Private Ambulance breaking red lights at speed.

joegriffinjnr · 04-12-2011 07:39PM #1

Today around 2pm a private ambulance (mercedes vito grey and green in colour) broke two sets of red lights on the Oscar Traynor Rd. As he was approaching the lights he stuck on his green lights on top of van and broke the lights. When he went through the lights he turned his greens off. He done this again at the next set of lights. Are these type of private ambulances allowed do this? What would the hurry be considering the person they are collecting or have already collected are dead.

The ambulance was very similar (if not the same one) to this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-pwunhlWfs

04-12-2011 10:18PM

Search this forum for any of the blue lights red lights purple lights threads and you will get your answer.

dfbemt · 04-12-2011 11:03PM

Is that the coroners ambulance or an ambulance run by a funeral director on behalf of the coroner?

Is there some EU law on the green light thing which makes it acceptable for ambulances?

BrianD · 05-12-2011 09:40AM

Hard to see any event that a coroners ambulance would need to break a red light.

Corruptable · 05-12-2011 10:47AM

In the UK, doctors on call are permitted to use a green flashing light. But it grants no privledge or exemption from any traffic laws. I'd hazard a guess that the situation is similar, if not more draconian, here.

Personally I've lost count of the times I've saw amber, clear, or green beacons abused by people from vets to security companies.

EMSCHAP · 05-12-2011 04:31PM

Green lights have absolutely no legal standing in this country, a fact that some of the on call doctor coops seem to have realised as they have removed them from some of their vehicles. Why is a vehicle which is used by an undertaker to remove deceased persons from the scene of a crime or accident, marked as an ambulance anyway?, as seen on many a TV news programme. If they genuinely need to be removed in a hurry, surely an escort from the Garda could be provided. In our area, the local undertaker who is contracted to the HSE/Coroner uses a suitably equipped discrete station wagon for the purpose.

06-12-2011 07:27PM

EMSCHAP wrote: »

a suitably equipped discrete station wagon for the purpose.

Sure where's the fun in that? Lights and sirens all the way!

I do think green lights should be covered by law and should grant additional road privileges (ability to break red lights when safe to do so, etc.) but the drivers of the cars should have to successfully complete an advanced driving course of some kind first.

Only ever seen the local Doctor on Call on green lights once, and that was for a photograph. Must say though, it actually didn't look too bad, and it stood out. I wouldn't be completely against assigning colours to each service (as in the USA, for example). Blue to Garda/Coast Guard, Green to Ambulance and red to fire service.

Though it's probably a little unnecessary at this stage.

TransplantedDub · 06-12-2011 10:39PM

You want to see confusing....I was a Call Firefighter for 5 years with the Dudley Fire Dept. in Massachusetts , USA..(I am actually from Dublin). We were issued Red light permits from the registry of motor vehicles, obtained for you by the FD . This entiled you to display a red warning light, forward facing on your dash when responding to a call to the fire station. Well, I got to tell ya, some lads had full strobe outfits on their cars, (almost looked like unmarked police cars when lit up !!)wig wag headlight flashers, fellas with SUV's or pickup trucks had full roof lightbars.
Dudley is on the border of Conneticutt, and the they have Volunteer Fire Police...so they and their firetrucks have blue lights. Because of the "Mutual Aid" arrangement, they would sometimes respond over the state line to our town, there would be private vehicles with blue lights responding. ...and as I started to say...to confuse the hell out of you..the Conneticutt State Police have red lights !!!:rolleyes:

alexlyons · 20-12-2011 12:18AM

not completely related but just something in the op that I noticed.

You mentioned he turned them on and off when going through red lights etc.
I know that some private agencies with lights that do have privileges to break them, are told to only use the lights when they need to.
so unlike say the guards who would respond with permanent blues and then sirens at red lights, everything is off until they need the blues at the lights, which can make it seem a bit like they are just using them to get around red lights, which isn't the case.

msg11 · 20-12-2011 12:31AM

I think it's more a case of

1. Why have they got any form of flashing lights on the van, it's not a life or death situation.

2. If the person they are collecting or transporting is dead. Whats the big rush.

It's simple in my mind, they have no need to be driving fast, breaking red lights too ferry around a dead person. (I know that sounded harsh, but it is what it is)

Now if the person was an organ donor then I can see the rush, but in that case they should be fitted with Blue lights. We don't need a situation were there's a different shade of colour for what you can and can't do. It's simple at the moment, blue is the only legal light that can go against some parts of the road traffic act and let's leave it at that.

alexlyons · 20-12-2011 12:35AM

[QUOTE=msg11;76088736 It's simple at the moment, blue is the only legal light that can go against some parts of the road traffic act and let's leave it at that.

[/QUOTE]

not all blue lights can though

Pataman · 20-12-2011 10:45AM

alexlyons wrote: »

not all blue lights can though

Care to expand on that?

groundhurling · 20-12-2011 11:59AM

Pataman wrote: »

Care to expand on that?

Different shades of blue ranging from baby blue to deep navy entitle you to different exemptions under the road traffic act :P

cocoshovel · 20-12-2011 01:12PM

Saw a "patient transport" ambulance flying through traffic on blues and two's yesterday. What type of emergency would that be attending?

