Safety

Report: EMS workers high on speed, low on safety

Emergency Management Alert, November 27, 2007

A November 26 story from an NBC affiliate about an ambulance allegedly running a red light reminded us of a publication released in June by the the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), "Feasability for EMS Workforce Safety and Health Surveillance". This section about ambulance safety confirms field reports of dangers: 

Relative to police cars and fire trucks, ambulances experienced the highest percentage of fatal crashes where occupants die and the highest percentage of crashes where occupants are injured.

Firefighters are at fault, too:

Lack of restraint use and/or responding with "lights and siren" characterized the vast majority of fatalities among fire truck occupants.

People are also lax in use of restraints:

[D]espite their known effectiveness in reducing injury and death, only about half of vehicle drivers and front-seat occupants were wearing occupant restraints; over half of the patients lying prone on a stretcher were restrained, while only 15 percent of bench seat patients were wearing restraints; and almost all rear-compartment occupants sitting in the 'jump seat' were wearing restraints.

The goal of the study, says the funder, NHTSA, was to better understand
occupational injuries and illnesses among EMS workers.

More on vehicle safety can be found in "Alive on Arrival," A FEMA/U.S. Fire Administration publication for emergency responders, and "Guide to Model Policies and Procedures for Emergency Vehicle Safety," from the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

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