Morning Lineup – December 3

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t see a news item about a serious vehicle accident involving fire or EMS trucks.  Of course, many people will point out that not only are there thousands of trucks and ambulances on the road every day, but they are often driving under emergency conditions, usually on streets that are congested with traffic.

I agree, that is a valid point.  But something that is never said out loud is that many times the vehicle is being driven by somebody who has marginal driving skills.  Sometimes, too, they are not actively thinking vigorously about what they are doing.  Driving a heavy vehicle through hostile traffic conditions requires more than skill.  It also demands constant mental activity to not only recognize hazards but to maintain safe driving practices every second.

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These days the driving skills needed for any vehicle are not being instilled in young people when they are learning how to drive.  Back in the 1980′s the state that I live in adopted a policy of handing out a driver’s license to any warm-blooded creature that walks on its hind legs.  Previously there was a rigorous testing procedure that required both knowledge and skill to be exhibited before a license would be issued.  But a sudden influx of applicants due to population growth overwhelmed the DMV and they cut standards instead of expanding their workforce.

The results were immediate….a dramatic increase in the accident rates and a resultant jump in insurance premium costs.  Compounding this was the generational decision of parents to rely solely on the school systems to teach the immature youngsters “driver education” instead of teaching their kids themselves.

I don’t need to go into my usual rant about the collapse of public education in order to illustrate the folly in that decision.  After all those years of “driver education” the 16-to-23 yr. age group is still far and away the most accident-prone.  They are not being taught.

So now fire departments and ambulance services, both public and private, are getting new-hires that are the most part poorly trained and unaware of safe driving practices.  It is incumbent on these agencies to start spending more time and resources on genuine driver’s education.  Whenever a fire engine or an ambulance suddenly goes off the road, it is sometimes but seldom caused by the wrath of God or a broken steering arm.

While human nature decrees that there will be the occasional slip-up, Firegeezer believes that in most cases it is due to a lapse in concentration or a lack of skills in handling heavy vehicles under emergency conditions.  All agencies are obliged to spend time and resources to better prevent these types of accidents.

Now let’s get the equipment checked out.  I’m going to get the coffee started.