i just like going fast... so having them capped just isn't as fun lol.

and there are parts of I-5 that are 75mph.. i believe... toward sacramento.

but the older f-350 dissel turbo's... those things can haul :censored: My ride along we got that puppy up to 100ish pretty quick

I doubt that! Since 94' the Ford diesel has been governed at 92 mph. Before 94' the diesels could not reach that speed with all the weight!

There is no need to have a 12k lbs truck, that is top heavy, going over 80 mph!

 

[DV_EMT]

I doubt that! Since 94' the Ford diesel has been governed at 92 mph. Before 94' the diesels could not reach that speed with all the weight!

There is no need to have a 12k lbs truck, that is top heavy, going over 80 mph!

agreed, I don't think that going over 80 is really going to save that much time. maybe a few seconds at best.

as for the speed part. you have to take into consideration that i was in the back in the jumpsuit when they stepped on it. when i looked forward i was about 3-4 feet away and saw a rough speed with which we were traveling. so my numbers are probably fudged a bit. All i remember was we were passing cars like they were standing still.

and yes, even though i love speed, i don't like it when im not in the driver or passenger seat.