Just taking a minute to appreciate that you had a Speedometer, heart rate indicator, front and rear camera - you literally couldn't be more transparent ! And all for us to be able to have an Interesting watch while you do a really difficult job. Top notch mate - thank you very much. This channel is rapidly becoming a favourite
I really enjoyed the small «slide» to the left and towards lane 2 at 2:30 in order to show up in the van’s mirrors early. It is subtle, but really effective.
@chris murphy he's said in other videos that his Trust is approved for 20 over the limit. It also doesn't speed you up if there's a pillock in front doing 63.
Nice video Chris. I'm loving the speedometer addition and I'm surprised your bpm wasn't higher than it was but I assume this is purely down to your skill, your confidence and your training. Thank you for your service!
I pray I'm never the oblivious pillock on the motorway 🙈 If you can miss the mobile disco coming up behind you, what other hazards are you unaware of! 😲 Excellent videos so far Chris, very informative of technique and how others should react 👍 And that's in addition to your actual day job, so double thanks 👍👍
It is worth bearing in mind that the driver may be deaf, and many drivers don't bother checking behind them unless planning a plane change or turn, and some not even then!
My goodness my heart was racing at 90mph because of how daft some drivers are not using their mirrors and a quick glance over their right shoulder! I hand it to Chris his composure it legendary, especially when a car sits there in the outside lane at 60mph 🤦🏻completely unaware theirs blue lights and sirens behind him.🤦🏻
These videos I now know for sure do more than just entertainment, A few days ago I was on a dual carriageway with an ambulance coming up behind, as it was a tight left bend I kept my speed up until line of sight was clear, then kept my indicator left. Driver gave me a happy chirp when he went past
My goodness my heart was racing at 90mph because of how daft some drivers are not using their mirrors and a quick glance over their right shoulder! I hand it to Chris his composure it legendary, especially when a car sits there in the outside lane at 60mph 🤦🏻completely unaware theirs blue lights and sirens behind him.🤦🏻
I spend almost as much time looking in my mirrors and behind me on dual carriage/motorways, it always amazes me how you can sneak up behind cars and they don't notice you for so long. I see flashing lights from a literal mile behind, no excuse really.
Fantastic video, so interesting to watch. If you could combine this with when you do your overlays of what you are thinking when approaching different scenarios, WOW! Thanks
You made that 150km/h look like a leisurely Sunday drive, I’d imagine my HR would have been 140+. Would love to have seen a comparison of your bodies response in your early years of response driving compared to now!! Keep up the great content Chris, big fan from Australia!!
@@johannes7059 70mph (115ish kph) is the speed limit but traffic typically moves more quickly. The righthand lane on that road is usually moving at 80-90mph (130-145kph) when it's not busy as there's no cameras on it. When motorways were first built in the UK they had no speed limits; these were introduced in 1965. Bah.
In the Northern Territory (Australia) 150 is a leisurely drive :) (yes I know they put the speed limits back to 130 but no one does it once they are more than 200km from town, I remember cruising at about 180 and getting overtaken multiple times). Actually I shouldn't say no one, people towing caravans and trucks will still only do 100 or so.
Driving at speed is not stressful if you have been trained to drive at speed for public roads. my dad was an advanced driving instructor in UK, the things i have learned since age of 10 have been very useful for my driving and riding skills. its about looking up the road and spotting the dangers and the what ifs and allowing yourself the time to stop or speed up out of a situation. i feel more people should take advanced driving lessons, would be more people that usually oblivious to blue light vehicles spotting them and getting out the way in a sensible manner.
Having lived in Germany for some years, I'm fairly used to driving above 100mph on the Autobahn, usually around the 120-130mph area. I'm surprised that given the training and vehicle that you have you are limited to 90mph. I would have thought that the ability to add another 40mph to that (where sensible) would really cut your journey times.
I think it's not that surprising at all. People in Germany are used to cars passing them at a very fast pace and huge difference in speed. In the UK, probably not so much, which makes it much more difficult to anticipate to other drivers.
As much as I agree with you Nick, in this video there was two occasions where people didn't notice a car with blue lights and a siren behind them for a good 30-60 seconds. There's no way these people will notice a car doing 130mph+ coming along side them before they decide to move into another lane. The police do seem to go faster than the NHS though, theres a few videos online of them reaching 150mph+ while chasing people down, but I guess that's a different set of circumstances :)
@@rzlosty Policy for the Police varies depending on the force. Some it's 20MPH over the limit for standard drivers. Others it's whatever they feel they can justify for the road conditions and circumstances. When they're advanced drivers, it's a different ball game altogether.
Living in Japan, I have learnt that roads have speed ratings that are irrespective of the national speed limits. One of the newer expressways (motorways) is the Shin-Tomei and it was built with a rating of 140km/h. This has resulted in Japan's first 120km/h speed limit. There are only two expressways with stretches of 120km/h. Typically, they are 80 or 100km/h and at the time, Japanese media did report that other expressways only have a speed rating of 120km/h. I suspect that the German Autobahn has been built to a higher speed rating specification. I don't know what that would be for the UK or specific criteria for measuring those speed ratings are or even if this is even considered in setting tolerances for emergency vehicles. All that I know is that the Shin-Tomei road surface is far harder and therefore less susceptible to the extremes of the Japanese climate. Obviously, the straightness of the roads, the degree of curvature of curves also likely play a part as well as traffic volume. It is worth noting that some portions of the Autobahn in former West Germany have had their speed limits set lower and those of former Eastern Germany were initially restricted also and it was pretty obvious why when I drove on them in the early and mid-nineties.
