Nice comment

For the latter point I think, for the van in front, it may have been difficult to tell what the indicators were for (they could have been used to suggest an overtake as well as to turn right)

The key thing I've picked up from these videos that helps me is they seem to tell the traffic exactly what they want them to do using lights and sirens. If its lights and sirens together, it means make way when safe (obviously) but if its just lights and no sirens, it tends to mean just continue as you are because its not safe for them to overtake, they just want the flow of traffic to continue safely until there is a better opportunity for them to overtake, stopping or trying to pull over in an unsafe location hinders them more. They will then turn the sirens on again when they get to a straight without oncoming traffic for example to indicate its safe to pull over and they intend to overtake.

Still not easy to try to figure it out in traffic, as a truck driver it is damn stressful since it is very hard for me to move anywhere really i am just to big and slow, and the roads in this video are gnarly, like no place to go since there is hedge on one side and oncoming traffic close on the other side, not to mention a very twisty and turning road.

@@delta4611 Lights are "I need to get somewhere", sirens are "I need you to move now", generally. Unfortunately drivers see or hear either and panic! Case in point the mini at 6:41

Same here. He should probably still have let you get past, getting someone there quickly is the most important thing. The ambulance is much more unwieldy in close traffic I'm sure.

Agreed, I thought same, should have let you go in my opinion, a VW transporter is nowhere near as capable as your vehicle.

I thought the van thought a police car was chasing it and the van driver was attempting a getaway!

That van driver at the start should have carried on. He stopped too suddenly

​@@yuenkentsang9446hindsight is always 20/20 and we also had a better view/were expecting it. Chris was able to wiggle around just fine.

Commentary is normal for blue light drivers. Through training, you say it out loud, then it moves into your head then it becomes subconscious almost second nature.

Can tell you're not a response driver. The cop had excellent speed in that video. You don't have a clue what you're talking about 👍.

Everyone drives different, the van driver is far more aggressive than the cop was.

Give that guy that cop car and you’d see what he can do. Man was driving that hard and that aggressive with a vw caddy...

police response drivers are generally newer in service than ambulance response drivers because as soon as police officers probation is up they get off response onto another department as soon as they can.

Well said.

I think it would be great if the two crews could talk to each other while responding. If Chris could ask them to let him pass when there's a chance and them responding, "It's clear, go now!" that seems like it could be quite helpful.

I always wonder what to do at Corey's Mill Sainsbury's if an emergency vehicle approaches from behind (as you did here). If at the front is it OK to move forward over the sensors that would trigger the traffic light cameras if safe to do so and to release an emergency vehicle?

@@alexlizannabelbarrett4895 It might be safe, but it's illegal.

I feel it’s worth putting here that whilst the ideas are useful and with the kindest of thoughts, it’s actually safer for Chris in a car if he stays behind the larger emergency vehicle. People will spot that and then see him after. If he is in front then there’s risk of people seeing the bigger vehicle behind (obviously because it’s bigger) but may have the “blinkers” on so to speak that they don’t see Chris in his car

And predicting it.

The horn is used because it is a simple method of changing tones without taking hands off the wheel. Bullhorns are often activated by a footswitch. Some of my fleet have an extra button so a passenger can change tones too.

Dorset Police just released a video of an RTC when the 2nd car in a convoy plowed into another car. Really good example of how people don't think around emergency services and use their mirrors well enough

That's why each vehicle should use a different tone, the following vehicle should be close to the leading one and they should change their profile by moving position from left to right every five to ten seconds or so.

Turned out to be rather handy :)

No ambulance available is criminal. All that tax money we pay to think they might just not turn up.

​@@dreamcrusher112same issue here, I had to rush my dad in using my own car, was on hold for 5 minutes just trying to speak to someone after calling 999. With hospital 5 heavy footed minutes away I thought f### this, ping me speeding see if I care, I'll take my chances in court. That's the sewer our political vermin have turned the country into.

