i was on my motorcycle on the 2 lane road in outer suburban brisbane.
a road i ride a lot and where traffic always flows at 80 kph, (the speed limit)

this road has very rough edges and is not easy to pull off.

an ambulance with full lights and sirens comes up behind me and i ease over to let it pass.

this road is a moderately busy road, i might add with a lot of double white lines.

as i get behind this ambulance , he continues to deploy the full sirens

this results in every car in front of him , braking and trying to pull over to let him past.

they have to slow down to about 30 kph to pull over.

as a result, the ambulance is constantly on the brakes,
cars are performing dangerous evasive manouveres
the ambulance is nearly crossing double white lines
he is braking hard and accelerating hard (must be hell if he has a patient)

and the whole journey slows to 40 kph.


if this cretin had just turned off the siren and lights, we could all have doubled our speed.

:-[ :-[

Weird to blame the ambulance driver for something that car drivers should be able to do without much trouble. Drivers are only required to slow down and pull over to the side of the road to let emergency vehicles pass. No matter how good the road may be, any licenced driver should be able to pull over to the side of the road momentarily and let emergency vehicles gets by.

UnSubRocky wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2025 at 4:13pm:

Weird to blame the ambulance driver for something that car drivers should be able to do without much trouble. Drivers are only required to slow down and pull over to the side of the road to let emergency vehicles pass. No matter how good the road may be, any licenced driver should be able to pull over to the side of the road momentarily and let emergency vehicles gets by.

yep but they cant pull off into the scrub at 80. they have to brake and slow to clear the road. and with oncoming traffic, the dumb ambo has no option but to wait whilst they get off the road to resume his stop start journey  ::)

Also the chances of rear end, whipneck injuries and ambo has to do neck braces for 29 people.
Reminds me of ambo where I worked who always hit the siren as he left the Ambu. depot in a country town. It gets attention.

Roads out in the bush should be at least 4 cars wide. An ambulance should be able to get pass the vehicles, unless the drivers are driving too close to the centre line.

I don't know any ambulance drivers to ask about their procedures. But I have observed that the drivers of ambulances have to put up with the inconsiderate habits of regular drivers.

UnSubRocky wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2025 at 4:13pm:

Weird to blame the ambulance driver for something that car drivers should be able to do without much trouble. Drivers are only required to slow down and pull over to the side of the road to let emergency vehicles pass. No matter how good the road may be, any licenced driver should be able to pull over to the side of the road momentarily and let emergency vehicles gets by.

When Ambulances come up behind you you don't see them or hear sirens until they are reasonably close .. it's nothing like them coming toward you.

You don't seem to have a grasp on any reality much do you?

As far as "reasonable" drivers go I'd say you aint one of them.... posting videos of how fast you get from A to B in the greater Rocky city. ::)

A lot of drivers seem oblivious to what is behind them. You see it on the freeway a lot. An emergency vehicle with lights flashing can take a minute or two to catch up to them and they either do not realise or do not bother moving out of the way until they have held the vehicle up.

Ambos can do 20kmh over the limit, so 130kmh on freeway. With siren going on full lanes, the risk of accident is very large particularly with inexperienced drivers who hear the siren abruptly.

you're supposed to be aware of ALL the traffic ALL around you at all times. If you are waiting for the ambo to pull up behind you before you decide to get out of the way, you are to late

[quote author=aquascoot link=1737608200/0#0 date=1737608200]i was on my motorcycle on the 2 lane road in outer suburban brisbane.
a road i ride a lot and where traffic always flows at 80 kph, (the speed limit)

this road has very rough edges and is not easy to pull off.

an ambulance with full lights and sirens comes up behind me and i ease over to let it pass.

this road is a moderately busy road, i might add with a lot of double white lines.

as i get behind this ambulance , he continues to deploy the full sirens

this results in every car in front of him , braking and trying to pull over to let him past.

they have to slow down to about 30 kph to pull over.

as a result, the ambulance is constantly on the brakes,
cars are performing dangerous evasive manouveres
the ambulance is nearly crossing double white lines
he is braking hard and accelerating hard (must be hell if he has a patient)

and the whole journey slows to 40 kph.


if this cretin had just turned off the siren and lights, we could all have doubled our speed.

:-[ :-[/quote]

That doesn't make sense. If the Ambulance overtakes you, then catches up to the cars further down the road, who did not slow down because they did not see the lights, then the ambulance has made a faster time. So the ambulance must be going faster on average than if it did not have the emergency lights on.

You only need to slow down for a brief period for this to happen. You are not expected to perform any dangerous manoeuvres. You are expected to do it safely, which is why it takes so long for some people to get off the road.

John Smith wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 7:29am:

If you are waiting for the ambo to pull up behind you before you decide to get out of the way, you are to late

Yes that's what happens.  That's the problem.

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 8:04am:

You are expected to do it safely, which is why it takes so long for some people to get off the road.

That's what happens. In full lanes, it can be a problem to clear a lane quickly, and dangerous.

chimera wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 8:46am:

freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 8:04am: You are expected to do it safely, which is why it takes so long for some people to get off the road. That's what happens. In full lanes, it can be a problem to clear a lane quickly, and dangerous.