It's nice to see my experience in comparison within the police and blues driving is whatever you can justify often the stick to the +20mph more in the built up areas. On the bigger roads it seems to be dependent of obvious traffic and weather conditions and what they are responding to... often a lot higher than 90mph often well into the 100's at least in my force area
Hmmmm so it’s 20mph above us supposed to be the legal dispensation. So how come the police I see on motorways travel considerably faster than that? I’ll tell you why, because nobody is going to police the police so they do whatever they like.
@@aquanick2001 I think its more of a guideline mate! As police on blue lights are exempt from speed limits, in theory they can go as fast as the car allows but choose not too as doing 100+ miles an hour in a built up zone could prove fatal
@@aquanick2001 and it's actually baked into the law that they cant compromise safety, so if a police officer is going faster then you think, maybe their evaluation is that it's safe to do so
@aq uanick2001 The problem is the public see emergency service drivers speeding and think “that’s not safe” because they haven’t had the training the police,paramedics etc have had. Comparing the driving skill of emergency service drivers to the average civilian driver is like comparing a premiership footballer to a Sunday pub team player,(in general, I admit there are exceptions on both sides)
@@kyleroberts6845 I believe they are subject to the same dispensation as ANY emergency service vehicle. Like I said they get away with it Becuase they can, not because they are allowed to.
Thanks Chris, OMG some of those drivers, that 4x4 driver and the 2nd one, was it a silver hatch. Shows how often people check their mirrors (or don't). Good comment about the Van driver you were just about catching in your exemption I bet he got worried when he saw your blues and twos. I remember years back like late 80's when I was young (, stupid and less aware) going a bit fast then pulling up to top of a slip road and seeing blue flashing lights. Thought that was it but the police car jus went straight past me and carried on, lol.
It's scary how on motorway runs you can get close enough to the car in front and see their eyes aren't even visible in their rearview mirror - not even set up properly! In police driver training, they reach you to weave in the lane to become visible in the side mirrors if a conventional approach has failed - or particularly with van drivers. Full beam flashes seem more visibile than blues at longer distances. A couple of those sometimes catches driver's eyes and they'll have more time to pull over by the time you're near them.
Mirror check, absolutely no excuse. Listening, can be hard with modern vehicle's sound-proofing, especially when playing music, or road noise in older vehicles. The last driver was probably clenching tight when he pulled in to the left lane behind him still flashing blues.
Loving the new additions! Didn't realise on the dual carriage way/motorways you had speed restrictions on emergency runs?? Can understand in town as there are more hazards
+20mph as a “maximum advisory” speed is old now anyway. New guidance is +50%. Came in about 2 years ago. So for 70mph roads, maximum advisory would be 105mpg
In Australia they made it law for a little while police could not continue a pursuit if the suspect exceeded 160kmh. You will never guess what criminals used to do... The law was repealed. A few years later they made a law that the police had to abandon a pursuit if the suspect drove into oncoming traffic. Again, you will never guess what the criminals did. That one may have been repealed too now I'm not sure.
Aboslutely love these videos Chris The HR and Speed is great addition I am so surprised people ignore your big blue lights These people should be sat to do test again
Wonderful video as always. Wondering if you'd be able to talk about communications between you and control? Obviously you have to block out a lot of it as it contains confidential information
Hey Chris, I was just wanting to ask about 1:56 you say “upper end of my speed allowance”. What is your speed allowance? Is based on a flat limit across all zones? Or is it based on how fast the other traffic is restricted to? Also, I’m loving the videos keep it up 😁
As far as I know Adam, the max given allowance is around about 20 mph over the stated speed mark on any road for Ambulance or Fire. The police are allowed far more leeway speed-wise, depending on the reason (I've seen them hitting well over 100+ on some videos from just trying to catch up to people already speeding well over that). - But the other factor is also regarding public safety - as in road condition & how busy it is (and is it a Motorway, dual-carraigeway, an A road, a B road or even less good, what the weather is like at the time, and so on . . . i.e. the better the road, the higher the speed limit is set at (70mph being the highest speed here on Motorways) - In villages, towns, and cities, the speed limit within them could be set between only 20-30 mph . . .
The chap at the end was completely unaware. Then finally pulled in as you stood down. When he saw an unmarked car behind he probably wet himself. When you pulled in behind, probably a number 2!
Question for you Chris. In respect to the vehicle on the long motorway stretch positioned in the outside lane that I’ll assume hasn’t seen you; why didn’t you close the gap at any point? There were several opportunities where a little bit of pressure would of encouraged the vehicle to move left into the available space? You could of alternated your sirens could you not to get the drivers attention?
The law says that blue light drivers can go as fast as they need to. However, they aren't exempt from dangerous driving so different services have different rules. Some services have strict limits (i.e. go above this and you can be disciplined), some give guidelines (i.e. if you go above this, you need to be able to justify it did not become dangerous if asked) The one I work for has guidelines that we should go no more than 20mph over the limit. In this video we see Chris go no more than 20mph over the limit so it appears the NHS Trust he responds for has a similar policy/guideline.
Out of interest, when you mention the "speed allowance"; is that a flat 90mph(?) that you're never allowed to exceed, or does the maximum speed allowed depend on the sort of emergency you're heading to?
I know some police forces limit their drivers (except in certain circumstances such as traffic police in high-performance cars) to posted limit +15 or +20 or something. I imagine Paramedics and similar responders might he subject to the same policies in certain areas.
It is dependent on employer rather than law. Legally you have to justify your speed but no speed limit applies. Employers may permit this level or may impose restrictions in policy.
I've heard a maximum of 50% over is generally "allowed", after that it becomes questionable-to-the-point-of requiring to defend why the speed was necessary (some responders have faced reprimands or penalties for driving recklessly), but again it depends on circumstance and rating amongst other things.
