Operating Emergency Vehicles

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Operating Emergency Vehicles

• Sugar Land Fire Department
• Driver/OperatorPumper Academy
• Spring 2003

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Operating Emergency Vehicles
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Operating Emergency Vehicles

• Collision Statistics Causes
• Driving Regulations
• Starting Driving the Apparatus
• Stopping, Idling, Shutting Down the Apparatus
• Safe Driving Techniques
• Backing the Apparatus

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Operating Emergency Vehicles

• Defensive Driving Techniques
• Weight Transfer Skid Control
• Auxiliary Braking Systems
• Passing Other Vehicles
• Adverse Weather
• Warning Devices Clearing Traffic

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Collision Statistics Causes

• Overweight, unstable, homebuilt vehicles with
  high centers of gravity and worn out chassis.
• Improperly baffled water tanks, which cause
  liquid surge when partially filled
• Poor maintenance of apparatus, particularly of
  brake systems

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Collision Statistics Causes

• Time of Day of collisions
• Daylight 108 (51)
• Dawn/Dusk 23 (11)
• Night 58 (27)
• Unknown 23 (11)
• IUP study

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Collision Statistics Causes

• Road Conditions of Collisions
• Dry Road 130 (61)
• Wet Road 22 (10.5)
• Snow/Ice 28 (13)
• Muddy Road 1 (0.5)
• Unknown 32 (15)
• IUP study

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Causes of Driver/Operator Error

• Insufficient Training
• Unfamiliarity with the Vehicle
• Overconfidence in Ones Driving Ability
• Inability to recognize a dangerous situation
• False sense of security because of a good driving
  record
• Misunderstanding of apparatus capabilities
• Lack of knowledge about how to operate apparatus
  controls in an emergency

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Driving Regulations

• Regulatory agencies that govern fire apparatus
  driver/operators
• Federal laws
• State or provincial motor vehicle codes
• City ordinances
• NFPA standards
• Departmental Policies

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Driving Regulations

• Unless specifically exempt, emergency vehicles
  are subject to the same rules, regulations, and
  ordinances that govern any motorized vehicle
  operator.
• In some jurisdictions, statutes may exempt
  emergency vehicles responding to an emergency
  from driving regulations that apply to the
  general public direction of travel, direction of
  turns, parking etc.

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Driving Regulations

• When exempted from general public regulations,
  the driver/operator must exercise great care for
  the safety of others and must maintain complete
  control of the vehicle
• All traffic signals and rules must be obeyed when
  returning to quarters from an alarm or during any
  other nonemergency driving

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Driving Regulations
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Driving Regulations
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Starting Driving the Apparatus

• Always consult the manufacturers operating
  manual, supplied with each vehicle, for
  instructions specific to the vehicle
• Start the vehicle as soon as possible so that it
  is warmed up when the rest of the crew is
  assembled and ready to respond.

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Starting Driving the Apparatus

• Let the apparatus idle as long as possible before
  putting it into road gearfor nonemergency
  response this could be 3 to 5 minutes, for an
  emergency response it may be only a few seconds.
• Take the time to review the incident location and
  consider important factors that may affect the
  response such as road closings and traffic
  conditions.

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Starting Driving the Apparatus
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Manual Shift Apparatus

• Make safety checks before moving the apparatus
  seatbelt fastened, all aboard, mirrors and seat
  adjusted, battery on, etc.
• After releasing the parking brake, shift into a
  low gear that will allow the vehicle to move
  without undue wear on the engine.

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Manual Shift Apparatus

• Release the clutch slowly when starting from a
  standstill, taking care to avoid vehicle rollback
  before the clutch engages.
• Keep the apparatus in low gear until the proper
  speed or revolutions per minute (RPM) is reached
  for shifting to a higher gear.

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Manual Shift Apparatus
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Automatic Transmissions
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Automatic Transmissions

• Do not attempt to jump more than one gear at a
  time.
• Once the apparatus is moving, accelerate the
  vehicle gradually
• Do not try to reach rated speed in the low gears.

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Automatic Transmissions

• Stay in the highest gear that allows the
  apparatus to keep up with traffic and still have
  some power in reserve for acceleration.
• Attempt to maintain engine rpm control through
  correct throttling
• Avoid over throttling, which results in lugging.

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Automatic Transmissions

• Do not allow the engine rpm to drop below peak
  torque speed if lugging does occur.
• When ascending a steep grade, and momentary
  unavoidable lugging takes place, select
  progressively lower gears.
• Do not allow the engine to over speed because of
  improper downshifting or hill descent instead,
  choose a gear that cruises the speed at 200 or
  300 rpm lower than recommended rpm

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Stopping, Idling, Shutting Down the Apparatus

• Stopping the Apparatus
• Before braking, consider the weight of the
  apparatus and the condition of the brakes, tires,
  and road surface.
• If the unit has a retarder become thoroughly
  familiar with all the manufacturers
  recommendations regarding its operation prior to
  use.