It is only dangerous if people do stupid things. That's the real problem here, not the 30 seconds of Scoot's day that he has lost just so the ambulance might save someone from a heart attack. The last thing ambos want is another accident on their hands. You are required to make way for the ambulance safely. If that takes 20 seconds longer than doing it quickly, then take the 20 seconds. Chill out and have a relaxing day rather than get angry that you were "forced" to do something dangerous and got to work a minute later.

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 8:04am:

[quote author=aquascoot link=1737608200/0#0 date=1737608200]i was on my motorcycle on the 2 lane road in outer suburban brisbane. a road i ride a lot and where traffic always flows at 80 kph, (the speed limit) this road has very rough edges and is not easy to pull off. an ambulance with full lights and sirens comes up behind me and i ease over to let it pass. this road is a moderately busy road, i might add with a lot of double white lines. as i get behind this ambulance , he continues to deploy the full sirens this results in every car in front of him , braking and trying to pull over to let him past. they have to slow down to about 30 kph to pull over. as a result, the ambulance is constantly on the brakes, cars are performing dangerous evasive manouveres the ambulance is nearly crossing double white lines he is braking hard and accelerating hard (must be hell if he has a patient) and the whole journey slows to 40 kph. if this cretin had just turned off the siren and lights, we could all have doubled our speed. :-[ :-[/quote] That doesn't make sense. If the Ambulance overtakes you, then catches up to the cars further down the road, who did not slow down because they did not see the lights, then the ambulance has made a faster time. So the ambulance must be going faster on average than if it did not have the emergency lights on. You only need to slow down for a brief period for this to happen. You are not expected to perform any dangerous manoeuvres. You are expected to do it safely, which is why it takes so long for some people to get off the road.

incorrect

the ambo would be held up by a car exiting into the gravel grass and sticks (impossible to do at any sort of speed)  i sat in his slipstream.
after clearing that car, he would then IMMEDIATELY come up behind another car having to slow to about 20 kph to get off the road (avoiding driveways with concrete culverts etc)  then he would clear that car to IMMEDIATELY be behind another car trying to exit to the left at slow speed and unable to clear the road.  this is a fairly busy road, not bumper to bumper but the sort of road that flows at 80 kph but a road you have to wait quite a while to pull out on.
my suzuki digital display which usually registers 80 to 85 was stuck around 40.

very bad news for that heart attack victim

i need a dash cam as this has happened several times

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 8:51am:

If that takes 20 seconds longer than doing it quickly, then take the 20 seconds. .

er.. yes. ambo is now 10 seconds ahead. Traffic that safely fitted into 2 lanes is compressed with lower speeds and less braking room.  Then more drivers slow down to merge left, ambo is 40 seconds behind.   

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 9:11am:

freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 8:04am: [quote author=aquascoot link=1737608200/0#0 date=1737608200]i was on my motorcycle on the 2 lane road in outer suburban brisbane. a road i ride a lot and where traffic always flows at 80 kph, (the speed limit) this road has very rough edges and is not easy to pull off. an ambulance with full lights and sirens comes up behind me and i ease over to let it pass. this road is a moderately busy road, i might add with a lot of double white lines. as i get behind this ambulance , he continues to deploy the full sirens this results in every car in front of him , braking and trying to pull over to let him past. they have to slow down to about 30 kph to pull over. as a result, the ambulance is constantly on the brakes, cars are performing dangerous evasive manouveres the ambulance is nearly crossing double white lines he is braking hard and accelerating hard (must be hell if he has a patient) and the whole journey slows to 40 kph. if this cretin had just turned off the siren and lights, we could all have doubled our speed. :-[ :-[/quote] That doesn't make sense. If the Ambulance overtakes you, then catches up to the cars further down the road, who did not slow down because they did not see the lights, then the ambulance has made a faster time. So the ambulance must be going faster on average than if it did not have the emergency lights on. You only need to slow down for a brief period for this to happen. You are not expected to perform any dangerous manoeuvres. You are expected to do it safely, which is why it takes so long for some people to get off the road. incorrect the ambo would be held up by a car exiting into the gravel grass and sticks (impossible to do at any sort of speed)  i sat in his slipstream. after clearing that car, he would then IMMEDIATELY come up behind another car having to slow to about 20 kph to get off the road (avoiding driveways with concrete culverts etc)  then he would clear that car to IMMEDIATELY be behind another car trying to exit to the left at slow speed and unable to clear the road.  this is a fairly busy road, not bumper to bumper but the sort of road that flows at 80 kph but a road you have to wait quite a while to pull out on. my suzuki digital display which usually registers 80 to 85 was stuck around 40. very bad news for that heart attack victim i need a dash cam as this has happened several times

You are confused Scoot. If the ambulance had to slow down significantly for one car to pull over, it would not "immediately" come up behind the next car, unless it was bumper to bumper traffic. It would gain some time for each vehicle it overtakes.