Legally there is no speed limit, the law allows us when claiming an exemption to go as fast as is safe and necessary. However, each ambulance service trust will have its own policy. Some trust policies are 50% over, I've heard some other trusts are 30mph over. It very much depends on the area, but legally there is no speed limit.
Nice move after passing that HGV on the motorway, to straddle the second and third lane when approaching the line of traffic , making you more visible in the rear mirrors …👍
This is great and I love your videos. I have always wondered. For those that don't move out the way, do you not have an air horn where you can quickly blast to get their attention? Because the blue lights and loud sirens aren't enough!
@@JFat5158 it’s not outdated in the UK which is where he’s from…..Therefore it should be in MPH. Not interested in making allowances for the global audience.
Is your siren usage different in an unmarked vehicle compared to a fully liveried ambulance? I've noticed that often even with some moderate traffic, full sized & liveried ambulances will run without sirens unless someone is obviously not noticing them; would I be right in assuming that the less obvious nature of this vehicle means you tend to run the sirens more just to make sure people see you?
This is a bad learned habit ( not having sirens on) The general rule of thumb and what is taught on our CERAD (certificate in emergency response ambulance driving) course is that (time dependant, such as past 9/10 when it can be potentially inconsiderate) sirens stay on throughout, unless there is an absolute obvious reason not to use them such as: horse boxes, horse riders in the road, solid white lines, or when stuck behind a queue of traffic with no safe path through. Sirens are then changed dependant on situation, the long drawn out siren can be heard from the furthest distance so this is good on straight roads, the second siren is faster, and used when coming into a hazard such as a roundabout, red light, turning or in an attempt to alert someone in front that you are there, and the last siren "the piercer" is not used much as it is deemed "aggressive" but it's often used if people in front appear to have no idea we are behind. Hope that all makes sense ?
@@Simontookie24 These sirens came into being after I moved to Japan. I have often wondered what 'the piercer' was for. I have seen some emergency vehicles in the UK (on RUclips) also using a two-tone 'traditional (nee-naw or pee-paw sound)' like siren. What is that use intended for?
@SSR Suspension I don't have them on now, it's still a bad habbit though. If something goes against what is taught, generally it's because it's what you shouldn't do. Making it a bad habbit.
Great videos thanks for sharing the good work you do daily. As a side note, if I spot blue lights approaching from behind I always try and flash headlights to the cars in front as a pre warning whilst getting out of the way. Anything to speed up your progress 👍
Interesting your heart drops slightly as you get on the A1 and the speed increases, I guess the fact it’s not driving in an urban environment produces a different stress response? I wish I had blue lights when I used to commute to St Albans everyday that stretch at Stevenage is the absolute pits at rush hours!
Not too surprising... no pedestrians, bikes, oncoming vehicles, or blind intersections. Biggest concerns are presumably an unexpected traffic jam and adhesion.
In the UK, the highway speeds is 70mph (112kmph) on a motorway for a car but people disregard it and I've seen people fly past at over 150mph+ (240kmph+).
I do wonder how accurate is the heart rate? 😳 because if that's real then I think I need to get into some fitness training 😅 even as little as biking to work in the morning gets me up to 120bpm easily 🤣🤣 Nice to see you calm and relaxed though. Really like your vids, keep it up!
Excellent video yet again - doing a fantastic job at educating the general public around the ways of emergency response driving. Now, I’m aware that you are a manager within the trust. However did you have to go through your IG team in order to film? Just simply out of curiosity as I’d love to film some of my FRU or Truck responses!
Are you able to shed some light on why you use a plain black unmarked car? I always thought unmarked emergency services vehicles were just for undercover police. Do you think drivers would see you quicker if you had a marked car with the classic ambulance pattern?
He’s answered this many times. He is a responding manager for the trust. Meaning he works on an on call rota, so this vehicle is his work and daily home vehicle. So he will respond to jobs in it and also go to Tesco to do the weekly shop.
I'm surprised you have a speed allowance - would've thought whatever speed you can justify and drive at safely would be fine. Great work either way! :)
Your upper end of speed allowance is my average cruising speed :D I'm always astonished how restrictive many countries are to higher speeds, even though the Autobahn clearly prooves that speed itself isn't dangerous.
Chris - you mention a 'speed allowance' on screen at one point. Could you elaborate on that? Is it that you have a maximum speed you can get up to on a blue light run?
Im curious how you have time to get all of this equipment ready before a bluelight run. Surely if it's an emergency you dont have time to turn on all the cameras, heart rate monitors etc?
Hi, always a consideration to not waste time so appreciate the question. Takes longer to wait for the sat nav to load up so cameras are turned on during that wait and are controlled from the driver seat so all turned on in 5 secs. Thanks. C.
As an ex emt the speed limit was whatever the speed of the road plus 10mph over has this changed or does it depend on the area you serve as neas area is still the same ie 30mph Road on blues = 40mph 70mph=80mph on blues
I didn’t realise that emergency service vehicles had a ‘speed allowance’ is that a thing that your local area does or is this a ambulance service wide thing
Out of interest what’s your trust policy on speed, I note you stay around 90 in 70 is it generally over the posted limit? Heard some trust have done this as some forces have with standard response drivers
Loving your videos love you got the Speedo and the BPM one question I saw you mentioned you were near your allowed speed? So you can't just open the Octavia and max out on a motorway?
Must just be a local policy because I know that car CAN do 145mph; you topped out at 95mph. Even the national "Guide" says an Ambulance (truck) can go 105mph, and on our old IHCD course we drove the RRv to 135mph.... very odd!
That moment when I legally drove faster on a pleasant afternoon drive at the weekend the he can drive in a blue light emergency. Man I Love the Autobahn.