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Stopping, Idling, Shutting Down the Apparatus

• Do not disengage the clutch until the last few
  feet of travel, particularly on slippery
  surfaces, because an engaged engine allows more
  control of the apparatus.
• Engine Idling
• Shut down the engine rather than letting it idle
  for a long period of time.

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Stopping, Idling, Shutting Down the Apparatus

• When the engine must be left to idle for an
  extended period of time because of extremely cold
  weather or during floodlight operations, set it
  to idle at 900 to 1100rpm rather than at lower
  speeds.
• Familiarize yourself with and follow your
  departments SOP for times when the apparatus may
  be forced to idle for an extended period of time.

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Stopping, Idling, Shutting Down the Apparatus

• Engine Shutdown
• Never attempt to shut down the engine while the
  apparatus is in motion
• Never shut down immediately after full-load
  operation instead, allow the engine temperature
  to stabilize by idling it 3 to 4 minutes before
  shutdown.

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Driver/Operator Attitude

• Train yourself to be safety conscious and
  calm
• Do not drive recklessly or aggressively
• Do not demand the right of way although you may
  legally have it.
• Be prepared to yield the right of way at all
  times in the interest of safety

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Driver/Operator Attitude

• Drive as you would during nonemergency
  situations, and take advantage of the room that
  clears for you on the road.
• Consider the fire departments public image and
  do not drive recklessly, make degrading gestures,
  or verbal assaults toward members of the public.

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Driver/Operator Attitude

• Refrain from blaring sirens and air horns at 3
  a.m. on deserted roads (unless required by law or
  department SOP)

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Rider Safety Guidelines

• Know that you are responsible for the safety of
  all personnel riding on the apparatus
• Make sure that all riders should don their
  protective gear before boarding the apparatus.
• If you (as the driver) are not comfortable
  driving the apparatus wearing fire boots or bulky
  protective coat, you may don your protective
  clothing at the scene.

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Guidelines for Backing Apparatus

• If two spotters are used, only one should
  communicate with the driver the second spotter
  should assist the first one.
• If you do not have spotters or cannot see the
  spotters behind you, do not back the apparatus.
• Ensure that all of your departments apparatus
  are equipped with an alarm system that warns
  others when the apparatus is backing up.

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Weight Transfer Skid Control
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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• Methods of avoiding loss of control due to weight
  transfer.
• Use only as much steering as needed to keep
  weight transfer to a minimum
• Use smooth and continuous steering.
• Drive slowly on curves and turns.
• Do not drive on slopes too steep for the
  particular apparatus

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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• Equip apparatus with baffled water tanks.
• Drive the vehicle only when the water tank is
  completely empty or full.

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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• Common Causes of Skids
• Driving too fast for road conditions
• Failing to properly appreciate weight shifts of
  heavy apparatus.
• Failing to anticipate obstacles
• Improper use of auxiliary braking devices
• Improper maintenance of tire air pressure
• Improper maintenance of tire tread depth

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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• Antilock Braking System (ABS)
• PurposeMinimize the chance of skidding when the
  brakes are applied forcefully
• OperationA digital onboard computer monitors
  each wheel and controls air pressure to the
  brakes, maintaining optimal braking ability

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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• Guidelines for controlling skids
• When driving a vehicle equipped with an ABS,
  maintain a steady pressure on the brake pedal
  (rather than pumping the pedal) until the
  apparatus is brought to a complete halt.
• Remember that with air brakes, there is a slight
  delay between the time the driver/operator pushes
  down on the brake pedal and the time that
  sufficient air pressure is sent to the brake for
  operation.

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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• When driving a vehicle not equipped with an ABS,
  release the brakes, allowing the wheels to rotate
  freely.
• No matter what braking system, turn the steering
  wheel so that the front wheels face the direction
  of the skid.
• When driving standard transmission apparatus, do
  not release the clutch until the vehicle is under
  control and just before stopping the vehicle

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Weight Transfer Skid Control

• Once the skid is controllable, gradually apply
  power to the wheels to further control the
  vehicle by providing traction.

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Auxiliary Braking Systems

• Engine Retarder
• Saves wear on the service brakes and makes the
  apparatus easier to manage on hills and slippery
  roads.
• Is activated when pressure is released from the
  accelerator
• Allows the driver/operator to limit the use of
  the service brakes to emergency and final stops

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Auxiliary Braking Systems

• Front brake-limiting valve system (dry
  road/slippery road switch)
• Is intended to help the driver/operator maintain
  control of the apparatus on wet, slippery
  surfaces
• Is activated when switch is moved to the
  slippery-road position

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Auxiliary Braking Systems

• Reduces air pressure on front steering axle by
  50 thus preventing the front wheels from locking
  up and allowing the driver/operator to steer the
  vehicle even when the rear wheels are locked into
  a skid
• Is not overly effective or safe because with the
  switch in the slippery-road position, braking
  capabilities are actually reduced by 25

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Auxiliary Braking Systems

• Should be placed in the dry-road position and
  disconnected as recommended by IFSTA
• Interaxle differential lock
• Is intended to provide greater traction for each
  axle
• Is activated with a switch in the cab of
  apparatus with tandem rear axles
• Allows for a difference in speed between the two
  rear axles, while providing pulling power from
  each axle, and providing improved traction.