Think about it over a long time period. If the ambulance overtakes 200 vehicles, then it is a long way in front of where it would have been if it was 200 vehicles further back. The fact that that 200th vehicle has to slow down a bit to pull over does not outweigh all the time gained by overtaking the previous 199 vehicles.

i supopose this road is close to bumper to bumper but does flow at 80.

if you are using assistive cruise control on your car, you would be getting within 3 car lengths most of the time.

if you are trying to pull out of a side street, you will be waiting for maybe 50 cars to go by before you get a small break

if you want to call that bumper to bumper, be my guest

maybe its bumper to bumper travelling at 80 on a road with no safe exit

people trying to pull into their driveways break out in a cold sweat because everyone is up their ass

can you see how (just like cars continually slwoing to pull into their driveway) this reults in a much slower speed

40 kph in fact as opposed to the usual 80.

i know , i ride it most days  ;)

your point about overtaking 200 cars putting it a long way in front is only correct if it is travelling at over 80 kph between cars.

it wasnt

people were starting to slow down to try to get off the road and oncoing traffic prevented it crossing the centreline

its not too difficult a concept to uncerstand surely  ::)

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 9:23am:

can you see how (just like cars continually slwoing to pull into their driveway) this reults in a much slower speed

No.
He is freediver.
He used to be an ambo. Sacked for getting to work-jobs late.

chimera wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 9:27am:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 9:23am: can you see how (just like cars continually slwoing to pull into their driveway) this reults in a much slower speed No. He is freediver. He used to be an ambo. Sacked for getting to work late.

i'm surprised he cant see it

the even MORE dangerous thing about this road (which is lined with 5 acre blocks) is on bin collection day

as the rubbish trucks cant get off the road as the bins are placed immediately adjacent to an 80 kph rd. they very quickly cause a massive line up, all trying to dart around them with oncoming traffic

a very stupid scenario

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 9:27am:

your point about overtaking 200 cars putting it a long way in front is only correct if it is travelling at over 80 kph between cars.

If it didn't, it would not keep overtaking cars, would it?

The reality is somewhere in between your assertion that it immediately gets stuck behind the next car after each one it overtakes, and that it would never catch up to the next car because it cannot go fast enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8HnAseWGXA


here is a video of the very road from a few years ago. it was a bit more congested yesterday.   judge for yourself whether it is flowing and wehther forcing every car to "EXIT STAGE LEFT" would have sped up your journey ::) ::)

Your logic makes no sense, no matter how congested the road is.

The cars ahead hear the siren and all slow down, in sequence, making the ambulance slow down. 200 times.

only scoot is dumb enough to think that ambos use sirens because decades of experience have proven them to slow down their travel time :D :D :D :D :D

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 9:45am:

Your logic makes no sense, no matter how congested the road is.

wow

So which is it scoot? The ambulance travels slower because it "immediately" encounters another car pulling over after each one it overtakes, or the ambulance travels slower because it never catches up to the next vehicle because the traffic is moving so fast?

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 10:22am:

So which is it scoot? The ambulance travels slower because it "immediately" encounters another car pulling over after each one it overtakes, or the ambulance travels slower because it never catches up to the next vehicle because the traffic is moving so fast?

people cruising at 80 to 85 hear the siren and see the ambo coming up 5 cars back. they immediately hit the anchors looking for a safe place to pull off.
because of the prevalence of deep drainage ditches, concrete culverts and driveways, wheelie bins and other paraphenalia, they are taking quite  while to get off.
further up the road some others come to almost a complete stop, such is their panic.

this allows further traffic waiting in side streets to enter the space in front of the unfolding mess, further congesting the road.


my speedo , as i tailgate the ambo slows to 40.
some people only get 1/2 off the road as their car is nearly in the ditch
then people behind them wait for oncoming traffic to clear before dart around them and join in the nonsense

i actually just googled it and the timesaving is an average of 45 seconds per trip.
and since obviously on  a non congested road, they could save a lot of time, on a congested road, they may be going slower bringing down this average to such a mediocre saving
and a 50 % increase in crashes.

in fact, the researchers say that light and sirens should only be used in rare circumstances

maybe this dumb ambo should enlighten himself as should you. ;)

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 10:34am:

i actually just googled it and the timesaving is an average of 45 seconds per trip.

way to shoot yourself in the foot :D :D :D

The scariest part of this whole thread is finding out aquascoot rides a motorbike.

Thank goodness I don't live and drive on the roads in Queensland.

;D

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 10:34am:

freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 10:22am: So which is it scoot? The ambulance travels slower because it "immediately" encounters another car pulling over after each one it overtakes, or the ambulance travels slower because it never catches up to the next vehicle because the traffic is moving so fast? people cruising at 80 to 85 hear the siren and see the ambo coming up 5 cars back. they immediately hit the anchors looking for a safe place to pull off. because of the prevalence of deep drainage ditches, concrete culverts and driveways, wheelie bins and other paraphenalia, they are taking quite  while to get off. further up the road some others come to almost a complete stop, such is their panic. this allows further traffic waiting in side streets to enter the space in front of the unfolding mess, further congesting the road. my speedo , as i tailgate the ambo slows to 40. some people only get 1/2 off the road as their car is nearly in the ditch then people behind them wait for oncoming traffic to clear before dart around them and join in the nonsense i actually just googled it and the timesaving is an average of 45 seconds per trip. and since obviously on  a non congested road, they could save a lot of time, on a congested road, they may be going slower bringing down this average to such a mediocre saving and a 50 % increase in crashes. in fact, the researchers say that light and sirens should only be used in rare circumstances maybe this dumb ambo should enlighten himself as should you. ;)

You are getting angry over something you obviously do not understand Scoot. Just drive safely, make way for emergency vehicles when you can, and enjoy the rest of your day. You ae a busy man with important tasks to do.