I have a siren question, does the siren sound change automatically, according to speed or what? Live on a main road and when two police cars are traveling together they often have different siren sounds, this seems not true of ambulances, fire engines seem to very occasionally use the old fashioned two tone siren although rarely follow each other closely
You use the horn to activate/change the tone of the siren, double press starts and stops, and single press cycles through the tones, it's done this way to minimise the time hands are off the steering wheel.
Not based on speed, but traffic density. There are 3 main siren tones. Wail - the classic one you hear in this video. For low traffic density. Yelp - A faster tone. For higher traffic density areas. Priority/ Piercer - The fastest tone. For extremely high traffic density where, when the cars have space to move but aren't, the ambulance has come to a stand still.
@@diamond4791 not so much about traffic density, it's more that different tones are easier heard at different distances. The 'priority' tone tends to get used a lot approaching junctions and areas of potential conflict because it's better heard at close quarters, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's about traffic density per se. People are also more aware of changes in tone, which is why often in high traffic areas you'll hear the tones being cycled through in rapid succession, rather than just one or the other. In the US they've started using Rumbler tones for similar reasons which are super interesting. I think a few UK police forces are experimenting with them now too, but haven't come across 'em on my patch.
When multiple EV's are in close proximity different tones can be used by each to make it easier for other to notice there are multiple vehicles. For ambulances there is generally no advantage in making sure all units arrive at the same time the first to arrive can begin triage and treatment at the scene until others arrive. For the police there is often a tactical reason to need all units to arrive simultaneously, suspects tend to make themselves scarce if they can not all be detained immediately. As for fire engines the simple fact they usually get less frequent calls means they are almost always deploying from base at the fire station so if multiple appliances are dispatched from a station at once they will tend to be together because they started that way. Ambulances on the other hand get far more calls and often will end up having to redeploy from wherever they cleared from their last call so even when multiple are needed they will rarely be coming from the same place either. Thus seeing them together is more of a happenstance of coincidence and often may not even for the same response so maybe that is why they often seem less co-ordinated even when it does happen. Could be you see two ambulances but they are going to two different incidents in different places and merely happen to be on the same road for a few seconds so not much advantage. Besides which each would need to be noticed separately as they have different paths they need to progress through in that case anyway.
@@seanohalloran0 Traffic density is the main part of siren tone changes on a straight stretch of road, that is what I was getting at. And in high density areas, sirens aren't just cycled through rapidly, they will usually stick it on piercer, or if the cars have no where to move, they will turn the sirens off. Not sure where you are from, but the majority of the UK does it like this.
Just taking a minute to appreciate that you had a Speedometer, heart rate indicator, front and rear camera - you literally couldn't be more transparent ! And all for us to be able to have an Interesting watch while you do a really difficult job.
Top notch mate - thank you very much.
This channel is rapidly becoming a favourite
I really enjoyed the small «slide» to the left and towards lane 2 at 2:30 in order to show up in the van’s mirrors early. It is subtle, but really effective.
Thanks, appreciate the feedback.
The heart rate monitor is a nice touch. I noticed it was good and low:)
I swear my heart rate was higher just watching!
@@ImmortalBlueable Yeah, I had to stop eating my burger my pulse was racing so much!
At least he isn't going to have to treat himself for tachycardia!
Couple of absolute tools on that motorway, potentially holding you up.
@chris murphy He's not allowed to though, ambo usually have speed tolerances, Police are less likely to
@chris murphy he's said in other videos that his Trust is approved for 20 over the limit.
It also doesn't speed you up if there's a pillock in front doing 63.
4:00 There's always someone in the right lane who refuses to move over until they've passed every other car 5 mph faster...
ofc its a prius
Personally I prefer MPH since I can relate to the speed as in the UK speed limits are in MPH.
As someone who grew up using km, but moved to the UK, I'm generally fine with both.
yeah i cant convert km/h to mph
Only going 90! I was surprised you didn't have someone in an Audi or BMW tailgating you and giving you the hurry-up..
Haha 🤣
Just come onto the comments to laugh how he wasn't catching some of the cars up, they were clearly doing more than 70!
Nice video Chris. I'm loving the speedometer addition and I'm surprised your bpm wasn't higher than it was but I assume this is purely down to your skill, your confidence and your training. Thank you for your service!
I pray I'm never the oblivious pillock on the motorway 🙈 If you can miss the mobile disco coming up behind you, what other hazards are you unaware of! 😲
Excellent videos so far Chris, very informative of technique and how others should react 👍 And that's in addition to your actual day job, so double thanks 👍👍
It is worth bearing in mind that the driver may be deaf, and many drivers don't bother checking behind them unless planning a plane change or turn, and some not even then!
@@reachandler3655 true, but most likely just a bellend.
My goodness my heart was racing at 90mph because of how daft some drivers are not using their mirrors and a quick glance over their right shoulder! I hand it to Chris his composure it legendary, especially when a car sits there in the outside lane at 60mph 🤦🏻completely unaware theirs blue lights and sirens behind him.🤦🏻
These videos I now know for sure do more than just entertainment,
A few days ago I was on a dual carriageway with an ambulance coming up behind, as it was a tight left bend I kept my speed up until line of sight was clear, then kept my indicator left.
Driver gave me a happy chirp when he went past
Fantastic, great to hear.
Love the HR monitor and speedo. Great additions!
These vids just keep getting better Chris, cheers for these mate 💯
My goodness my heart was racing at 90mph because of how daft some drivers are not using their mirrors and a quick glance over their right shoulder! I hand it to Chris his composure it legendary, especially when a car sits there in the outside lane at 60mph 🤦🏻completely unaware theirs blue lights and sirens behind him.🤦🏻
Great work from that car at 01:35 . Wasn't even in the lane before and they already knew you'd want the fastest lane and moved nice and early.
