Roadway Scene Safety

[WTFD10]

I heard a rumor that a local private ambulance crew was ticketed recently for blocking the roadway at an accident scene.

J or 77, heard anything about this?

I'd like to hear the whole deal before I start blasting the PD involved...

[WTFDChief730]

No scuttle on my end on this one Moe, if I hear about it I'll let you know.

[Weruj1]

few years ago a Ru.............uhm ambulance company operator got a ticket for going the wrong way down an off ramp that they were directed onto by fire crews but the police didnt like it and ticketed her.I havent heard of anything recently however.

[WTFD10]

Yeah I knew about that one. This was supposed to have happened last month some time. Hopefully it will turn out to just be a rumor.

I'm a big believer in "shut down as many lanes as possible until we're done".

I know our Twp. PD is supportive of this and I hope other PDs are as well. After all, they're getting struck and killed even more than firefighters are!

[LEWTFL]

Do any of you cover any of the Turnpike?
If so, how well do the state patrol and turnpike employees
work with you?

[WTFD10]

Originally posted by LEWTFL
Do any of you cover any of the Turnpike?
If so, how well do the state patrol and turnpike employees
work with you?

We cover part of I-75. A few weeks ago we had a 15 car pile-up due to black ice. OHP requested our rigs to remain onscene and block the lanes for quite awhile while the salt trucks worked. First time I've heard of that from them!

[LEWTFL]

My experience has been that the OHP
has been more willing to shut down lanes than
they used to be. Used to take an act of Congress.
Have no idea what changed. Either their procedures
or my perceptions.

[WTFD10]

Originally posted by LEWTFL
My experience has been that the OHP
has been more willing to shut down lanes than
they used to be. Used to take an act of Congress.
Have no idea what changed. Either their procedures
or my perceptions.

Sad to say it's probably because so many Troopers have been struck and killed in the last few years :(

[PFD109NFD107]

A few.... ok quite a few years ago a Walker (remember them) rig went the wrong way down the ramp on 1-280 and got a ticket. In that case I think they did it on their own, without police or fire knoweldge.

I also remember a story of an ambulance going code 3 through Woodville and a cop following the rig to a Toledo area hospital to give them a ticket. That seemed a bit far fetched and I am not sure if it really happened.

OSP has been much more cooperative and friendly with rescue personnel over the last several years. It is a welcome change!!!!

All I know about the turnpike is that you can be transporting a patient code 3 and they still make you get a ticket and pay a toll.

[Weruj1]

All I know about the turnpike is that you can be transporting a patient code 3 and they still make you get a ticket and pay a toll. .......I dont know where you are getting that from as we had that happen to us only once when we first started running out there. When I worked at both Woodville and Lake we never had to stop, they do have cool forms for you to fill out for getting on there though.As far LE goes, they are a little more of a pain on that to keep traffic moving, and really dont want traffic shut down to long.

[Rayr49]

Ask your local highway patrol if they will come to a meeting and cover accident scenes from their perspective. We do this on an annual basis and have few problems.

The fire/ems conduct on the scene has a lot to do with the relations. You need to have a basic understanding of each other's needs. Both our highway patrol and sheriff's deputies have departments they hate to go to accident scenes with. It usually involves too many private vehicles responding to the scene and creating an additional hazard.

Learn the basics of trafic control and use personnel and apparatus not directly involved with patient care or scene ops to assist with traffic control. It won't elminate the people who don't believe in slowing down or the impaired driver but it will help with the scene safety. We try to give at least 100 yards warning before vehicle gets into the scene. We still have more close calls than we would like from other drivers but at least we stand a chance of getting some warning from the traffic control personnel before some idiot plows through the scene.

Stay Safe
IACOJ

[PFD109NFD107]

Originally posted by Weruj1
.......I dont know where you are getting that from as we had that happen to us only once when we first started running out there. .

I am just speaking from my experience on the Mobile Life units and from days way back when, when Walker used to do the ground transports for Life Flight and the Neonate team. I have not yet had the opportunity to experience a run on the turnpike where we were first responders.

[Weruj1]

well llike I said when LifeHole was doin that we never had a problem goin code 3 ...........code 2......ya you were getting a ticket and paying a toll.

[EdShanks]

Originally posted by LEWTFL
Do any of you cover any of the Turnpike?
If so, how well do the state patrol and turnpike employees
work with you?

We have a little bit that runs through our southwest corner, but I work at the station that's furthest from there. I do know that the Turnpike Commission doesn't like to shut the 'pike down, but we've made them do it once or twice in the 16 years I've been here.

We have 5 miles of I-680 and various state routes that OSP patrols. I got nothing but good to say about all of them - I haven't found an unreasonable trooper yet.

[EdShanks]

Originally posted by PFD109NFD107
All I know about the turnpike is that you can be transporting a patient code 3 and they still make you get a ticket and pay a toll.

There you go using the gates the civillians use again!! We use the access road to their garage - we have a key to the gate - and go where we need to from there.