Quote:

people cruising at 80 to 85 hear the siren and see the ambo coming up 5 cars back

So after overtaking 200 cars, is the ambulance trip faster or slower than if it had not overtaken any cars?

BTW, just another technical detail - people do not hear the siren on busy roads, especially in modern cars if the windows are up, air con on and music is playing. They see the lights first. I cannot remember the last time an emergency vehicle past me with both lights and siren on. They often don't even bother with the siren. Maybe they save it for the suburbs where you can't see as far.

The ambo can do 100kmh on 80k roads. This is in patches between cars where he drops to 40k.

Doing 100k all the way for 20kms saves 3 minutes on 80k.
Staying with 80k traffic saves nothing.
A siren at 40k on congested roads plus 100k patches will eventually reach the 200th car doing 40k. It's low dividend return as 200 cars are worth heaps and injury is possible.  A few seconds plus or minus.

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 12:16pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 10:34am: freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 10:22am: So which is it scoot? The ambulance travels slower because it "immediately" encounters another car pulling over after each one it overtakes, or the ambulance travels slower because it never catches up to the next vehicle because the traffic is moving so fast? people cruising at 80 to 85 hear the siren and see the ambo coming up 5 cars back. they immediately hit the anchors looking for a safe place to pull off. because of the prevalence of deep drainage ditches, concrete culverts and driveways, wheelie bins and other paraphenalia, they are taking quite  while to get off. further up the road some others come to almost a complete stop, such is their panic. this allows further traffic waiting in side streets to enter the space in front of the unfolding mess, further congesting the road. my speedo , as i tailgate the ambo slows to 40. some people only get 1/2 off the road as their car is nearly in the ditch then people behind them wait for oncoming traffic to clear before dart around them and join in the nonsense i actually just googled it and the timesaving is an average of 45 seconds per trip. and since obviously on  a non congested road, they could save a lot of time, on a congested road, they may be going slower bringing down this average to such a mediocre saving and a 50 % increase in crashes. in fact, the researchers say that light and sirens should only be used in rare circumstances maybe this dumb ambo should enlighten himself as should you. ;) You are getting angry over something you obviously do not understand Scoot. Just drive safely, make way for emergency vehicles when you can, and enjoy the rest of your day. You ae a busy man with important tasks to do. Quote: people cruising at 80 to 85 hear the siren and see the ambo coming up 5 cars back So after overtaking 200 cars, is the ambulance trip faster or slower than if it had not overtaken any cars? BTW, just another technical detail - people do not hear the siren on busy roads, especially in modern cars if the windows are up, air con on and music is playing. They see the lights first. I cannot remember the last time an emergency vehicle past me with both lights and siren on. They often don't even bother with the siren. Maybe they save it for the suburbs where you can't see as far.

if he overtook 200 cars which had all slowed to snails pace looking for a place to get over the verge , he has overtaken 200 cars doing walking pace.

he has lengthened his journey

this was my "lived experience"

the time meant nothing to me

i just dont like seeing people being mindless numpties

by the way, when only john smith is defending you its time for a radical reappraisal

Quote:

if he overtook 200 cars which had all slowed to snails pace looking for a place to get over the verge , he has overtaken 200 cars doing walking pace. he has lengthened his journey

How do you overtake 200 cars while travelling slower than all 200 of them?


Quote:

this was my "lived experience"

This is you getting angry over something you do not understand.

Perhaps he meant to type "livid experience"?

It's probably that pesky phone causing him trouble - again.  :-/

freediver wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 2:16pm:

Quote: if he overtook 200 cars which had all slowed to snails pace looking for a place to get over the verge , he has overtaken 200 cars doing walking pace. he has lengthened his journey How do you overtake 200 cars while travelling slower than all 200 of them? [quote]this was my "lived experience"

This is you getting angry over something you do not understand.[/quote]


when the ambulance was able to overtake, they had slowed to 20 kph and had 1/2 their car in a ditch.

thats how :)

freediver has a pedal tricycle

I'm with Scoot on this one.

What the Ambo did may have very slightly reduced their over-all travel time but sounds like they greatly increased the risk of an incident for a small saving.

Traveling at a slightly increased speed makes very minimal total savings.
We've all seen the freeway speeder fly past then 20 mins later when you pull into the servo  you can see he got there 90 something seconds before you.

In built up areas, the main thing that saves emergency vehicles time is not going faster, but using their siren to get through red lights and use the opposite side of the road to get thru a blocked section.