WOW! Your heart beat didn't go above 90 bpm. That is something else. Great job.
Really appreciate the two overlays - they go a long way to help us understand more precisely what you are going through...
I spend almost as much time looking in my mirrors and behind me on dual carriage/motorways, it always amazes me how you can sneak up behind cars and they don't notice you for so long. I see flashing lights from a literal mile behind, no excuse really.
Fantastic video, so interesting to watch. If you could combine this with when you do your overlays of what you are thinking when approaching different scenarios, WOW! Thanks
Thanks for recording and editing these great videos (and of course the more important work you do when you finally arrive on scene)
Quite cool to see you guys go so fast. Here in New Zealand we're limited to 20km/h above the posted limit under lights and siren
You made that 150km/h look like a leisurely Sunday drive, I’d imagine my HR would have been 140+. Would love to have seen a comparison of your bodies response in your early years of response driving compared to now!!
Keep up the great content Chris, big fan from Australia!!
To be honest you don't really notice a big difference between 130 kmh (idk what your speed limit in GB is) and 150 kph.
@@johannes7059 70mph (115ish kph) is the speed limit but traffic typically moves more quickly. The righthand lane on that road is usually moving at 80-90mph (130-145kph) when it's not busy as there's no cameras on it.
When motorways were first built in the UK they had no speed limits; these were introduced in 1965. Bah.
In the Northern Territory (Australia) 150 is a leisurely drive :) (yes I know they put the speed limits back to 130 but no one does it once they are more than 200km from town, I remember cruising at about 180 and getting overtaken multiple times). Actually I shouldn't say no one, people towing caravans and trucks will still only do 100 or so.
Driving at speed is not stressful if you have been trained to drive at speed for public roads. my dad was an advanced driving instructor in UK, the things i have learned since age of 10 have been very useful for my driving and riding skills. its about looking up the road and spotting the dangers and the what ifs and allowing yourself the time to stop or speed up out of a situation.
i feel more people should take advanced driving lessons, would be more people that usually oblivious to blue light vehicles spotting them and getting out the way in a sensible manner.
Having lived in Germany for some years, I'm fairly used to driving above 100mph on the Autobahn, usually around the 120-130mph area. I'm surprised that given the training and vehicle that you have you are limited to 90mph. I would have thought that the ability to add another 40mph to that (where sensible) would really cut your journey times.
I think it's not that surprising at all. People in Germany are used to cars passing them at a very fast pace and huge difference in speed. In the UK, probably not so much, which makes it much more difficult to anticipate to other drivers.
As much as I agree with you Nick, in this video there was two occasions where people didn't notice a car with blue lights and a siren behind them for a good 30-60 seconds. There's no way these people will notice a car doing 130mph+ coming along side them before they decide to move into another lane. The police do seem to go faster than the NHS though, theres a few videos online of them reaching 150mph+ while chasing people down, but I guess that's a different set of circumstances :)
@@rzlosty Policy for the Police varies depending on the force. Some it's 20MPH over the limit for standard drivers. Others it's whatever they feel they can justify for the road conditions and circumstances. When they're advanced drivers, it's a different ball game altogether.
@@beninnotts Becuase the police are a law unto themselves, and drive recklessly just because they can and nobody polices the police.
Living in Japan, I have learnt that roads have speed ratings that are irrespective of the national speed limits. One of the newer expressways (motorways) is the Shin-Tomei and it was built with a rating of 140km/h. This has resulted in Japan's first 120km/h speed limit. There are only two expressways with stretches of 120km/h. Typically, they are 80 or 100km/h and at the time, Japanese media did report that other expressways only have a speed rating of 120km/h. I suspect that the German Autobahn has been built to a higher speed rating specification. I don't know what that would be for the UK or specific criteria for measuring those speed ratings are or even if this is even considered in setting tolerances for emergency vehicles. All that I know is that the Shin-Tomei road surface is far harder and therefore less susceptible to the extremes of the Japanese climate. Obviously, the straightness of the roads, the degree of curvature of curves also likely play a part as well as traffic volume. It is worth noting that some portions of the Autobahn in former West Germany have had their speed limits set lower and those of former Eastern Germany were initially restricted also and it was pretty obvious why when I drove on them in the early and mid-nineties.
It's nice to see my experience in comparison within the police and blues driving is whatever you can justify often the stick to the +20mph more in the built up areas. On the bigger roads it seems to be dependent of obvious traffic and weather conditions and what they are responding to... often a lot higher than 90mph often well into the 100's at least in my force area
Hmmmm so it’s 20mph above us supposed to be the legal dispensation.
So how come the police I see on motorways travel considerably faster than that? I’ll tell you why, because nobody is going to police the police so they do whatever they like.
@@aquanick2001 I think its more of a guideline mate! As police on blue lights are exempt from speed limits, in theory they can go as fast as the car allows but choose not too as doing 100+ miles an hour in a built up zone could prove fatal
@@aquanick2001 and it's actually baked into the law that they cant compromise safety, so if a police officer is going faster then you think, maybe their evaluation is that it's safe to do so
@aq uanick2001 The problem is the public see emergency service drivers speeding and think “that’s not safe” because they haven’t had the training the police,paramedics etc have had. Comparing the driving skill of emergency service drivers to the average civilian driver is like comparing a premiership footballer to a Sunday pub team player,(in general, I admit there are exceptions on both sides)
@@kyleroberts6845 I believe they are subject to the same dispensation as ANY emergency service vehicle. Like I said they get away with it Becuase they can, not because they are allowed to.
