Ambulances Blaring Away Sirens. Emergency or Abuse????

[Kohliantye]

Suddenly, there are so many private ambulances on our roads.
Everyone behind it's wheel seems to be in a hurry.
How are we to know whether to give way or not!!!
It is an offence under the Road Traffic Act NOT to give way to emergency vehicles.
Once I trailed an ambulance with it's siren and flashing lights switched on. To my shock, it turned into a slip road and switched off its siren. The driver went straight to a carpark behind a coffeeshop, where he left the ambulance in a "Handicapped Lot". He then alighted, went into the coffeeshop and came back with a plastic bag of wrapped food packs. Could it have been an emergency situation where someone in the ambulance was so hungry and in dire need of food!
How are we, the road-users and payers of road-taxes, ERP and other driving-related charges, to ensure that any screaming ambulance right at our rear is a true emergency.
This is not the case with our disciplined SCDF ambulances as their movement on the road is tracked and monitored by an Operations Centre
Please share your ideas. Thank you

 

[halsey02]

Suddenly, there are so many private ambulances on our roads.
Everyone behind it's wheel seems to be in a hurry.
How are we to know whether to give way or not!!!
It is an offence under the Road Traffic Act NOT to give way to emergency vehicles.
Once I trailed an ambulance with it's siren and flashing lights switched on. To my shock, it turned into a slip road and switched off its siren. The driver went straight to a carpark behind a coffeeshop, where he left the ambulance in a "Handicapped Lot". He then alighted, went into the coffeeshop and came back with a plastic bag of wrapped food packs. Could it have been an emergency situation where someone in the ambulance was so hungry and in dire need of food!
How are we, the road-users and payers of road-taxes, ERP and other driving-related charges, to ensure that any screaming ambulance right at our rear is a true emergency.
This is not the case with our disciplined SCDF ambulances as their movement on the road is tracked and monitored by an Operations Centre
Please share your ideas. Thank you

He was dying to eat so that he has strengh to ferry those old folks who died after eat.:p

 

[Windsor]

Bro...you should record the time and it's number. Much better with a video and send to Stomp.

 

[lianbeng]

lianbeng used to accompany company medic to collect/send some urine samples - inside MID ambulance nobody else except driver company medic and myself - we blared the siren all the way from camp very fast leh all vehicles siam at PIE.

 

[Ramseth]

Police sirens have disappeared from your sight and eyes, haven't you noticed?

 

[po2wq]

...

dose ambulance drivers really behave like kings of ze roads ...

dey juz blast their sirens if there's traffic in front of dem ... n dey even horn further if ze vehicles in fornt do not gif way fast enuff ...

 

[bigbossman]

If it is a real emergency, they should rightly use the sirens

 

[greedy and cunning]

i didn't know that this one is considered a political issue leh.

 

[Ramseth]

I've never even once on the siren when I was in a police patrol car. It's a relic from old days when there were still horse-drawn carriages on the road. It was meant to alert the horses aside and make way. In modern road traffic where all are motorized vehicles except bicycles on the side, it served no purpose except noise pollution. Even if you're going on your way to save somebody, how can you endanger others (not to mention yourselves) by forcing them to swerve or stop to make way for you to beat traffic light with all at average speed of about 70-80kph? I did on the blinker frequently though, not for the purpose of forcing my way through or beating traffic light, but it did make other drivers on the road aware that there was a case to be attended on the way or was actually being attended to at that moment.

 

[halsey02]

I've never even once on the siren when I was in a police patrol car. It's a relic from old days when there were still horse-drawn carriages on the road. It was meant to alert the horses aside and make way. In modern road traffic where all are motorized vehicles except bicycles on the side, it served no purpose except noise pollution. Even if you're going on your way to save somebody, how can you endanger others (not to mention yourselves) by forcing them to swerve or stop to make way for you to beat traffic light with all at average speed of about 70-80kph? I did on the blinker frequently though, not for the purpose of forcing my way through or beating traffic light, but it did make other drivers on the road aware that there was a case to be attended on the way or was actually being attended to at that moment.

In SINgapore, you use the siren, horses, dogs & other animals will run, but the average SINkies will stay put & even swear at you. So, the SIREN, the loudest the better. I have the experience of working in a swanky new building in the city, when the fire alarm for the building went off, nobody in my office evern bothered or moved. I smelt smoke, I quickly made my way to the lift & exited to ground floor; it was then the announcement came to vacate the building for there was a fire on the 18th floor, & all have to use the stairs for all the lifts had been disabled to descend to ground level. So, you need the loudest siren or the person, you are ferrying to hospital will die or you have to attend to some emergeny that will save a life.

Maybe you were in the police force back then, when they wear light blue short & Khaki pants with full up socks, still using horse & carriages & the fastest vehicle you even had was the Land Rover & the siren is a bell with a rope hanging by the stirker.

 

[red amoeba]

In SINgapore, you use the siren, horses, dogs & other animals will run, but the average SINkies will stay put & even swear at you. So, the SIREN, the loudest the better. I have the experience of working in a swanky new building in the city, when the fire alarm for the building went off, nobody in my office evern bothered or moved. I smelt smoke, I quickly made my way to the lift & exited to ground floor; it was then the announcement came to vacate the building for there was a fire on the 18th floor, & all have to use the stairs for all the lifts had been disabled to descend to ground level. So, you need the loudest siren or the person, you are ferrying to hospital will die or you have to attend to some emergeny that will save a life.

Maybe you were in the police force back then, when they wear light blue short & Khaki pants with full up socks, still using horse & carriages & the fastest vehicle you even had was the Land Rover & the siren is a bell with a rope hanging by the stirker.

i agreed with your point regarding the fire alarm...even fire drill, no one take it seriously...

i think in a real emergency,...many will just die in the building....cos they have no sense of urgency nor shall i say, not street smart enough.