In Scoots example, a long line of traffic was moving consistently at 80. If there was good verge on both side then using the siren would make sense but if cars have to pull over into a dangerous area and slow down considerably, sounds like sticking to 80 in this case makes better sense.

UnSubRocky wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2025 at 4:13pm:

Weird to blame the ambulance driver for something that car drivers should be able to do without much trouble. Drivers are only required to slow down and pull over to the side of the road to let emergency vehicles pass. No matter how good the road may be, any licenced driver should be able to pull over to the side of the road momentarily and let emergency vehicles gets by.

If you're doing 80 and there is no verge with rocky terrain and you're in a car with not much ground clearance and very low profile tyres, you'd need to slow down to nearly 10.

In my car I could put 2 wheels in the dirt at 80, in my wifes car, more like at 20.
My daughter who's only had her Ps for a few months would need longer to safely slow down and would probably need to slow down to 10.

Every combination of car and driver would be very different.

Ambos need to have V snow ploughs on them.

and 20 ambulances following behind for the injuries.

I'll get a picture of the road

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 4:38pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 2:16pm: Quote: if he overtook 200 cars which had all slowed to snails pace looking for a place to get over the verge , he has overtaken 200 cars doing walking pace. he has lengthened his journey How do you overtake 200 cars while travelling slower than all 200 of them? [quote]this was my "lived experience" This is you getting angry over something you do not understand.

when the ambulance was able to overtake, they had slowed to 20 kph and had 1/2 their car in a ditch.

thats how :)[/quote]

You are not making any sense Scoot. How does slowing to 20 km/h allow the ambulance to overtake 200 vehicles that are all travelling faster than it? Are you saying all 200 vehicles pull over at the same time?


Gordon wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 6:28pm:

I'm with Scoot on this one. What the Ambo did may have very slightly reduced their over-all travel time

So you are with Scoot, but disagree on his main point?

freediver wrote on Jan 25^th, 2025 at 10:02am:

How does slowing to 20 km/h allow the ambulance to overtake 200 vehicles that are all travelling faster than it? Are you saying all 200 vehicles pull over at the same time?

This is getting worse.

huh.


pretend you are the ambulance driver
pretend you are travelling at 80 kph and in front of you is an endless chain of cars doing 80.
pretend there are double white lines'
pretend that there is a dangerous verge with loose gravel, long grass, driveways with concrete bollards, trees and drainage ditches (obscured by the grass).

now you cant overtake as there is an endless stream of oncoming traffic.

so you speed up to 90, come up behind a driver and put on lights and sirens.

what is he supposed to do?
the only way he can clear out of your path is to pull off to the left.
a manouvere which is impossible to do at speed without killing himself
so he slows down to pull over
as gordon said, he may have to slow to a near stop to safely get off the road
an all the time he is slowing, you are stuck slowing as well.

now the next guy up the road sees you running that guy off the road with your lights and sirens and he starts to slow and look off to the left for a possible exit point

so please tell me what you are achieving by having every car in front of you jamm on the brakes , on a road where you cant go across the middle line

please enlighten me on how cars going at 80 which are now braking are speeding up your journey ?

me thinks you are just too stubborn to admit you got it wrong  :'( :'( :'(
s

Quote:

please enlighten me on how cars going at 80 which are now braking are speeding up your journey ?

Because you overtake them and then speed up. You even said it yourself:


Quote:

so you speed up to 90

Now can you explain how an ambulance can overtake 200 cars when it is travelling slower than all of them? If the journey takes longer, as you claim, how does it catch up to the 200th car in front of it?

If you ask me, it is not the ambulance drivers that are stupid.

freediver wrote on Jan 25^th, 2025 at 10:02am:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 4:38pm: freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 2:16pm: Quote: if he overtook 200 cars which had all slowed to snails pace looking for a place to get over the verge , he has overtaken 200 cars doing walking pace. he has lengthened his journey How do you overtake 200 cars while travelling slower than all 200 of them? [quote]this was my "lived experience" This is you getting angry over something you do not understand. when the ambulance was able to overtake, they had slowed to 20 kph and had 1/2 their car in a ditch. thats how :)

You are not making any sense Scoot. How does slowing to 20 km/h allow the ambulance to overtake 200 vehicles that are all travelling faster than it? Are you saying all 200 vehicles pull over at the same time?


Gordon wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 6:28pm:

I'm with Scoot on this one. What the Ambo did may have very slightly reduced their over-all travel time

So you are with Scoot, but disagree on his main point?[/quote]

I said MAY have, and slightly, but it really does seem like a case of making a lot of danger for the a small amount of time possibly saved.

Quote:

making a lot of danger

They are not making any danger. You are required to drive safely, including when making way for emergency vehicles. From way I have seen, everyone does.

Despite his road rage arising from his lack of understanding, I think even Scoot would have driven safely.


Quote:

I said MAY have

In the scenario described above, where an ambulance overtakes 200 vehicles, do you agree with Scoot that the Ambulance's journey would take longer?

Young drivers or women on a congested lane with no verge can panic at the lights and siren. 1 in 200 is likely.

I have panicked before and probably done the wrong thing.

But not the unsafe thing.

So you slow down and merge left when Captain Siren roars into town?

