The moment that an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew arrives at the scene of any type of accident, injured parties and their families feel a sense of relief and hope. In addition to providing immediate, necessary medical care, EMS personnel are entrusted with ensuring the safety of patients while transporting them to a medical care facility.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a report in the last few years that provided useful data about EMS accidents.
- There are an estimated 4,500 accidents involving ambulances annually;
- 29 fatal accidents and 33 fatalities each year;
- 34% of crashes resulted in injury;
- 44% of patients were ejected from the cot in serious crashes;
- In 38% of accidents, shoulder harnesses were available but not used;
- 96% of patients were belted at the time of the crash;
- 84% of EMS providers in the patient compartment were not restrained;
- Only 33% of patients were secured with shoulder and lap restraints; and
- 61% were restrained with lateral belts only.
It’s obvious that whether passengers of ambulances wear seat belts significantly affects the severity of injuries and fatalities occurring in a motor vehicle accident. Also, unbelted providers risk injuring patients as demonstrated by the finding that occupant-to-occupant contact was commonly a source of the injuries suffered by patients, and in some cases, these injuries were fatal.
While driving in any place at any time, motorists must maintain a constant vigilance for EMS, police, and fire vehicles. The drivers of these automobiles and trucks are subject to human error like any other motorist. While one-fourth of fatalities occur inside the ambulance at the time of the crash, in most fatal EMS accidents, the driver or passenger of another vehicle is killed.