Thanks Chris, OMG some of those drivers, that 4x4 driver and the 2nd one, was it a silver hatch. Shows how often people check their mirrors (or don't). Good comment about the Van driver you were just about catching in your exemption I bet he got worried when he saw your blues and twos. I remember years back like late 80's when I was young (, stupid and less aware) going a bit fast then pulling up to top of a slip road and seeing blue flashing lights. Thought that was it but the police car jus went straight past me and carried on, lol.
Seeing your videos using the roads I know and use on a daily basis gives me a totally different perspective of them.
Amazing to see how far these videos have come since the first! Keep it up
Good job you were cancelled cus that driver wasn’t moving in a hurry! OMG! Do they ever check the rear view or even listen?
It's scary how on motorway runs you can get close enough to the car in front and see their eyes aren't even visible in their rearview mirror - not even set up properly! In police driver training, they reach you to weave in the lane to become visible in the side mirrors if a conventional approach has failed - or particularly with van drivers.
Full beam flashes seem more visibile than blues at longer distances. A couple of those sometimes catches driver's eyes and they'll have more time to pull over by the time you're near them.
Mirror check, absolutely no excuse. Listening, can be hard with modern vehicle's sound-proofing, especially when playing music, or road noise in older vehicles. The last driver was probably clenching tight when he pulled in to the left lane behind him still flashing blues.
Loving the new additions! Didn't realise on the dual carriage way/motorways you had speed restrictions on emergency runs?? Can understand in town as there are more hazards
I think the guide is speed limit +20mph
There are no legally defined speed restrictions to the exemption. There are policies in place with employers. A sensible guide / policy is +20mph.
+20mph as a “maximum advisory” speed is old now anyway. New guidance is +50%. Came in about 2 years ago. So for 70mph roads, maximum advisory would be 105mpg
@@jamiemonks7554 again depends on employer. Mine still states 20mph.
In Australia they made it law for a little while police could not continue a pursuit if the suspect exceeded 160kmh. You will never guess what criminals used to do... The law was repealed. A few years later they made a law that the police had to abandon a pursuit if the suspect drove into oncoming traffic. Again, you will never guess what the criminals did. That one may have been repealed too now I'm not sure.
Guy towards the end clearly thought you was an unmarked police car and had no intention of stopping. Great video
Speedo and heart rate counter is a lovely addition. Thanks for the content
Aboslutely love these videos Chris
The HR and Speed is great addition
I am so surprised people ignore your big blue lights
These people should be sat to do test again
Heart rate is nice to see, however, can you turn the graphic off its distracting and just display BPM.
Yes can do. Thanks for the feedback.
@@ChrisMartinEMS I agree - as nice as it looks, it's overly distracting. Thanks for your efforts with these vids
Great video, position of every camera view and speedometer is just perfect.
The HR and speed are excellent additions, great video, keep them coming.
Wonderful video as always. Wondering if you'd be able to talk about communications between you and control? Obviously you have to block out a lot of it as it contains confidential information
Excellent information provided in this video. Thank you Chris.
Speedo is a nice touch, can I ask why the speed allowance and what is the limit ?
Hey Chris, I was just wanting to ask about 1:56 you say “upper end of my speed allowance”. What is your speed allowance? Is based on a flat limit across all zones? Or is it based on how fast the other traffic is restricted to? Also, I’m loving the videos keep it up 😁
As far as I know Adam, the max given allowance is around about 20 mph over the stated speed mark on any road for Ambulance or Fire. The police are allowed far more leeway speed-wise, depending on the reason (I've seen them hitting well over 100+ on some videos from just trying to catch up to people already speeding well over that). - But the other factor is also regarding public safety - as in road condition & how busy it is (and is it a Motorway, dual-carraigeway, an A road, a B road or even less good, what the weather is like at the time, and so on . . . i.e. the better the road, the higher the speed limit is set at (70mph being the highest speed here on Motorways) - In villages, towns, and cities, the speed limit within them could be set between only 20-30 mph . . .
The chap at the end was completely unaware. Then finally pulled in as you stood down. When he saw an unmarked car behind he probably wet himself. When you pulled in behind, probably a number 2!
I’m would love to see hph too, so I can relate to your driving better.
Iv been at 80mph on a motorway in the fire engine on blues with cars flying past me, never ceases to amaze me 🤣
if you do change to KMs please have them somewhere small and out of the way as Mph is by far the best
Both have their advantages.
considering he's in the UK it wouldnt change to Kms as we use MPH
Question for you Chris. In respect to the vehicle on the long motorway stretch positioned in the outside lane that I’ll assume hasn’t seen you; why didn’t you close the gap at any point? There were several opportunities where a little bit of pressure would of encouraged the vehicle to move left into the available space? You could of alternated your sirens could you not to get the drivers attention?
We need a 10 min run like this perfect views. Wasn’t aware you had speed allowances? Cheers
The law says that blue light drivers can go as fast as they need to.
However, they aren't exempt from dangerous driving so different services have different rules.
Some services have strict limits (i.e. go above this and you can be disciplined), some give guidelines (i.e. if you go above this, you need to be able to justify it did not become dangerous if asked)
The one I work for has guidelines that we should go no more than 20mph over the limit.
In this video we see Chris go no more than 20mph over the limit so it appears the NHS Trust he responds for has a similar policy/guideline.
This channel is getting better
Out of interest, when you mention the "speed allowance"; is that a flat 90mph(?) that you're never allowed to exceed, or does the maximum speed allowed depend on the sort of emergency you're heading to?
I know some police forces limit their drivers (except in certain circumstances such as traffic police in high-performance cars) to posted limit +15 or +20 or something. I imagine Paramedics and similar responders might he subject to the same policies in certain areas.
That was exactly going to be my question 🤣
It is dependent on employer rather than law. Legally you have to justify your speed but no speed limit applies. Employers may permit this level or may impose restrictions in policy.