Gnads wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2025 at 6:30pm:

UnSubRocky wrote on Jan 23rd, 2025 at 4:13pm: Weird to blame the ambulance driver for something that car drivers should be able to do without much trouble. Drivers are only required to slow down and pull over to the side of the road to let emergency vehicles pass. No matter how good the road may be, any licenced driver should be able to pull over to the side of the road momentarily and let emergency vehicles gets by. When Ambulances come up behind you you don't see them or hear sirens until they are reasonably close .. it's nothing like them coming toward you. You don't seem to have a grasp on any reality much do you? As far as "reasonable" drivers go I'd say you aint one of them.... posting videos of how fast you get from A to B in the greater Rocky city. ::)

With your windows up, airconditioning on, music playing, you should still be able to see and hear an ambulance coming up behind your car. And if you are not looking into your rear view mirror every so often, you are not paying much attention as to what is going on.

It has been a while since I posted videos of me driving around town. Got bored of that fairly quickly.

what speed would freediver exit this road , when a dumb ambo comes up behind him and puts on lights and sirens  ::)

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Scoot, how do you catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front of you, if you are travelling slower than it? I'll give you a hint, you don't need to take lots of photos to figure it out.

Are you sure it is the ambos that are dumb?

hi there dumb dumb,

the number 200 was brought up by YOU in reply 15.

i doubt the dumb ambo caught up to a dozen, because he had to slow to a stop to get around each car which (as you can see) has nowhere to pull over.

and i note after driving at a very slow speed, as terrified drivers tried to pull over into a ditch, he then came to an intersection where traffic was pouring out in front of him.


so i'll ask again

dont lie and state "200 cars"

just tell me what speed you would SLOW DOWN TO to exit the above road.

take your time  ::)

Quote:

as terrified drivers

What makes you think anyone other than you was terrified? This is what you are really angry about isn't it? Not the ambulance's journey time, but about how scared it made you feel, for a purpose that is impossible for you to comprehend? It is not you who is stupid, it is the ambulance drivers, for doing complicated things that make you feel all hot and bothered.


Quote:

the number 200 was brought up by YOU in reply 15.

Yes. I was hoping to help you understand why you are wrong, using a very simple example. Keep trying, you will figure it out eventually.

Now, can you explain how the ambulance would be able to catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front if it is travelling slower than it?

freediver wrote on Jan 27^th, 2025 at 3:06pm:

Quote: as terrified drivers What makes you think anyone other than you was terrified? This is what you are really angry about isn't it? Not the ambulance's journey time, but about how scared it made you feel, for a purpose that is impossible for you to comprehend? It is not you who is stupid, it is the ambulance drivers, for doing complicated things that make you feel all hot and bothered. [quote]the number 200 was brought up by YOU in reply 15.

Yes. I was hoping to help you understand why you are wrong, using a very simple example. Keep trying, you will figure it out eventually.

Now, can you explain how the ambulance would be able to catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front if it is travelling slower than it?[/quote]


why would i be terrified dumb dumb
i was on a bike.
he easily got past me.

it was watching the spectacle of car drivers trying to pull off a dangerous road which i found disturbing and his slower speed i found inefficient.

where did i say i was angry or terrified?

i think you are angry because your realise you are wrong

now

1  admit YOU said 200 cars, i certainly didnt. i saw him run bout 6 off the road.

2  tell us what speed you would slow down to to clear that lane (and remember as you are trying to clear the lane you have a tailgating , light flashing , sirens blaring vehicle behind you running you off the road  :'( :'(

over to you  ;)

Ah. You were disturbed, not terrified.

freediver wrote on Jan 28^th, 2025 at 8:10am:

Ah. You were disturbed, not terrified.

im disturbed by your inability to answer a simple question.


looking at my picture of the roadside and assuming you were travelling at 80 kph and the ambulance came up and tailgated you, what speed would YOU exit the road at


if you arent going to slow down the ambo, you better say 80

  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D >:(

Obviously I cannot answer that based on a photo. Nothing beats actually being there. What I can assure you is that I would be able to do it safely.

But one thing you can resolve in writing, without even using pictures, is your logic.

Can you explain how an ambulance would be able to catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front, if the ambulance is travelling slower than it? Yes I know this is a question I asked, so no need to remind me of that. It is your answer to the question, and the faulty logic behind it, that I am asking about. I think you will find that once you overcome your lack of understanding, you will experience far less road rage. Or "road disturbance" if you prefer. Have you ever tried not calling everyone else an idiot for long enough to think about what you are saying?

freediver wrote on Jan 28^th, 2025 at 12:15pm:

Obviously I cannot answer that based on a photo. Nothing beats actually being there. What I can assure you is that I would be able to do it safely. But one thing you can resolve in writing, without even using pictures, is your logic. Can you explain how an ambulance would be able to catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front, if the ambulance is travelling slower than it? Yes I know this is a question I asked, so no need to remind me of that. It is your answer to the question, and the faulty logic behind it, that I am asking about. I think you will find that once you overcome your lack of understanding, you will experience far less road rage. Or "road disturbance" if you prefer.

incorrect

YOU said 200 cars in post 15

i would estimate he overtook about 6.
each car was SLOWING DOWN but staying on the road, sometimes for 100 to 200 metres looking for a safe place to pull over, often with them at a near stop.

and the ones in front started doing likewise.

the flow of traffic at 80  slowed to 40 (according to my trusty suzuki digital display.

then we came over the hill to a set of lights where cars were pouring around the corner and occuppying the road in front of the dumb ambo.

if he had let the traffic travel at 80 , he would have reached that intersection earlier and had less traffic in front of him


i know you are terrified that you are wrong but confession is good for the soul .
confess your error  :)

Quote:

incorrect YOU said 200 cars in post 15

I am not claiming you came up with the question.


