Experts feel that the police should be sensitized on managing traffic, especially when a convoy passes through.
Bengaluru: The June 25th ambulance controversy involving the CM's convoy raises the issue of ‘right of way’ for ambulances in the city and state. Though there are clear Supreme Court guidelines put forth for ‘right of way’ for ambulances, it all remains on paper even as innocent lives are at the mercy of speed freaks racing through traffic. .
Experts at the GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) feel that the police should be sensitized on managing traffic, especially when a convoy passes through.
At such times, the cops should manage an exclusive barricaded pathway only for the emergency vehicles to pass through adjacently, which can either go before the convoy or after it - at least for some distance before joining the road.
“It was a pretty wide highway and the police could have diverted some traffic towards the left side or right side through a barricaded pathway lengthwise to allow the ambulance to pass through without disturbing the convoy. This could also have been used for other emergency vehicles like fire and emergency services to pass through,” said Abhinav K. Jayaram, COO of GVK EMRI.
“This was the first time that a 108 ambulance was stuck in traffic during a convoy. Though our drivers and emergency medical technicians/paramedics complain of heavy traffic snarls, none of them have reported getting stuck in traffic stopped for a convoy, as we have a continuous monitoring system for ambulances until they reach the hospital. It also depends on the patient’s criticality. If ambulances were stuck earlier during convoy movements, by this time, they would have found a solution for it,” Jayaram said. He added that “more awareness needs to be spread among road users to give ‘right of way’ to ambulances.”
In Germany, even if it’s a single lane road without dividers, cars and other vehicles move towards their extreme left or right, leaving the centre pathway exclusively for the ambulance to pass through. This system can be followed here as well if the commuters are educated about it, says Mr. Jayaram.
“Speaking about ambulances getting stuck in traffic jams, at present our drivers or EMTs shout out on speakers to the cops asking them to turn on green signals for them. But there is also a system available where an ambulance driver can get access to the signals. When he gets into a 200-300 metre radius of the signal, he can turn it to green himself while sitting in the vehicle,” Mr Jayaram said.
He added that this would be ideal since the cops are often preoccupied with other things, sometimes they are even confused about the direction from where the ambulance is coming, or sometimes they are unable to hear the siren.”
