Non-emergency ambulance vehicles - aggressive driving

[runnerbean 14]

I had an encounter with the driver of a white Transit van earlier this week. He was tailgating me aggressively on a local road that goes from single to dual carriageway and back again to single, with many changes of speed limit. I let him past thinking he might be in a hurry, life's too short, etc. etc. As soon as he had got past me he slowed down and started holding me up - I began to suspect deliberately. So I passed him and he did much the same again, but with some rather more unorthodox driving and gestures that definitely don't feature in the Highway Code.

So far, not especially unusual. However when I got home I Googled the logo on the side of his van (SCAS) and was surprised to discover that it stands for South Central Ambulance Service (a division of the NHS), so he is likely to have been a professionally trained driver. Indeed SCAS have a very detailed driving policy which you can find on the web, along with the details of their 'Driving Standards Manager'.

I have been mulling over emailing this manager to complain (I run a small fleet for my own work and always like to know if this sort of thing is happening) but i) I didn't take the registration number and ii) I'm not keen on finding a burly sociopath outside my front door following the 'accidental' release of my identity to the perpetrator.

Views, anyone?

[elanfan]

Just let the moron get away with it then. Next time he might cause an accident.

[mph1977]

NHS ambulance service vehicles do not have the abbreviated form of the trust title on them

they will have the crown and wheel logo , the NHS blue lozenge and the full name of the trust

logistics and estates staff may not have any driver training it's only road staff that do the ambulance driving course , there are lay managers in SOME NHS trusts driving round on blues o the basis of a foreshortened driving course despite the fact unmarked or semi marked vehicles on response work are the highest risk ....

Edited by mph1977 on Sunday 15th March 19:58

[Medic-one]

runnerbean 14 said:

I had an encounter with the driver of a white Transit van earlier this week...

..so he is likely to have been a professionally trained driver.

Not necessarily.

We've got white and even yellow vans (obviously not marked as emergency vehicle's) that deliver the laundry, stock, equipment etc to our ambulance stations, which have obviously nothing to do with actual ambulance work (emergency or non-emergency) so those drivers will have no extra training or anything, they just deliver stuff.

[runnerbean 14]

OK, some good replies already - thanks to all posters. Looks like my assumption that he is likely to have been professionally trained may have been wrong - apologies if that is the case. He definitely hadn't read their Driving Standards Policy, though, and if you put your logos (which were as described) on the side of your vehicle you should expect all your drivers to abide by it when driving them.

[Nickyboy]

runnerbean 14 said:

OK, some good replies already - thanks to all posters. Looks like my assumption that he is likely to have been professionally trained may have been wrong - apologies if that is the case. He definitely hadn't read their Driving Standards Policy, though, and if you put your logos (which were as described) on the side of your vehicle you should expect all your drivers to abide by it when driving them.

the SCAS vans just deliver to the offices and ambulance stations, the drivers are nothing more than general staff. Their head office is in Bicester.

[Who me ?]

Phone call to the admin staff ,no names/no VRNs etc, mentioning incident and asking them to remind staff that vans can be traced etc.