# How often do emergency vehicles get into accidents? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 9, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089 "2018-04-09T16:33:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/21 "2018-04-10T12:28:52Z")
Just because an emergency response vehicle is traveling with with lights and sirens does not mean other road users won’t cause an accident. We had an ambulance end up in an accident while they were running hot carrying a patient to the hospital. Another vehicle ran a stop sign and the ambulance swerved to try to avoid a collision. Unfortunately the ambulance did hit the other vehicle but more damage was done as they hit a building when they swerved. And, as luck would have it, it was a nearly new ambulance. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/22 "2018-04-10T13:28:24Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > The ambulance would inch along through traffic, lights on, sirens ringing, no one moving out of the way. There would be an announcement blared out that said something like, “when you see lights and hear a siren, you must move out of the way.” The police would start handing out tickets. Sometimes it helped, and sometimes it didn’t. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world. People can be real assholes. It’s like that here as well. I calm myself by picturing karma catching up to them. They get into an accident and are bleeding to death in the gutter. The last thing they hear as they slide into oblivion is a siren in the distance that won’t make it there in time because people won’t get out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/23 "2018-04-10T18:05:53Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Older (immediately post WW2 era) fire engines in the UK did not have interior baffles which meant that the water inside could slosh around and they had to go around corners very slowly. Cite? This seems very unlikely. People have been putting anti-slosh baffles in tanks since the early days of steam engines. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/24 "2018-04-10T18:20:14Z")
Many of the major intersections in the greater metropolitan Chicago area have sensors on the traffic signals that can be triggered by approaching emergency vehicles so that, by the time they reach the intersections, the traffic lights are green for them and red for cross traffic. This definitely has helped reduce accidents. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/25 "2018-04-10T18:44:21Z")
Based on several posts above, it seems ambulances cover more non-emergency miles than I suspected; ignorance fought, thanks. This might explain why a smaller percentage of their crashes happen in emergency mode than for fire trucks: emergency mode may be comparably dangerous for both types of vehicle, but ambulances perhaps have a higher percentage of non-emergency miles than fire trucks. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/26 "2018-04-10T19:21:31Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > My city has had at least two serious collisions _between_ emergency vehicles. We were taught if there are multiple emergency vehicles with sirens on that they should be using different tones. That the public is used to pulling over/stopping for **A** (single) emergency vehicle & then going back about their driving. With different siren tones they’ll realize that there is more than one emergency vehicle. Further, if the two vehicles in these crashes each had the same tone & they were synced up, it would be impossible to hear the other one (assuming it was at an intersection). Still, at least one of them should have stopped, or at least slowed & made sure it was clear before proceeding. That operator is at fault & quite possible received a ticket for it (PD doesn’t always have as much leeway, especially in an accident, especially if there are injuries & municipal apparatus is damaged.) ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/27 "2018-04-10T21:15:13Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > Yeah I have a friend on FB who’s an EMT and he posts some harrowing shit sometimes. I’m pretty sure that as mass shootings and terrorism continue to be a problem, “tactical medics” will become more and more of a thing with police departments/ambulance services. There are a lot of trained military medics who could step into that role in civilian life if they have the desire to keep at it. Sharkwife’s beat was Spanish Harlem in NYC (retired now) and FDNY issued bulletproof vests to EMS. I made her wear one on NYE and 4th of July, but it was too hot and bulky to wear all of the time. Sad state of affairs. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/28 "2018-05-07T16:58:35Z")
**Moderator Action** This is now the topic of one of Cecil’s columns. Moving thread from GQ to Comments on Cecil’s Columns/Staff Reports. Link to the column is here: [How often do emergency vehicles get into accidents? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/9797/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089/29 "2018-05-08T06:35:31Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > Aren’t some of them jointed, with a second cab in the back to help steer properly? These are caller tillers and most of them are aerials (with the big ladder): [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&biw=1280&bih=605&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=k0TxWqHkAYL-zgLMmI7oAg&q=fire+truck+tiller&oq=fire+truck+tiller&gs\_l=img.12...0.0.0.41468.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.img..0.0.0....0.8gcvfgk4Slo](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&biw=1280&bih=605&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=k0TxWqHkAYL-zgLMmI7oAg&q=fire+truck+tiller&oq=fire+truck+tiller&gs_l=img.12...0.0.0.41468.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.img..0.0.0....0.8gcvfgk4Slo) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-emergency-vehicles-get-into-accidents/812089.md?page=1)