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Auxiliary Braking Systems

• Automatic Traction Control (ATC)
• Helps improve traction on slippery roads
• Reduces drive wheel over spin by decreasing
  engine speed as needed until traction is acquired
  to move the chassis.
• Has no switch for the driver/operator to select
  automatically turns itself on and off.
• Is engaged when a green indicator light on the
  dash illuminates

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Auxiliary Braking Systems

• ATC snow-and-mud switch
• Increases available traction on extra soft
  surfaces and may be used to rock an apparatus
  out of a particular spot
• Is activated with a switch and engaged when an
  indicator light on dash flashes continuously
• Should be deactivated (by pressing switch a
  second time and turning off vehicle ignition)
  when normal traction is regained.

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Interaxle Differential lock

• Leave in unlocked position under normal
  conditions move to the locked position only when
  approaching or anticipating slippery-road
  conditions.
• Lift your foot from the accelerator when
  activating an interaxle differential lock
• Do not activate this switch while on or more of
  the wheels is actually slipping or spinning
  damage to the axle could result.

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Interaxle Differential lock

• Do not spin the wheel with the interaxle
  differential locked damage to the axle could
  result.

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ATChow it works

• When a drive wheel starts to spin, the ATC
  applies air pressure to brake the wheel. This
  transfers engine torque to the wheels with better
  traction.
• When all drive wheels begin to spin, the ATC
  reduces the engine torque to provide improved
  traction.

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Passing Other Vehicles

• Whenever possible, avoid passing vehicles that do
  not pull over to yield the right-of-way to the
  fire apparatus.
• Always travel on the innermost lane on multilane
  roads.
• Avoid passing vehicles on the right
• Make sure you can see that the opposing lanes of
  traffic are clear of oncoming traffic if you must
  move in that direction.

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Passing Other Vehicles

• Avoid passing other emergency vehicles
• Always coordinate by radio when passing emergency
  vehicles
• Flash your high beam lights to get the drivers
  attention when preparing to pass.

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Adverse Weather

• Adjust apparatus speed according to the condition
  of road surfaces.
• Decrease speed gradually before entering curves.
• Know and anticipate areas that become slippery
  first Bridge surfaces, northern slopes of hills,
  shaded spots

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Adverse Weather

• Test the brakes in an area free of traffic
• Use the windshield wipers and defrosters to keep
  the windshield clean and clear.
• Snow tires or tire chains reduce the stopping
  distance but increase starting and hill climbing
  traction on snow or ice.

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Adverse Weather

• Increase the safe following distance between
  vehicles.
• It takes 3 to 15 times more distance for a
  vehicle to come to a complete stop on snow and
  ice than it does on dry concrete.

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Warning Devices Clearing Traffic

• Civilian drivers respond better to sounds that
  change pitch often.
• Take care not to outrun the effective range of
  siren
• Operate warning devices from the time the
  apparatus begins its response until it arrives on
  the scene.

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Warning Devices Clearing Traffic

• Use some discretion in the use of sirens when
  responding to sensitive situations such as
  psychiatric emergencies.
• Limit use to true emergency response situations
  according to your departments SOPs.
• If not contraindicated by department SOPs, turn
  off all warning devices and proceed with the
  normal flow of traffic when driving on
  limited-access highways and turnpikes

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Warning Devices Clearing Traffic

• When more than one emergency vehicle is
  responding along the same route, travel at least
  300-500 feet apart.
• Use the radio to communicate between responding
  units when approaching the same intersection.
• Always take precautions to ensure a safe,
  collision free response.

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Warning Devices Clearing Traffic
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Traffic Control Devices

• Traffic signals in front of the fire station
• Multiple traffic signal control
• OpticomTM System
• SONEM 2000 System

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Good Driving Practices

• Remember that speed is less important than
  arriving safely at the destination.
• Slow down for intersections, and stop when faced
  with a red light or stop sign. Anticipate the
  worst possible situation
• Drive defensively!
• Expect that some motorists and pedestrians will
  neither hear nor see the apparatus warning devices

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Good Driving Practices

• Be aware of the routes general road and traffic
  conditions.
• Remember that icy, wet, or snow-packed roads
  increase braking distance.
• Do not grind the gears on manual transmission
  vehicles
• Do not use the clutch pedal as a footrest

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Good Driving Practices

• Do not exceed 10 mph when leaving the station
• Do not race the engine when the apparatus is
  standing still.
• Always use low gear when starting from a
  standstill.
• Keep the apparatus under control at all times.
• Taking NOTHING for granted!