@@dreamcrusher112 - All you have to remember, is that our ambulance, or other similar services are not of an infinite quality . . . They all need bases, and then the staff to crew them - but if the base & staffing level aren't there, as with hospitals, too, then you would just have vehicles standing idle . . . Respond times are also hit by 999 timewasters, as well as drug users and drunks, too . . . which leaves less services available to send out. Sometimes even call outs for certain things may also require 2 ambulance teams being used if felt necessary, again with that you can lose a crew until that call has been seen to. Another issue we can have is older hospitals with fewer beds available to take in new patients - that's why we can sometimes see lines of ambulances parked outside A&E Dept's all waiting to take patients in and trying to put them somewhere if they can - or send them off to another hospital if they're full. Again, these ambulances just can't move until they've dropped off their patients . . . Labour Government - (under Blair then I think?) - decided to shut a lot of our smaller hospitals and upgrade older ones or build new larger ones - this has not worked out here though . . . as the coverage just cannot keep on matching the population growth each year . . .

@@dreamcrusher112 Who needs ambulances when you're spending 13 million on a whole "diversity and inclusiveness" organizational structure? Patient focus is *so* passe....

ALL drivers, in fact all road users should learn in real time all the time

@@stevesmith7530 i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/021/665/DpQ9YJl.jpg

As someone who teaches response driving in a wide range of vehicles, yes some people do react differently depending on the vehicle. The most common is for people to think they have done wrong when it is a police vehicle, followed by not leaving enough space for larger vehicles, and/or assuming they perform and handle like performance cars.

IAM and upwards do courses that will help you work on observation and stuff!

Personally I prefer RoSPA, but each to their own. RoSPA are the group responsible for helping create the current standards for response driving

Hi @chillies4156 👋

The horn controls the sirens when on blues. One 'beep' to switch between them and double 'beep' to switch off

On a double white, you can't over take unless a car/vehicle is stationary. A pedal cyclist doing less then 10mph, a mounted Horse, or maintanence vehicles.

Yes that's great as it shows intent to stay where you are so thank you.

Depends if the other lanes on the carriage way are clear and the emergency service vehicle has access to pass. You'll notice in this video (around the 2.30 mark) as Chris sticks in the "overtaking" lane the car in front indicates and pulls into the left hand lane, but sill applied the brakes when he had no need too. But at 4.15 the car indicated and almost stopped to allow a clear path before the keep left bollards. Basically you follow rule 219 of the highway code which states "Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. “If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road."

@@ChrisMartinEMS Thanks

Where I work (US EMS) that's down to driver preference - our trucks are configured so the horn-push will alternate between sirens, though personally I prefer to keep my left hand on the wheel, and use my right to select exact sirens from the Whelen head unit in the console next to me. Obv auto transmission, and I've both hands on the wheel when I need to!

Usually, if the blue lights are on, the horn will activate the sirens. If the blue lights are off, the horn is just the normal horn.

Each shift starts with a complete vehicle check.

Generally when traveling in convey, you try to leave the siren on, and use a different siren tone from the vehicle in front, so that drivers know there's more than one vehicle and don't pull back in after the first vehicle has gone past them (not that it always works)

Not all trusts restrict all ambulances in such a manner.

The VW was being driven by a manager whose role is (mainly) to attend and support the crews on scene ie a welfare role. Chris’s role is to attend and do advanced things that the crew on scene is not qualified to do. Therefore, in theory, it makes it more important for Chris to get there quicker than the manager in the VW.

If you know the radio number of the other vehicle, then yes

@@findthebadger418 oh, gotcha. I thought maybe there was some kind of central communication channel

As fast as it's safe to do so.

I might be wrong on this, but the light bar at the top now has a steady burn blue light at the back to indicate the marked vehicle is on a 999 call, they used to have issues before where sometimes the strobes would be just off that one fraction when they’d hit a camera and then the whole rigmarole of having to send out tickets and go through logs to see what that vehicle was doing at that point then cancel the ticket. Now they just see the light bar on and cancel the ticket. Also, cameras take 2 pics and the time/distance between the 2 pics is used to measure the speed. So a car next to them wouldn’t get a ticket. That’s like if you do the speed limit and someone next to you does 90 through a camera.

if its anything like the police, the organisation will be sent the NIP and then the organisation will send the driver a standard form to the driver to fill out explaining the reason for speeding (legal exemption etc) then that’s the end of it

​@@_Ali.I think that's crap as there is a van in front on this video which doesn't have a static blue light

@@lewiskelly14 Not all vehicles have the static light, often referred to as a "gatso light". It's not always in the lightbar either, some of my vehicles have it mounted near registration plates front and rear. Some actually have the flash patterns in other lights to ensure there is always one light on. This is because technically, a static blue light visible at the rear of a moving vehicle is illegal. (Motor vehicle lighting regulations 1989) There is no exemption for emergency services.

