A group of volunteer first responders in B.C. took to social media to remind people to drive with care around emergency vehicles.
Pinantan volunteer first responder Rob Maccollum was present on Sunday, July 6, when one of their ambulances with a patient in care being transported to Kamloops Regional Hospital was tailgated by another vehicle.
"It's definitely an added stress that's not needed," Maccollum commented that the stress falls not only on the emergency vehicle operator but also on the paramedic administering care and the patient. "Those stresses can affect decisions that they're making."
Maccollum noted that emergency vehicles are not always speeding and at times drive the speed limit or slower depending on the level of care required for the patient on board.
"If you are already driving 80 [kilometres per hour] and you're pushing on an ambulance to make it go faster, this could lead to a very catastrophic situation," added Maccollum. "We are already short ambulances, and we're already short first responders... we don't need to lose anybody else."
Paramedic Public Information Officer with B.C. Emergency Health Services Brian Twaites said emergency vehicles being tailgated isn't overly common but does happen.
"It is rather dangerous, as well as being illegal," Twaites said.
The information officer added that a lot of people are confused about the laws when an emergency vehicle is approaching, and more education is needed.
"You are supposed to stop and let any emergency vehicle pass by you, and the recommended following distance is actually 150 metres," Twaites said.
On an undivided road or highway, when an emergency vehicle is approaching with lights and sirens on from in front or behind, drivers are to slow down and pull to the closest shoulder, usually the right side. Twaites said the rules also apply to pedestrians and cyclists.
"We don't want you to ever block the route or an intersection. An example of that would be if you just stop in the middle of an intersection while you're waiting in traffic for a light to change, an emergency vehicle may be approaching, and they actually may need to turn and go down that street. That's why we need people not to block intersections at any time."
When a road or highway has a divider, or traffic flow is one way, Twaites said people should be pulling over to the closest shoulder and coming to a full stop, meaning drivers in the left lane should pull to the left shoulder.
On divided highways like the Coquihalla, Twaites said, "If everybody would pull their vehicle to the right or the left of the highway, that actually leaves a clear access way for any emergency vehicle to get through to the scene faster to look after the people that we need to help."
Aside from the laws, Twaites offered some advice from his more than three decades as a paramedic. Drivers should use their turn signal to indicate which shoulder they are pulling to when an emergency vehicle is approaching to avoid a guessing game for the emergency vehicle operator. People are advised to drive with their mirrors, making it possible to spot an emergency vehicle coming from the rear before the sirens can be heard. Twaites also advised against slamming on the brakes or coming to a sudden stop.
"And when you're going to pull back into traffic, really make sure that there are not more emergency vehicles coming," Twaites noted that, depending on the incident, police and firefighters could be responding along with ambulances.
"The work of a paramedic and of all emergency first responders is stressful work when it comes to looking after patient care. I used to always say the most stressful part of my job was actually getting to the call. I had to get through traffic to the call... People who are not paying attention, pedestrians would walk out in front of a moving emergency vehicle with its lights and sirens on."