Quote:

i would estimate he overtook about 6.

You also complained that after overtaking each vehicle, it would immediately come up behind another vehicle that pulling over.

You can't have it both ways Scoot. Either the traffic is congested enough and the ambulance is constantly overtaking vehicles as you initially suggested, or the traffic is sparse enough for the ambulance to get a decent run between each vehicle. Either way, the ambulance ends up travelling faster. You even provided the evidence that proves this to be the case.

Can you explain how an ambulance would be able to catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front, if the ambulance is travelling slower than it? Yes I know this is a question I asked, so no need to remind me of that. It is your answer to the question, and the faulty logic behind it, that I am asking about. I think you will find that once you overcome your lack of understanding, you will experience far less road rage. Or "road disturbance" if you prefer.


Quote:

then we came over the hill to a set of lights

I have only seen traffic lights work in the emergency vehicles favour. People clear the intersection for it and let it through, even if it has a red light. You are letting your imagination run wild with this one.

Here you go Scoot. I did not force you to say this:


aquascoot wrote on Jan 24^th, 2025 at 12:56pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 24th, 2025 at 12:16pm: So after overtaking 200 cars, is the ambulance trip faster or slower than if it had not overtaken any cars? if he overtook 200 cars which had all slowed to snails pace looking for a place to get over the verge , he has overtaken 200 cars doing walking pace. he has lengthened his journey

Can you explain how an ambulance would be able to catch up to and overtake a vehicle that is 200 cars in front, if the ambulance is travelling slower than it? Yes I know this is a question I asked, so no need to remind me of that. It is your answer to the question, and the faulty logic behind it, that I am asking about. I think you will find that once you overcome your lack of understanding, you will experience far less road rage. Or "road disturbance" if you prefer.

hi  there freediver

when the ambo put on the lights and sirens cars in front saw the fiasco in their rear vision mirrors i assume and all began slowing so they could find a way off the road and out of the way of the "road raging ambo"

such safe places to pull off were few and far between so drivers had to drive slowly looking for such a spot.

and as i have pointed out repeatedly , NEW TRAFFIC is always trying to enter this road.

it is usually unable to because of the flow of traffic doing the limit (80)

but thanks to this disturbed anbo, now they were pulling out including at the lights which we arrived at after a journey at 40 kph and which brought fresh obstacles for the enraged tailgating ambo.

i myself was calm as always , being a superior man

Quote:

and as i have pointed out repeatedly , NEW TRAFFIC is always trying to enter this road.

So in addition to there being nowhere convenient to pull over, there are lots of side roads?

freediver wrote on Jan 28^th, 2025 at 1:26pm:

Quote: and as i have pointed out repeatedly , NEW TRAFFIC is always trying to enter this road. So in addition to there being nowhere convenient to pull over, there are lots of side roads?

yep, what speed do you have to slow down to do a turn

i suppose you do them at 80 kph so as not to slow terrified angry ambos up your bum  :D

So in summary, your argument is that flashing lights increase ambulance travel time because:

a) You found a study proving that they reduce travel time, which (see below) proves that they increase travel time.

b) There is nowhere convenient for traffic to pull over, which combined with lots of side roads with traffic waiting to enter, creates a double whammy effect where the ambulance gets slowed down twice.

3) The traffic is so congested that after overtaking a car, the ambulance immediately gets stuck behind the next car that is pulling over, combined with the traffic being so free flowing that the ambulance never actually catches up to the next vehicle and the road ahead is so empty that the long queue of cars waiting at the side roads (caused by the traffic being so congested) enters the traffic before they see the flashing lights. This is a triple whammy, which combined with the previous double whammy, creates a whammy-whammy-whammy-whammy-whammy effect, meaning the ambulance actually travels backwards.

iv) You once tailgated an ambulance, which proves you have more "lived experience" than actual ambulance drivers. This one is only a single whammy, unless we include all the occasions where you did not tailgate an ambulance.

v) You are a superior man, so you must be right, so travel times must be slower, which supports your argument, thus proving that you are a superior man.

f) You guess the ambulance overtook 6 cars. You know this because of your lived experience.

f) That's like 9 whammies. If each whammy slows the ambulance down by 10 seconds, that makes the travel time a minute and a half slower.

good summary

my suzuki speedometer concurs

aquascoot wrote on Jan 27^th, 2025 at 1:29pm:

what speed would freediver exit this road , when a dumb ambo comes up behind him and puts on lights and sirens  ::)

no one asked you to pull into the ditch you dumbarse. You pull over as far left as it is safe to do so, you don't even have to come to a stop, and the ambo's will take care of the rest.

