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Ed Yeates ReportingThey're fully certified to treat your injuries, but many are getting behind the wheel for the first time. For Salt Lake's new Southwest Ambulance service, it's driver training time.
Paramedics and EMT's certainly know what to do when they get there, but getting there requires some tricks of the trade, driving the ambulances.
Rebecca Merrill, EMS Administrator, Southwest Ambulance: "Awareness of where the other vehicles are on the road, creating a cushion of safety around the ambulance by having a clear area around the vehicle."
Backing into tight areas, serpentine driving to avoid obstacles, watching for the unexpected and something you wouldn't think of except when coasting an ambulance through a busy intersection.
Rebecca Merrill: "You'll cover the brake by just putting your foot simply in front of the brake, but not actually depressing it. And what that does is reduce your reaction time from taking your foot from the gas and onto the brake."
On this first day, it was administrators and supervisors behind the wheel, getting ready to teach others tomorrow.
Heather Best, Paramedic Supervisor, Southwest Ambulance: "That's why we get out here and do this, so we can get 'em in that truck, get a feel for it before they get out on the streets."
One of the maneuvers here is to pump the vehicle up to about 35 miles per hour, then, without warning, the instructor tells you to turn right or left.
They even let me try my hand at the wheel. In one test run, I swerved the wrong way. So, try again. Accelerate to 35, passing through the middle of tight cones. Then without braking, the instructor throws me the command. This time, I got it right -- a critical maneuver, since collision avoidance without braking is sometimes the only option.
