Monday, January 01, 2007

Suggestion for the New Year

Ok, this is a soap box ... nothing funny here. I wonder if I can make a suggestion to all readers. I am sure none of you fall into this following category, but I'd like to mention it anyway.

Those who do not yield for emergency vehicles.

I was on my way to work today (yes, some of us have to work in new years day) and saw an ambulance coming down the road. I pulled over to get out of the way and I actually had other drivers upset at me. The ambulance had to slow down and go around them, going into oncoming traffic, and the drivers did not even seem to care.

Perhaps this is a sore spot for me since 11 years ago I was a mother in the passenger seat of an ambulance, my 5-year old son strapped to a body board, bleeding from a head wound gained from being hit by a car. I wanted nothing more than to be at the hospital at that instant, getting him care faster than humanly possible. And to have people not get out of the way, making the ambulance slow down and sometimes stop ... I was afraid and angered beyond belief. At that moment, I could not imagine any logical reason for that ambulance to slow down at all. My boy's life was at stake.

Luckily he was fine and released from the hospital the next morning. Which, of course, isn't the point.

Just pull over. K?

:: sweet smile ::

Chelle

3 comments:

Christine and FAZ said...

some people are just plain selfish but I have noticed two things:

1. people playing loud music in their cars just don't hear them coming so something needs to be done about this - e.g. radio blocker within 100 metres of the ambulance
2. sometimes you just can't work out which direction they're coming from and it can be a bit scary when you hear one but don't know where it is

Smalltown RN said...

I am with you on this one. I have never understood why people don't pull over, and I am sorry Faz the cat but those two reasons don't cut it for me...ever heard of looking in your rear view mirror...a professional driver is always looking in their rearview mirror...and around them..that is called defensive driving,so there is really no excuse for not pulling over.

Knock knock - it's cancer! said...

I agree with smalltown rn. No good excuse for not pulling over. Imagine the frustration of the ambulance drivers, who deal with these things every day.

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