I've heard a maximum of 50% over is generally "allowed", after that it becomes questionable-to-the-point-of requiring to defend why the speed was necessary (some responders have faced reprimands or penalties for driving recklessly), but again it depends on circumstance and rating amongst other things.
Legally there is no speed limit, the law allows us when claiming an exemption to go as fast as is safe and necessary. However, each ambulance service trust will have its own policy. Some trust policies are 50% over, I've heard some other trusts are 30mph over. It very much depends on the area, but legally there is no speed limit.
Nice move after passing that HGV on the motorway, to straddle the second and third lane when approaching the line of traffic , making you more visible in the rear mirrors …👍
Loving these Chris, All ill say is... I Want More! Keep it up!
Love all the graphics and camera angles
This is great and I love your videos. I have always wondered. For those that don't move out the way, do you not have an air horn where you can quickly blast to get their attention? Because the blue lights and loud sirens aren't enough!
Better to keep it in MPH imo.
Absolutely, as we are in the UK 🇬🇧
I think he means that if he adds the km/h speedometer, it would be alongside mph, not replacing it
@@annabelholland still no need for it IMO
@@aquanick2001 his audience is global and hardly anyone uses MPH, its outdated
@@JFat5158 it’s not outdated in the UK which is where he’s from…..Therefore it should be in MPH. Not interested in making allowances for the global audience.
Thank you!
Amazing video! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Really great work, the videos are very interesting. Keep it up! 🙏❤🔥
Is your siren usage different in an unmarked vehicle compared to a fully liveried ambulance? I've noticed that often even with some moderate traffic, full sized & liveried ambulances will run without sirens unless someone is obviously not noticing them; would I be right in assuming that the less obvious nature of this vehicle means you tend to run the sirens more just to make sure people see you?
This is a bad learned habit ( not having sirens on) The general rule of thumb and what is taught on our CERAD (certificate in emergency response ambulance driving) course is that (time dependant, such as past 9/10 when it can be potentially inconsiderate) sirens stay on throughout, unless there is an absolute obvious reason not to use them such as: horse boxes, horse riders in the road, solid white lines, or when stuck behind a queue of traffic with no safe path through.
Sirens are then changed dependant on situation, the long drawn out siren can be heard from the furthest distance so this is good on straight roads, the second siren is faster, and used when coming into a hazard such as a roundabout, red light, turning or in an attempt to alert someone in front that you are there, and the last siren "the piercer" is not used much as it is deemed "aggressive" but it's often used if people in front appear to have no idea we are behind.
Hope that all makes sense ?
@@Simontookie24 These sirens came into being after I moved to Japan. I have often wondered what 'the piercer' was for. I have seen some emergency vehicles in the UK (on RUclips) also using a two-tone 'traditional (nee-naw or pee-paw sound)' like siren. What is that use intended for?
@SSR Suspension I don't have them on now, it's still a bad habbit though. If something goes against what is taught, generally it's because it's what you shouldn't do. Making it a bad habbit.
Quite impressed with a light bar the suction cups are holding well ..what make is it if you don't mind me asking
Great videos thanks for sharing the good work you do daily. As a side note, if I spot blue lights approaching from behind I always try and flash headlights to the cars in front as a pre warning whilst getting out of the way. Anything to speed up your progress 👍
Question: Is there a maximum speed for you on the motorway?
Any chance you could add counter which let's us know which gear you are in, be useful to see
Interesting your heart drops slightly as you get on the A1 and the speed increases, I guess the fact it’s not driving in an urban environment produces a different stress response? I wish I had blue lights when I used to commute to St Albans everyday that stretch at Stevenage is the absolute pits at rush hours!
Might just be dropping after walking/running to the car to set off?
Not too surprising... no pedestrians, bikes, oncoming vehicles, or blind intersections.
Biggest concerns are presumably an unexpected traffic jam and adhesion.
Love all your videos but it was only today I found out you have a speed allowance?! Can you explain that a bit more and why is it not 155mph? 🤣
I notice (as have others) that speeds were kept
Speedo and bpm really nice addition
1:57 speeding vans (85mph+)are a big menace on the M62.
Now Im wondering how high are speed limits cause it seems like the traffic is going at about 120 to 130kmh on the motorway
In the UK, the highway speeds is 70mph (112kmph) on a motorway for a car but people disregard it and I've seen people fly past at over 150mph+ (240kmph+).
I do wonder how accurate is the heart rate? 😳 because if that's real then I think I need to get into some fitness training 😅 even as little as biking to work in the morning gets me up to 120bpm easily 🤣🤣
Nice to see you calm and relaxed though. Really like your vids, keep it up!
Can we please keep the speed in MPH
Wicked run Chris. Keep up the vids 👍
Nálunk meg ez a normál, civil sebesség. :D
It's so weird seeing Letchworth on random youtube videos! 😂 Good stuff.
What is a speed allowance. Is it a set formula or something subjectively determined based on the situation?
What is the max speed your allowed to go? And why do you change the siren sound, I've always wondered why not just use the same one for everything?
What are your speed allowances for various roads? 90 ish doesn't seem that fast now days.
Very intrigued. What is a speed allowance and how does it work
Excellent video yet again - doing a fantastic job at educating the general public around the ways of emergency response driving.
Now, I’m aware that you are a manager within the trust.
However did you have to go through your IG team in order to film?
Just simply out of curiosity as I’d love to film some of my FRU or Truck responses!
Are you able to shed some light on why you use a plain black unmarked car? I always thought unmarked emergency services vehicles were just for undercover police. Do you think drivers would see you quicker if you had a marked car with the classic ambulance pattern?
Good question!
He’s answered this many times.
He is a responding manager for the trust.
