Red light. I might've blown past it.

[AfxEMT]

So we were doing a 4hr 15mins IFT & maybe about 3hr 45mins in we took a turn to a county road that ran for like 20 something miles, I was driving 60mph the whole time then there was a flashing light indicating there was a stop light ahead of us, the coast was clear in all directions & suddenly it turned freaking yellow then red. I decided to floor it thinking that if I step on the brake abruptly my medic & the patient will be jerked forward by the momentum(I have come to realization that driving nice & easy is also part of patient care as being tossed in the back is never good for the emt/medic or pt) I can't remember if I crossed the light on time or not but I remember seeing a flash. So yeah I might've blown a red light. I'll probably get a ticket or my supervisors will talk to me. Has anybody had the same situation/experience? Thanks guys! And girls!

 

[Akulahawk]

I don't think anyone is going to tell you that blowing a stoplight is OK. If you see the flashing lights warning of a controlled intersection ahead, you ought to be thinking "slow down" because you may have a change in the light. If you're going so fast that you would have to brake pretty hard to stop, you're probably going too fast. Figure that traffic signals give you about 3-4 seconds at the posted limit to go from "green" to "red" so if you're going faster than the limit, your braking distance will be that much LONGER.

When driving around town, I used to basically drive like the stereotypical "Granny" because I really dislike having to do near-panic hard stops when someone is in the back. My partners knew that if I ever yelled "Hard Stop!" it meant I'm about to do near threshold-braking and stop that ambulance in as short a distance as possible, given the weight of those things. Everything in the back might just get thrown... Given a choice between driving around in a somewhat speedy manner and potentially throwing my partner (and patient) around the back of the ambulance and driving like "Granny" and giving them a nice smooth ride even while dealing with "fast" traffic lights, you can pretty much guess which one I'm going to choose.

Here's the reality: since ambulances are NOT usually listed in as being driven by YOU, any cites (especially red light camera cites) will usually be sent to the company (your boss) who will then figure out which ambulance it was, which crew was on, who was driving... Now if you're actually pulled over, then things can get more interesting, but suffice it to say that your boss would find out about that anyway.

Your partner or patient could also complain to your boss about the event too.

 

[Mufasa556]

A coworker got popped by one of those red light traffic cameras. She was subsequently called into the Ops Managers office when the ticket arrived at the station. She ended up paying it and doing traffic school just like when you get one in your personal car.

 

[akflightmedic]

When you took your CEVO or EVOC course were you taught the concept of a "Stay Green" light?

In short....any time you see a green light, start immediately thinking it is going to change and prepare for it to do so. If it has been visibly green for your entire approach do not make the assumption it intends to stay that way.

 

[Underoath87]

Bear in mind that those photos must be reviewed by a traffic cop before a citation is issued. In my experience, they usually cut ambulance drivers some slack.

 

[triemal04]

Your thinking was correct and unless you were doing more than the posted speed you did nothing wrong. Ambulances don't stop on a dime, and due to those damn laws of physics and often lousy engineering a sudden stop can cause a lot of unwanted force and movement in the patient compartment. While you should always be anticipating things while driving (and much more than a simple light changing) you can't realistically change what you are doing to accommodate every possibility.

There are times when stopping suddenly would cause worse problems; what happens if your partner happens to be standing up when you tromp the brakes? If the patient has a problem that is aggravated by sudden movement? The lesser of two evils may be to go through the red light. (obviously this should only happen if you can plainly see that there isn't any cross traffic) If that's the case, flip your lights on (may not matter depending on your setup) and be ready to explain yourself if you get called to the carpet. In your case, given that you saw the traffic camera fire, be proactive, go to your supe and explain what happened and why.

Now, if you were still speeding it's on you and a different story.

 

[squirrel15]

It happens, granted I'll say you should've been prepared for it to change, but if you were going the speed limit, again it does happen. Learn from it, around traffic lights go slower than the posted speed to be able to stop in time, and always be ready for this greens to all of a sudden be red.

Best advice, go to a sup, explain what happened and how you may have run a red light and it may have a triggered a camera. I'd avoid saying you for sure ran the light until the ticket shows up. But a heads up to the sup can go a long way when it comes to reprimands. You will be stuck with the ticket and traffic school though most likely if it comes through.

 

[Tigger]

The whole "stale green" concept is indeed a real thing. There is not a good reason to fail to anticipate a light changing and then smoothly stopping the ambulance. Things still happen, and sometimes you sail on through. If that's the case, own it.

I worked briefly at a place that would terminate you immediately if you ran a red light while non-emergent.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Your thinking was correct and unless you were doing more than the posted speed you did nothing wrong.

Ambulances don't stop on a dime, and due to those damn laws of physics and often lousy engineering a sudden stop can cause a lot of unwanted force and movement in the patient compartment

This