John Smith wrote on Jan 28^th, 2025 at 5:05pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 27th, 2025 at 1:29pm: what speed would freediver exit this road , when a dumb ambo comes up behind him and puts on lights and sirens  ::) no one asked you to pull into the ditch you dumbarse. You pull over as far left as it is safe to do so, you don't even have to come to a stop, and the ambo's will take care of the rest.

It's a worry for FD that you are his only supporter.

How slow would you be happy to exit the road in picture 2
Bearing in mind most of the road is like that

And will the ambo be travelling slower if there is 1 km of ditch on the side.
I'm happy to provide more photos to show that is the case


Do you think tailgating a motorist for 1 km and expecting then to find a safe spot to exit is a good strategy ?

Quote:

It's a worry for FD that you are his only supporter.

Everyone except you agrees with me. You are not required to drive dangerously in order to make way for emergency vehicles. You are required to do it safely. That's what everyone does. The road rage is up to you, but you will have a much nicer day if you don't stress about it.

Do you consider an ambulance driver tailgating a 18 yo P plater for over  kilometre
On a narrow road with no verge and lots of oncoming traffic in an 80 zone  and double white lines to be appropriate behaviour.

I consider THAT to be road rage

aquascoot wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 9:59am:

Do you consider an ambulance driver tailgating a 18 yo P plater for over  kilometre On a narrow road with no verge and lots of oncoming traffic in an 80 zone  and double white lines to be appropriate behaviour. I consider THAT to be road rage

Does everyone else's road rage make you feel angry Scoot?

aquascoot wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 8:08am:

It's a worry for FD that you are his only supporter. How slow would you be happy to exit the road in picture 2 Bearing in mind most of the road is like that And will the ambo be travelling slower if there is 1 km of ditch on the side. I'm happy to provide more photos to show that is the case Do you think tailgating a motorist for 1 km and expecting then to find a safe spot to exit is a good strategy ?

I don't support FD.. I just call out stupid comments and in this instance, FD has called you out on it too. You already admitted they save time by using the siren . The rest is just you cementing your stupidity. Adding more photos won't help you. Did you really think that the ambos expect you to drive into the ditch just because they're using a siren?  ;D ;D ;D

You should hand in your license and stick to riding your jackass in a paddock .. it'll be far safer for you

freediver wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 11:34am:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 29th, 2025 at 9:59am: Do you consider an ambulance driver tailgating a 18 yo P plater for over  kilometre On a narrow road with no verge and lots of oncoming traffic in an 80 zone  and double white lines to be appropriate behaviour. I consider THAT to be road rage Does everyone else's road rage make you feel angry Scoot?

well it could have been one of my daughters being tailgated for no purpose

aquascoot wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 1:51pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 29th, 2025 at 11:34am: aquascoot wrote on Jan 29th, 2025 at 9:59am: Do you consider an ambulance driver tailgating a 18 yo P plater for over  kilometre On a narrow road with no verge and lots of oncoming traffic in an 80 zone  and double white lines to be appropriate behaviour. I consider THAT to be road rage Does everyone else's road rage make you feel angry Scoot? well it could have been one of my daughters being tailgated for no purpose

I can understand you getting angry over things that make no sense to you.

freediver wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 2:01pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 29th, 2025 at 1:51pm: freediver wrote on Jan 29th, 2025 at 11:34am: aquascoot wrote on Jan 29th, 2025 at 9:59am: Do you consider an ambulance driver tailgating a 18 yo P plater for over  kilometre On a narrow road with no verge and lots of oncoming traffic in an 80 zone  and double white lines to be appropriate behaviour. I consider THAT to be road rage Does everyone else's road rage make you feel angry Scoot? well it could have been one of my daughters being tailgated for no purpose I can understand you getting angry over things that make no sense to you.

not angry
more dissappointed in stupidity.

and if 45 seconds is the AVERAGE saving, then since some journeys save many minutes, some (like this one )  cost time.

45 seconds average saving

is it worth it ?
to go to a ramped casualty  ::)

Quote:

and if 45 seconds is the AVERAGE saving, then since some journeys save many minutes, some (like this one )  cost time

I see. So when your own evidence disproves you, just make something up?

You must get "disappointed" a lot, being constantly surrounded by idiots who do not recognise your superiority.

aquascoot wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 1:51pm:

well it could have been one of my daughters being tailgated for no purpose

and if it was one of your daughters who'd had a heart attack but ambos took minutes longer then they should because idiots like you don't want to get out of the way? Would that make you feel better?

Seriously, hand your license in before you kill someone.

freediver wrote on Jan 29^th, 2025 at 3:23pm:

Quote: and if 45 seconds is the AVERAGE saving, then since some journeys save many minutes, some (like this one )  cost time I see. So when your own evidence disproves you, just make something up? You must get "disappointed" a lot, being constantly surrounded by idiots who do not recognise your superiority.

nah, they are happy on their journey and im happy on mine.

validation seeking is very low status