Meaning he works on an on call rota, so this vehicle is his work and daily home vehicle.
So he will respond to jobs in it and also go to Tesco to do the weekly shop.
I'm surprised you have a speed allowance - would've thought whatever speed you can justify and drive at safely would be fine. Great work either way! :)
Your upper end of speed allowance is my average cruising speed :D I'm always astonished how restrictive many countries are to higher speeds, even though the Autobahn clearly prooves that speed itself isn't dangerous.
Speedometer is great!
I love that you are continuously improving your vids. One suggestion: please make the digits for the HR bigger. On mobile it's a bit hard to see
Love your videos Chris. What's your vehicle
Chris - you mention a 'speed allowance' on screen at one point. Could you elaborate on that? Is it that you have a maximum speed you can get up to on a blue light run?
Im curious how you have time to get all of this equipment ready before a bluelight run.
Surely if it's an emergency you dont have time to turn on all the cameras, heart rate monitors etc?
Hi, always a consideration to not waste time so appreciate the question. Takes longer to wait for the sat nav to load up so cameras are turned on during that wait and are controlled from the driver seat so all turned on in 5 secs. Thanks. C.
As an ex emt the speed limit was whatever the speed of the road plus 10mph over has this changed or does it depend on the area you serve as neas area is still the same ie 30mph Road on blues = 40mph 70mph=80mph on blues
I didn’t realise that emergency service vehicles had a ‘speed allowance’ is that a thing that your local area does or is this a ambulance service wide thing
Out of interest what’s your trust policy on speed, I note you stay around 90 in 70 is it generally over the posted limit? Heard some trust have done this as some forces have with standard response drivers
Im assuming your speed allowance is 90 , what happens if you go over ( apart from getting there quicker) , and does this apply to all EMS ?
Nice professional drive but what roof lightbar you running with there Chris as looks like an unusual Whelan ?
Loving your videos love you got the Speedo and the BPM one question I saw you mentioned you were near your allowed speed? So you can't just open the Octavia and max out on a motorway?
Could you expand your "Speed allowance"? I didnt realize there was an upper limit, I assumed it was based on current conditions and your judgement.
Does your Trust support speed limit + 20mph, or speed limit + 50%?
Hi, currently the speed +20 but I believe it s being reviewed.
Must just be a local policy because I know that car CAN do 145mph; you topped out at 95mph. Even the national "Guide" says an Ambulance (truck) can go 105mph, and on our old IHCD course we drove the RRv to 135mph.... very odd!
Trust dependant. Sometimes it's a % cap as in 20% above (72 in a 60) sometimes it's 20 above (80 in a 60) and some trusts have no cap at all.
Is there a limit you're legally allowed to go? Or is it a case of; if it's safe it's OK?
You said you were at the top end of your speed allowance...So even you have a speed limit? And what is your limit? Love all your content 😀
That moment when I legally drove faster on a pleasant afternoon drive at the weekend the he can drive in a blue light emergency. Man I Love the Autobahn.
I have a siren question, does the siren sound change automatically, according to speed or what?
Live on a main road and when two police cars are traveling together they often have different siren sounds, this seems not true of ambulances, fire engines seem to very occasionally use the old fashioned two tone siren although rarely follow each other closely
You use the horn to activate/change the tone of the siren, double press starts and stops, and single press cycles through the tones, it's done this way to minimise the time hands are off the steering wheel.
Not based on speed, but traffic density. There are 3 main siren tones.
Wail - the classic one you hear in this video. For low traffic density.
Yelp - A faster tone. For higher traffic density areas.
Priority/ Piercer - The fastest tone. For extremely high traffic density where, when the cars have space to move but aren't, the ambulance has come to a stand still.
@@diamond4791 not so much about traffic density, it's more that different tones are easier heard at different distances. The 'priority' tone tends to get used a lot approaching junctions and areas of potential conflict because it's better heard at close quarters, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's about traffic density per se. People are also more aware of changes in tone, which is why often in high traffic areas you'll hear the tones being cycled through in rapid succession, rather than just one or the other. In the US they've started using Rumbler tones for similar reasons which are super interesting. I think a few UK police forces are experimenting with them now too, but haven't come across 'em on my patch.
When multiple EV's are in close proximity different tones can be used by each to make it easier for other to notice there are multiple vehicles. For ambulances there is generally no advantage in making sure all units arrive at the same time the first to arrive can begin triage and treatment at the scene until others arrive. For the police there is often a tactical reason to need all units to arrive simultaneously, suspects tend to make themselves scarce if they can not all be detained immediately. As for fire engines the simple fact they usually get less frequent calls means they are almost always deploying from base at the fire station so if multiple appliances are dispatched from a station at once they will tend to be together because they started that way. Ambulances on the other hand get far more calls and often will end up having to redeploy from wherever they cleared from their last call so even when multiple are needed they will rarely be coming from the same place either. Thus seeing them together is more of a happenstance of coincidence and often may not even for the same response so maybe that is why they often seem less co-ordinated even when it does happen. Could be you see two ambulances but they are going to two different incidents in different places and merely happen to be on the same road for a few seconds so not much advantage. Besides which each would need to be noticed separately as they have different paths they need to progress through in that case anyway.
@@seanohalloran0 Traffic density is the main part of siren tone changes on a straight stretch of road, that is what I was getting at. And in high density areas, sirens aren't just cycled through rapidly, they will usually stick it on piercer, or if the cars have no where to move, they will turn the sirens off. Not sure where you are from, but the majority of the UK does it like this.
How fast are you allowed to go?
Go on then, what kit are you using to get all that data? I'd be interested to do the same.
Why are you only allowed to go into the low 90’s?
Presumably there are different speed allowances for different blue light drivers?
What's the speedallownce for you guys