Use of Hazard Lights in an Emergency Situation – No

From 3arf

What are four-way signals, otherwise known as hazard lights, for? They are used to signal the presence of a hazard to other drivers. Drivers use them when their car has broken down in the middle or side of the road and when they are traveling at a slower speed than the traffic around them because of mechanical problems. Should they be allowed as warning signals while driving to the emergency room? Sure, but this should not be permission to ignore posted speed limits, run stop signs or traffic signals to get to the hospital faster.

If the medical problem is one that warrants immediate care 911 should be called. Once 911 has been contacted emergency care will be sent directly to you where life saving techniques can be used on the way to the hospital. The emergency crew can typically get to you quicker than you can safely get to the hospital even if it means calling in a helicopter.If the medical problem does not warrant immediate care then speed should not be an issue and lives should not be risked because someone is frantically in a hurry to get to the hospital. Most people are not capable of knowing if a condition is life threatening or not which is why it is even more important to call 911 as emergency technicians are better able to determine the severity of the situation. Do you know the difference between a heart attack and angina?Worried about the cost of the ambulance services? Cost should not weigh in as a factor when it comes to saving a life. Safe the life then deal with the cost afterwards if insurance doesn't cover it. Payments can be made as low as $5 per week to pay for the service and you cannot be refused service on the basis that you cannot afford it or you do not have medical coverage. If once the ambulance arrives and the emergency technicians determine the situation was not life threatening then there is no charge for the service if you do not take the ride.In closing I would like to share a short story. One evening while we were sitting in the back of the pickup watching the movie at the drive-in theatre my daughter decided to do a nosedive over the side of the truck while I was reaching for something in the opposite direction. I jumped out of the truck and picked her up to find blood all over her face. There was more blood than I had ever seen and I was frantically trying to gather our things so we could drive to the emergency room. While I was fastening my daughter into her child seat I noticed one of her eyes seemed to roll into the back of her head and at that time I decided that rather than fight the late-night weekend traffic and risk further injury to my daughter I would call 911. The ambulance arrived quickly and once we were under the bright lights of the inside of the ambulance and the technicians had the blood cleaned up we could easily see that it was not a life-threatening situation. The EMS technician explained to me that the reason there was so much blood more than you would think for such a small cut was because of the location of the cut, which was right above her eye. They finished cleaning her up and even let us have the blanket they used for her and went on their way. We never received a bill not even for the blanket or the supplies used to check her wound. Even better lives were not put at risk by a scared mother trying to get her daughter to the emergency room.

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