Speeding to the ER?

[boost4me]

When my wife was pregnant I was speeding to the hospital that was 40 miles away, I got pulled over, and as soon as the officer got to my window I told him my wife is having a baby. He looked in and radio'd ahead that I'm heading through the area. He even escorted me to the county line, it was cool as hell. He just told me to keep it under 70 (speed limit at the time was 55).

That's pretty cool man... Good for him!

 

[THE_EVIL_TW1N]

People are posting as if an ambulance were a taxi ride. They have full medical equipment necessary to help stabilize a patient if need be.

Who here works in a trauma center? It takes time for doctors and nurses to prep for an incoming patient. Dumping off a body isn't always the best and most efficient solution.

 

[Double"O"]

People are posting as if an ambulance were a taxi ride. They have full medical equipment necessary to help stabilize a patient if need be.

Who here works in a trauma center? It takes time for doctors and nurses to prep for an incoming patient. Dumping off a body isn't always the best and most efficient solution.

No shit! People dont understand that...not only that we have other stuff goin on at the same time. Hard to just drop what we are doing and rub the patient that was just carried in

With an ambulance call we have time to get the rght people and equipment in plave and we also get the blessing of knowing what we are walking into

 

[boost4me]

People are posting as if an ambulance were a taxi ride. They have full medical equipment necessary to help stabilize a patient if need be.

Who here works in a trauma center? It takes time for doctors and nurses to prep for an incoming patient. Dumping off a body isn't always the best and most efficient solution.

hmm, certainly worthy of consideration.

 

[Spudz]

Boost4me, you're coming into this thread with the wrong attitude. If you're one of those "cops are a scourge on our society" nutbags, then don't bring that in here. There's other places you can rant about that stuff.

I applaud the LEOs that actually take time to give their opinions in here, because it does help the rest of us. If I had gotten pulled over doing 90-100 that time I was driving to the house fire, I would've accepted it with my best foot forward. They're just doing their jobs. I definitely wasn't in the best mindset to be doing that on a crowded highway.

Sometimes a situation is just shit wall to wall and there are no winners when that sort of stuff happens.

 

[TonyUMD]

Discretion, discretion... Some departments allow more than others.
Where i work, we have 4 major hospitals within 20 miles or each other, and a few walk-in clinics in between, which can help stabilize a patient.
I've stopped reckless drivers going to the ER. I've helped some get there quicker, I've given most a citation, and I've also told some to slow down.

Brian in your case, where the ER is so far away, IMO you can always call 911 and let them know what you have and that you need to get to the ER quickly.


Jason, Omar is a trained baby-delivery professional :coolman: He would pull you over and take care of the problem oke:

I did this once taking my wife to the hospital when she was having contractions. It was 4:30am and nobody else was on the road. I wouldn't have stopped if a leo was trying to pull me over. Based on her contractions it seemed like she was much further along than she really was, but the baby was rolling on the cord and causing irregular heartbeats. I would have just handed the officer my keys and let him impound my vehicle while I rushed her in the hospital and just hoped he understood.

Same thing will be happening again in early June. :beer:

 

[musclefan21]

I couldnt give a 50 mile escort. I also couldnt give an escort because if something were to happen, it would be all on me on why i didnt call an ambo. At least this way here. So, if someone is speeding to ER in a real emergency situation, I am not going to write them anything and call an ambulance to the scene. I can't let you go on your own in that situation as I said it would be my responsibility at that point.

Now if they are driving crazy, then I would issue them a citation because their driving could do more damage than good.

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

Likely a ticket while you wait for an ambulance to arrive at the traffic stop. It's all at the discretion of the officer though. 55 miles at a high rate of speed really ups the chances of killing both of you though as well as other people on the road.

However, it does not 'up' the probability of a crash by very much. I agree that it does up the applied forces (kinetic energy) if, and only if, a crash occurs. But no crash did occur.

I suspect the OP wasn't driving with reckless abandon, but was in fact very focused and was highly alert, slowing down when passing traffic and paying close attention to traffic conditions at traffic instersections, etc...

Speed plays only a small part in the probability of crashing as compared to paying attention.

I hit triples nearly everyday for extended periods when the situation is appropriate.

 

[Dizzyscure1]

Personally I would do what I had to to make sure my family or friends are taken care of, just be intelligent about how you speed, keeps you eyes open and aware, don't run red lights or stop signs, and I guess I have mixed feelings about pulling over for a LEO in a emergency as I've seen videos where that happened and the officer would not let them continue even when the situation was obvious so unless it's a fella I know personally I'd just keep going and of course call 911 and let them know the situation and why I'm doing what I'm doing.

 

[Dizzyscure1]

Op are you saying there are no emergency services near you? What if your wife were to code on the way? Do you know what to do? Do have the equipment to handle a medical emergency in your car?

I would gladly pay the 1000 for trained professionals with the proper equipment to take my wife to the hospital vice me driving like a crazy dude to the hospital with her in the car with me. Sometimes i know there is little choice but the ambulance is the smarter one

Of course the ambulance is but sometimes it's just not practical to wait for them.