This kind of one.

sgthighway · 20-12-2011 01:52PM

cocoshovel wrote: »

Saw a "patient transport" ambulance flying through traffic on blues and two's yesterday. What type of emergency would that be attending?

Maybe the patient had a Cardiac Arrest while been transported.

No Blue Lights or Sirens for me unless its a case of Loss of Life or Loss of Limb.

snubbleste · 20-12-2011 01:57PM

I regularly see a registered charity's animal van going through red lights with the driver on the phone held up to the ear. Difference is, it says 'animal rescue ambulance' on the side.

cocoshovel · 20-12-2011 02:05PM

sgthighway wrote: »

Maybe the patient had a Cardiac Arrest while been transported.

No Blue Lights or Sirens for me unless its a case of Loss of Life or Loss of Limb.

Possible I suppose but it was going away from the hospital, out of the city

.
There are probably a few reasons why this would need to use blues and sirens but I just thought it was strange.

alexlyons · 20-12-2011 06:02PM

Pataman wrote: »

Care to expand on that?

very technically the coastguard can't.

flazio · 21-12-2011 10:34AM

msg11 wrote: »

1. Why have they got any form of flashing lights on the van, it's not a life or death situation.

Well more then likely it is a death situation. :P

aujopimur · 21-12-2011 11:06AM

On a slightly different note, many years ago a friend of mine had access to the family owened private ambulance which we used to travel from Cork to Thurles for a Munster final, in order to avoid the trafic jams etc. he used the blues & twos, all went well until a motorcycle cop decided to to give us an escort, if my memory serves me right he was fined £10 for his effort.

tommy21 · 21-12-2011 11:11AM

Like this?

stevie06 · 21-12-2011 05:45PM

alexlyons wrote: »

very technically the coastguard can't.

Technically they can! they are covered under the Road traffic act.

civdef · 21-12-2011 06:11PM

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2010/en/act/pub/0025/sec0087.html

Nope. Not all the agencies entitled to use warning lights & audible devices are covered by the other Road Traffic Act exemptions.

stevie06 · 21-12-2011 06:20PM

civdef wrote: »

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2010/en/act/pub/0025/sec0087.html

Nope. Not all the agencies entitled to use warning lights & audible devices are covered by the other Road Traffic Act exemptions.

ouch

I'm fairly sure the IMES was mentioned in the previous RTA................

apologies all, my mistake.

Turner · 21-12-2011 06:41PM

They might not be mentioned in the road traffic act.. but common sense applies.

Gardai (the people who enforce it) have very good relationships with all emergency services.

So I couldn't see any tickets being issued.

More like give them an escort.

Pataman · 21-12-2011 06:53PM

I wonder why they were excluded? Are they not a "real" emergency service?
The mind baffles

alexlyons · 21-12-2011 08:53PM

stevie06 wrote: »

ouch

I'm fairly sure the IMES was mentioned in the previous RTA................

apologies all, my mistake.

You're lucky I'm only seeing this now :P as I said, technically they can't.

Hooch · 21-12-2011 11:19PM

stevie06 wrote: »

ouch

I'm fairly sure the IMES was mentioned in the previous RTA................

apologies all, my mistake.

IMES were mentioned but only for blue lights (sirens we added in circa 2006 I think for them)

Pataman wrote: »

I wonder why they were excluded? Are they not a "real" emergency service?
The mind baffles

The Irish Coast Guard was only considered an Emergency Service last year.

The exemptions will come in time but with everything it will take just that....time. The big issue with ICG having lights is NO driver training whatsoever. This is the major stumbling block.

As Turner also said, common sense applies.

Tango Alpha 51 · 22-12-2011 12:12AM

Cocoshovel,
The vehicle you asked about is indeed a PTS vehicle but these are currently being staffed by paramedics as opposed to emt's which the new PTS/ICS will be known. Currently these type of vehicles can be used to go out of board ie Dublin, Cork, Galway etc.
Why it was on blue lights coming out of Dublin is unknown but could be for a variety of reasons. Equally if you look at all the new PTS units in the NAS, they no longer have flashbars on the roof but still have grille/intersection LEDs, flashing headlights & sirens.

groundhurling · 22-12-2011 09:57AM

buzzman wrote: »

Cocoshovel,
The vehicle you asked about is indeed a PTS vehicle but these are currently being staffed by paramedics as opposed to emt's which the new PTS/ICS will be known. Currently these type of vehicles can be used to go out of board ie Dublin, Cork, Galway etc.
Why it was on blue lights coming out of Dublin is unknown but could be for a variety of reasons. Equally if you look at all the new PTS units in the NAS, they no longer have flashbars on the roof but still have grille/intersection LEDs, flashing headlights & sirens.

What's to say they weren't doing a critical care transport?! It does happen when the emergency ambulances are being stretched.

Tango Alpha 51 · 22-12-2011 11:26AM

Nothing to suggest that at all if it's a Dublin based PTS wagon.

Private Ambulance breaking red lights at speed.

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