EMERGENCY VEHICLES OBSTRUCTED BY SELFISH INDIVIDUALS

There have been a number of reported cases involving emergency vehicles being blocked in both by accident and on purpose and ambulances being damaged by members of the public.

In Merseyside on pensioner being transported to hospital died when gang members obstructed the ambulance by lying on the bonnet and banging the sides of the vehicle. The patient suffered from a massive heart attack.

Another patient died shortly after arriving at hospital when he was held up for more than 10 minutes by his neighbour. The ambulance crew had parked their ambulance on a shared driveway. The neighbour then moved her car to load her dogs into the boot, which blocked the ambulance in. She did not move her vehicle for up to 10 minutes after being asked the first time. When her case went to court, her defence was that visitors shouldn’t park on the shared driveway but on the road instead. She went on to say that she got irritated when she couldn’t get out.

No matter where you are in the world, the emergency services carry out an incredibly important job. Any emergency vehicle comes at a price and the vehicle and its contents are extremely valuable. However, one woman in Australia decided to set two ambulances alight causing significant damage to them both, along with stealing another ambulance from the station and setting it on fire nearby.

Finally when a taxi driver found his car to be blocked in, he took matters into his own hands. The man jumped into the ambulance and moved the vehicle down the road in order to retrieve his own vehicle before driving off. The paramedics were attending to a one-month-old baby at the time and were preparing to take them into hospital. Not only was the man liable for obstructing an emergency worker to carry out their duties, but also taking a vehicle without consent.

Emily Smith of Britannia Driving School said: “We all understand the frustration when we are held up or blocked in by another vehicle. Yet we must remember that one day the police, paramedics or fire fighters may be attending to somebody we know or even ourselves. They carry out a job where a matter of minutes could make all the difference. Please remember to be patient!”

What are your thoughts on this article? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below: