Family Emergency. How fast would you go? Be honest.
Discussion
BuzzBravado said:
Black_S3 said:
Impasse said:
"Phone for an ambulance, love. I'll wait for you at the hospital."
Exactly. The police, paramedics or fire brigade will be there faster than you and better equipped to deal with the problem on arrival.If they came directly from the hospital then they had about 5 miles less to travel than me too.
I fully appreciate our ambulance service, but i no longer automatically think they are faster than bundling a person in a car and gunning it to hospital.
Edited by BuzzBravado on Wednesday 4th May 09:58
Sad but true
A while back now, but got the dreaded phone call. Mother in a hospice and I received a call from my distressed father and told to get to the hospice. I was in Broxburn and the hospice was in Ayr, Its times like that when you wish you were closer. But I wasnt. its roughly 70 miles and its a mix of roads.
I think that any red light I met I stopped checked and then went through, M8 went as fast as traffic would allow, with use of headlights to try and catch attention and clear a path where I could. No not clever or wise but what do you do ? You need to be somewhere and you need to be there asap. I can say that I have never concentrated as hard for as long as what I did that afternoon. On edge and looking at every thing that could get in your way or pull out in front of you.
I got into Ayr and to the hospice quicker than what id ever done the trip before. but sadly I never made it in time. I never ever want to have to drive like that again ever.
If someone is behind you with main beams on it means get out the f##king way. Yes they may be a good chance that the driver is a nob but then again it may be someone that's really really trying to get somewhere with a real need. I pull over now if someone is behind with lights on and let them past. sometimes its best just to as you dont know the story.
I think I maxed the car out a few times on route.
I think that any red light I met I stopped checked and then went through, M8 went as fast as traffic would allow, with use of headlights to try and catch attention and clear a path where I could. No not clever or wise but what do you do ? You need to be somewhere and you need to be there asap. I can say that I have never concentrated as hard for as long as what I did that afternoon. On edge and looking at every thing that could get in your way or pull out in front of you.
I got into Ayr and to the hospice quicker than what id ever done the trip before. but sadly I never made it in time. I never ever want to have to drive like that again ever.
If someone is behind you with main beams on it means get out the f##king way. Yes they may be a good chance that the driver is a nob but then again it may be someone that's really really trying to get somewhere with a real need. I pull over now if someone is behind with lights on and let them past. sometimes its best just to as you dont know the story.
I think I maxed the car out a few times on route.
rxe said:
If I'd called an ambulance, it would have taken her to the local hospital where her brain would have died on a trolley. I drove her past that hospital and piled her into the nearest teaching hospital where they would have had the CT warmed up and a radiologist on site.
If you call 999 and describe symptoms of a stroke, in most areas they should now take you to the nearest stroke unit, not the nearest A&E of any sort, so you wouldn't actually be beating the system. e.g. "Since 2010, anyone suffering a stroke in London is taken to one of eight 24/7 Hyper Acute Stroke Units (HASUs) rather than the nearest hospital." https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0814/0608...In fact, this is yet another reason why people should not manically drive people to "hospital" themselves, because they might well not take them to the best place!
said:
Carving through A&E in the event of a "non-visible" emergency is far more important than carving through the traffic....
Fully agree with this.Also had one of 'those' calls, to a hospital to be there when my aunty died - was about 4am on a Wednesday morning, so very easy to get the car past 100mph in 30 zones. Wouldn't hesitate to drive that fast again if needed. Ultimately of course it's not worth killing yourself or somebody else, but sometimes you just can't hang about.
Actus Reus said:
Also had one of 'those' calls, to a hospital to be there when my aunty died - was about 4am on a Wednesday morning, so very easy to get the car past 100mph in 30 zones. Wouldn't hesitate to drive that fast again if needed. Ultimately of course it's not worth killing yourself or somebody else, but sometimes you just can't hang about.
100 in a 30 ! jez As said before its no use causing a crash or killing other people in your drive to get wherever.Dont take me or my family out on your way to your emergency.
Gary29 said:
For a spouse or child in an emergency that I could resolve, I would drive in qualifying mode, no problem, so as fast as the car would go.
I read all the responses and liked this one the best. I think it is spot on.Many years ago in the time of pagers, we used to add a priority to the page request as it was too tricky to decide how urgent something was based on so few words.
Priority 3 = if you want to or are available
Prioirty 2 = within the hour please
Priority 1 = straight away
I once received a priority zero page. A to B utterly flat out.
RW
Fortunately has never happened with a person, but I did wake to find my cat had what was clearly a stroke, and was in agony. I got him to the emergency vets at 06:00 in the morning, and although I was being as careful as possible to avoid the cameras, I picked up 4 speeding tickets on that run.
All in with the cost of the vets to put him to sleep, that was a £600 morning. You don't think - your mind goes into overdrive, and you drive as carefully and quickly as the conditions allow. Fortunately where I live none of the speeding was enough to trigger points.
It is all fine when the roads are clear. What would be worse I can imagine, is getting stuck in traffic in that situation. That is when I think you would make mistakes on the road and end up a statistic rather than any help.
All in with the cost of the vets to put him to sleep, that was a £600 morning. You don't think - your mind goes into overdrive, and you drive as carefully and quickly as the conditions allow. Fortunately where I live none of the speeding was enough to trigger points.
It is all fine when the roads are clear. What would be worse I can imagine, is getting stuck in traffic in that situation. That is when I think you would make mistakes on the road and end up a statistic rather than any help.
If it was serious (life or death) then as fast as I felt I could go without drastically increasing the likelihood of an accident, but somewhere in the low 120s I'd imagine. I know of someone who was in this situation and was pulled over by the police, once he explained the officer gave him an escort the rest of the way. At the end of the day we are all human and understand that the law cannot be applied harshly in such a scenario.
I'll put it this way, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself if I didn't get to the house/hospital on time because I was concerned about speeding.
I'll put it this way, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself if I didn't get to the house/hospital on time because I was concerned about speeding.
5am on a summers morning and awoken by a frantic hammering at my front door. WTF?
A quick twitch if the blinds and I can see my brother, my initial reaction "f
k this ain't good "Opening the front door to see my clearly distressed brother who informed me "you need to get to the Hospice Now! We have all been trying to ring you for 30 minutes and both your phones are turned off and so are Mrs Pageys, I'm going to get Mum see you there"
(Phones weren't turned off, bizarrely something had happened and all phones in house had dropped signal)
I was dressed and out of the door in under 2 minutes, a 15ish minute drive to the Hospice completed in 4-5 minutes. Traffic was non existent, road conditions dry, Sports mode selected, hit 80 -90 on a 30 section of dual carriageway, 100+ in the 40 section (clear visibility of both sides through this section and not a car or person in sight) I beat my brother and mum by 10 minutes
I made it in time to race through to my fathers room as the nurse explained that he was slipping in and out of consciousness and wasn't very responsive, I made it to his room and he was semi conscious I took his hand, said "hey Dad I'm here" he squeezed my hand and slipped into unconsciousness never to a waken again
The tough old so and so held on for another 4 days though!I hit licence loosing speeds, I certainly don't think I endangered anyone. Would I do it again. Yes. I wouldn't push so hard if there was traffic around or at a busier time of day though.
Having said that, many a time I have sat and thought - could I have cut 3 seconds off and got to hold my dad's hand a few seconds longer.
I was passed by a Ambulance with lights going as were all of the cars behind and ahead of me as we all pulled over.
As we all recovered our speed, a car went belting down the outside, obviously in hot pursuit of the ambulance.
He came very close to hitting a couple of cars on our side and oncoming.
Totally mental and showed me that you need to stay in control in those circumstances.
As we all recovered our speed, a car went belting down the outside, obviously in hot pursuit of the ambulance.
He came very close to hitting a couple of cars on our side and oncoming.
Totally mental and showed me that you need to stay in control in those circumstances.
so called said:
I was passed by a Ambulance with lights going as were all of the cars behind and ahead of me as we all pulled over.
As we all recovered our speed, a car went belting down the outside, obviously in hot pursuit of the ambulance.
He came very close to hitting a couple of cars on our side and oncoming.
Totally mental and showed me that you need to stay in control in those circumstances.
I wouldn't automatically assume it is because they're following a loved one/friend etc. in the Ambulance. Too many people do it just to get ahead of the traffic, the dirty little fAs we all recovered our speed, a car went belting down the outside, obviously in hot pursuit of the ambulance.
He came very close to hitting a couple of cars on our side and oncoming.
Totally mental and showed me that you need to stay in control in those circumstances.
king rats. zarjaz1991 said:
And the more you read the thread, the worse it gets....now someone's apparently done this for a DOG.
I think I need a lie down in a dark corner.
I think I need a lie down in a dark corner.
Edited by zarjaz1991 on Wednesday 4th May 06:20
I've done this for my dog!
My dog was at the vet's suffering from poisoning, induced coma, shaking uncontrollably etc.
Doggy ambulance not currently available and my dog was going to die.
The motorways here are un-restricted, so that part was no problem. The difficult bit was the main dual carriageway from the motorway through town to the animal hospital.
I tried to drive in a way that would not lose time, ie, avoiding anything that would make anyone block me, or by having an accident or being stopped by police etc.
I abused filter-lanes, stopped at red-lights, then went through carefully if clear, with hazard lights etc.
Leopoldstrasse is always jammed, but there is a bus-lane, separated by kerb-stones, which I drove down (at low-speed).
I agree with the posts re. v-max being less critical, than dealing with red-lights, congestion, avoiding disabling your car in an accident etc. I slowed down at one point when I saw a police patrol simply to avoid burning time if they stopped me. The time lost in comparison to driving at a hypothetical v-max would be minimal, the key thing is to stay calm and understand that risking an accident is counter-productive.
- My doggie survived, against the odds.
I think what's right for one isn't right for another and I'd like to think as enthusiasts we all weight up any risks.
I have come to think that in the age of information threads like this along with stuff like "where are the least policed roads" are just leaving posters open to character defamation further down the line. It only takes one accident - at fault or not - and someone with a motive to do a bit of digging to paint a picture of an individual who 'has no regard for the law'.
Free speech, huh? Maybe I'm over thinking it!
I have come to think that in the age of information threads like this along with stuff like "where are the least policed roads" are just leaving posters open to character defamation further down the line. It only takes one accident - at fault or not - and someone with a motive to do a bit of digging to paint a picture of an individual who 'has no regard for the law'.
Free speech, huh? Maybe I'm over thinking it!
drivin_me_nuts said:
zarjaz1991 said:
Silent1 said:
The sentiment is good, the way it's written leaves a lot to be desired.
Well I'm not going to beat about the bush. I've no time for people who think they can simply drop all of society's rules and regulations and put people's lives at risk just because they happen to think it's necessary. Someone has to scrape the bodies off the floor. Someone's family gets torn apart. All because someone panicked and decided normal rules of living can be dropped on a whim. Does the idea of a highly stressed, panicking person with average driving skills at best, suddenly driving through residential areas at more than double the speed limit because of a 'medical emergency' not fill you with abject terror? Because it does me. Some of the posts in this thread are truly terrifying.
Look after the patient whilst receiving advice on the phone every time.
Byker28i said:
Emotional Jezza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzQp4JBi3I
http://web.archive.org/web/20150408230449/http://www.topgear.com/uk/jeremy-clarkson/clarkson-on-porsche-2008-08-01https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzQp4JBi3I
'By rights, I should hate the 928. It was the first press test car I ever crashed. And I used one to go and see my dad the day before he died.'
the problem is life and death just isn't so dramatic in real-life.
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