@@stevesmith7530 well that doesn’t make sense, if it’s not permitted by law for a static blue light then why do some vehicles have it as you just said?

Siren explanation video on the way

@@ChrisMartinEMS oh brill ill keep my eyes pealed for it

The general rule is 20 mph over the posted speed limit for your vehicle, in the car in a national speed limit, which is 60 mph, the car can 80 mph, while the VW can only do 50 in the national speed limit, can do 70 mph. You can n theory go faster, but should something go wrong, you could face prosecution. You also have remember that emergency vehicles have only three exemptions on the road while responding The speed limit Treat a red traffic light as a give way marker To contravene the yellow bollards in the roads.

@martinadams5893 Ah, okay. Thanks for that!

@@liamwalker8674 That "general rule" is no such thing. Every service provider has their own policies, which will usually also take into account the type of vehicle and training level of the driver. When teaching I always remind pupils to drive within the restrictions of their employer. It is possible to drive on blue lights and have no exemption for the speed limit in any blue light service, and for ambulance purposes it is possible to drive on blues and have no legal exemptions at all. Recent changes have made the law rather complex. To the letter of the law, it is possible to drive on blues, and claim the traffic light and bollard exemptions with no training whatsoever. A response driver can face prosecution if things go wrong regardless of exemptions, the speed limit and their speed. The offences most likely are without due care and attention or dangerous driving.

I believe it's 'Flappy Paddle'.

Tapping the horn cycles the siren between the different tones - to get it from phasers back to long, you have to tap it twice.

@@h14hc124 ah thank you!

@@discopanda28 depending on the system installed, double-tap is almost always siren on/off.

critical interventions. He is going because someone needs urgent care faster than an ambulance or heli could arrive. Definitely more needed than the manager in his vw

@@dreamcrusher112 ah right. Thanks for the reply.

Heavier, and less agile chassis, and slower gearbox.

It’s how they switch the siren tone. A beep of the horn. Much easier than having to fiddle with switches and buttons etc.

@@biggiecheese1984Cheers, seems obvious now I watch the video back! 😊

The vehicle in-front is an Ops Commander

He’s on call, hence sometimes being in everyday clothes & sometimes unmarked cars. Wouldn’t want to show anything about the victim due to privacy reasons

This was my question - do you have any comms between EMS vehicles that are in close proximity?

You can use the radios to ‘point to point’ (ie ‘phone’) another vehicle but you’d have to know their call sign (usually four digits) which isn’t obvious from the outside of a vehicle

That’s how you switch the sirens

When there is nowhere to pull over I just push on and let the ambulance catch me when I've pulled over. Most cars are fast enough to just get ahead and find somewhere.

yes its very annoying especially if there’s another vehicle coming towards in the distance because they are getting closer and closer, and if they do a slow roll to let us past, it means we are on the wrong side of the road for longer and are in more danger than needs to be.

There was a period of teaching and advertising that if unsure people should slow and let the emergency vehicle driver decide what to do and when.

In fact both units are probably responding at the request of an ambulance already on the scene, and any paramedic can provide immediate life saving interventions - they’ve probably done this and decided the patient needs something extra, which Chris is coming for. Interestingly the manager in the van in front also brings a few additional clinical skills and equipment, but not as much as Chris.

I dont believe they would have delayed Chris, as he pointed out in the video, and as we could all see, they too, were fair moving, they also have a larger mass, easier for public to see, and I must say hear, I at times could hear their siren, above Chris's.

Actually the person in front drove very well, there was little opportunity to overtake, and it probably wouldn’t have made much difference to speed

I heard just fine

Explain that one?

​@@findthebadger418 He leaves similar comments on every one of Chris's videos. I wouldn't waste your time.

Ah but I do :)