 

[ArmedSuspect]

with my wife's health issues i've been down this road a lot. i've waited for rescue to arrive, linked up with rescue between my location and the hospital and finally driven her the entire way.

in every situation i made the best call possible to get her the care she needed. i always call dispatch (911) and inform them of the emergency and if i'm on the move i give them my location, route and destination. not that i would ever plan on it getting me out of a ticket but it goes a long way when proving my intentions.

several times i've linked up with paramedics while on the way. i was able to package her up, get moving and catch them long before they could have gotten to us. this method has literally been a life saver a few times.

when i'm taking her in, either half way or all the way, i keep my speed reasonable and adjust according to weather, traffic and location. the worst situation i've had involved administering an EpiPen while driving and talking to EOC (hands free call)

OP, i hope you never have to go through such an event again. should you find yourself faced with making a similar trip, consider catching EMS along your route. if it's an option for you, it's one i would take.




.

 

[TRBO VNM]

Discretion, discretion... Some departments allow more than others.
Where i work, we have 4 major hospitals within 20 miles or each other, and a few walk-in clinics in between, which can help stabilize a patient.
I've stopped reckless drivers going to the ER. I've helped some get there quicker, I've given most a citation, and I've also told some to slow down.

Brian in your case, where the ER is so far away, IMO you can always call 911 and let them know what you have and that you need to get to the ER quickly.


Jason, Omar is a trained baby-delivery professional :coolman: He would pull you over and take care of the problem oke:

As long as he cleans up the mess afterwards as well. That would be my thank you gift to him. LOL

 

[Lt. ZO6]

I work out in the boonies sometimes and have had this occur on occasion. The smart drivers are the ones who call 911 first. That give me time to dispatch an officer or two and an ambulance to meet them somewhere on their route.

I will never allow one of my officers to escort a vehicle at speed... Just too much liability in allowing that to occur.

 

[4a7191a]

I was driving myself to the er with a cut tendon on my right hand , middle finger. 5 speed manual trans car and was speeding. I got pulled over, 74 in a 65 ticket while bleeding.. needless to say karma. The same officer that gave me a ticket was being stupid at a local cruise and got ran over by a ricer . He lived... so don't freak. I wouldn't wish death on any Leo. But pain for being a dick, sure.
This officer said to the local paper that he would give his own mother a ticket if she was breaking a traffic violation .

 

[Monster Mach]

Had to rush a girl about 20 miles at like 3 am when she cracked her head open passing out in the shower. I called 911 said I'm taking her In and on a local highway a officer actually met me at about 120 and gave me an escort. Was pretty cool but I had to pass him at one point when she was gurgling. I think he shit himself when a mustang flew by him when he was giving the escort. Later on he was impressed and said he would have done the same thing. Gave me a new respect for law enforcement

 

[Tyler72]

I'll be honest, I feel like most LEO's would do the right thing here. It's all dependent on the situation and every one is different. Personally I don't know what I would do in a situation like these, but first thing I would do is call 911 and then head out to where ever I needed to go. My speed, and or yielding to a LEO who was trying to stop me would be HIGHLY dependent on the urgency of the situation. I would be prepared to take the ticket or whatever my consequence was if the LEO felt it necessary. But in any case, I would use common sense and be highly alert so as to reduce the risk of doing more harm than good.

 

[SN8KBYT_1]

I have worked in emergency medicine for a number of years... It can be a very tough call on what option to take. Drive or call 911. I also live in a very rural area. It really depends on the situation. You can have all the medical training in the world but without medical supplies you can't do a thing. I will say this: Most ER visits are not true medical emergencies. I would say 95% are not. You may think they are an emergency but there is a good chance they are not... Even helicopter flights we go on, 80% are not life threatening. We have had many MVC trauma patients come in because they were driving fast because their friend had a cut on their hand. Examples of some true emergencies: heart attack, stroke, loss of limb, imminent birth, high speed MVC, fall greater than 10 feet, blunt force trauma, gunshot wound etc.... You have to ask yourself if it's a true emergency and is it worth the risk...

 

[RedRocketMike]

Refer to Ryan Moats predicament. NFL Player Ryan Moats Pulled Over @ Hospital while Mother Is Dying - YouTube

 

[May93]

I couldnt give a 50 mile escort. I also couldnt give an escort because if something were to happen, it would be all on me on why i didnt call an ambo. At least this way here. So, if someone is speeding to ER in a real emergency situation, I am not going to write them anything and call an ambulance to the scene. I can't let you go on your own in that situation as I said it would be my responsibility at that point.

Now if they are driving crazy, then I would issue them a citation because their driving could do more damage than good.

Though it seems harsh I believe this post is 100% correct. If he let you go and for some unseen reason you were involved in a accident the LEO themselves would be fully responsible.

A lawyer would be all over the case and the LEO would be made out to be indifferent on the safety of others. Unfortunately the human factor will not factor into a lawsuit.

 

[monsterpost]

For what its worth. A few years back my mom was in extreme respiratory distress. She was able to get in my car with my help 10:30 Saturday night. Before I got her in the car I called one of here friends who is a retired nurse as is my mom; told her what was going on. She said get her up to ER and she would call ahead and tell them we were coming.

The local hospital would normally be a 15 min trip, I did it in 10. I did think about calling 911 but by the time they got here I'm almost to the hospital. Yes I'm aware that an ambulance can help with a patients medical problems on route to the hospital and at the time I chose to drive her in myself.

Now the most amazing part of this night other then getting my mom treated at the hospital was on the highway I drove no more then 80mph. I didn't want to drive reckless but I still needed to get there, I passed a marked Washing county Sheriff's department squad who I figured was going the speed limit which would of been 65mph. I'm in the left lane the sheriff is in the right lane; he never did anything. I was driving a bone stock Crown Vic for the record; so I don't know why he let me go, didn't follow me or anything, just let me pass him likes its no big deal.

Well a few hours in the ER department got my mom's breathing under control so everything had a happy ending.