AMR Safety Concept Vehicle

[SHFD781 0]

I don't know if anyone has posted this before or not. AMR and AEV have teamed up to design a safer ambulance for patients and EMTs. The new ambulance has a lot of well thought out features. Some practical and some not so practical in my own opinion. Anyways check it out for yourself and lets hear what you think.

http://www.aev.com/scv2/

[x152 179]

Interesting..........however, this would be a significant financial increase for AMR's fleet spending in the CT area. In the "for-profit" world, the additions to these buses may price them out of consideration.

Also - not to nit-pick, but the chevron pattern (in the rear) is inverted from the recommended application?

[WAS967 97]

Also - not to nit-pick, but the chevron pattern (in the rear) is inverted from the recommended application?

Care to elaborate? It's a design no? Don't THEY determine how it's mounted?

The MAJOR thing that I don't like is the transverse position for the second backboarded patient. It eliminates the ability to sit at the head of the first patient where 90% of what needs to be done in a critical situation can be done. The second is af course cost. All the extra features like the multiple suction units will greatly increase (if not double) the cost of the vehicle. I'd love to see the lighting package in operation.

I'm also surprise, with it being an AMR concept, that they didn't obviously integrate the "big brother" system into it.

Edited May 30, 2006 by WAS967

[Guest]

As for the exterior, it covers all bases for safety. Inside is European in conception. Riding in Germany the interior is similar and more spacy It does bring some order into our interior chaos.. BUT, no bench = no way to transport 2nd patient on backboard if needed. This idea is well and good, lets see how it gets put to the test.

[ny10570 745]

As for the exterior, it covers all bases for safety. Inside is European in conception. Riding in Germany the interior is similar and more spacy It does bring some order into our interior chaos.. BUT, no bench = no way to transport 2nd patient on backboard if needed. This idea is well and good, lets see how it gets put to the test.

←

Double check the link. It is set up for a second boarded pt. The down side is it requires the 2nd pt to be faced teh other way - head to the door.

[x152 179]

Care to elaborate? It's a design no? Don't THEY determine how it's mounted?

←

Check your DOT specs. The recommended chevron application is to invert from the mid-line out. The purpose of this design is to steer the eyes (ultimately, the oncoming vehicle) away from the mid-line of the vehicle.

///////\\\\\\\\ = good

\\\\\\\/////// = not so good

So to answer your question, Yes THEY do have the right to do whatever they want, but the point was that it was not the proper pattern. But do what you want, I don't care.

[orangEMT246 6]

Any idea how much this ambulance costs? Maybe if I win LOTTO, I'll buy one for my company.

[Guest]

It a great concept considering all its safety features, however reading about how the second backboard patient is facing the opposite direction, it just makes it a lil more difficult to work on two patients as to having both of them facing the same direction.

Edited June 2, 2006 by MFVFD310810

[IzzyEng4 427]

There are a lot of things that are going to be a problem here.

Patient compartment camera and video screen????? Look where the screen is, down near the light switches. taking your eyes off the road eh? Put the window to the box back in the center and use a rear view mirror to keep your eyes on the crew and patient. Same height as eye level to the road and you only need to glance over.

Communication headsets are a good thing but I can for see the wires getting tangled up and being restrictive. A speaker and a handset are just as good. Not for nothing, I never had a problem communicating with a driver through a window or better yet have a VOX monitor for the driver to hear whats going on back there. Tell you the truth, the driver has enough to listen and watch.

The cargo nets for the compartments, not a good idea, They get ripped out, flop around, ect. Where those are, use the plexi, sliding doors., much safer. I'm not spending time refestening them up during patient car and god forbid we take a hard turn, more stuff on the patient. Any heavy equipment should be stored behind heavy style compartment doors or securly fastened down.

Biggest pet peeve, only room for one patient lying flat. What you can't transport 2 boarded BLS patients anymore??? The seats are good but when you have a mass casulty and there are severa BLS boarded patients, taking them 2X2 is a good thing. It is lost here and going to be a problem, especially if they cannot get another unit there for what ever reason.

The checkered paint might make someone think that this is a taxi. OH WAIT WE ARE<Evil snicker>

Seriously though, what they are doing with the paint job is not the most pleasing thing but it does stand out. With the reflective striping and warning lights outthere, they don't need to go with the checkered scheme. The rear however should have the upsidedown "V" reflective striping like Europe uses, especially for highway saftey. Either a RED/ YELLOW or BLUE / YELLOW combo.

There is a lot of good and bad here and I know its a concept, but again, they have to go to the crews to see what would work for them, not some pecil pusher in the main office who has been off the road for some 10 years.

Just my 2 cents.

[WAS967 97]

You CAN transport a second boarded patient.

I agree with the whole "driver has too much to keep track of already" bit. I'm definatly not a fan of the positioning of the TV screen for the cameras. No way would I look at the console in the process of changing lanes.

[IzzyEng4 427]

You CAN transport a second boarded patient.

I agree with the whole "driver has too much to keep track of already" bit. I'm definatly not a fan of the positioning of the TV screen for the cameras. No way would I look at the console in the process of changing lanes.

←

Misread the transverse aka in front of the box. Though still not a favorite position but usefull since you get more curbside compartmentation.

My bad.

[WAS967 97]

Tis okay. I agree the position is all wrong, but for the number of times we use it it's probably not a BAD thing - hopefully you won't be transporting two critical patients in the same rig anyways - but you never know.

My partner today pointed out that people like to jump on the negatives of things like this concept vehicle and I realized I never really pointed out the pluses. Suction and sharps within reach is nice. I hope/assume it has easily accessable control switches for lights and etc. The recessed handrail is nice (prevents whacking head on it). The light package I'm sure is absolutely siezure inducing but the visibility options are a nice plus.

I'd love to see the price tag.

[x152 179]

Several years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation conducted a study regarding rear warning protection for highway vehicles (included in this were recommendations for fire and police vehicles). The results of which appeared as recommendations in several fire service publications (you may or may not read those). One of the recommendations was to install chevron striping at the rear of the vehicle. The information went into a dull and scientific explanation into how the eyes react to the pattern. In the same dull explanation, the scientific "geniuses" found that the inverted "V" or "^" was better. I am not sure as to why (nor do I care), but that was the suggestion.

Apparently, others (including apparatus manufacturers) are also finding this "suggestion" credible because I have rarely seen a piece of fire apparatus recently delivered (with a chevron pattern) that is not in the inverted "V" pattern. Could this just be coincidence or perhaps it is actually based upon something?

You can also reference the following article from Ron Moore regarding rear warning protection for fire apparatus.

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...19§ionId=19

He (Mr. Moore) also mentions the recommended inverted "v" and refers to section 6E.02 of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

I do not have that document in front of me, but I believe they (MUTCD) talk about chevron pattern applications (or perhaps Mr. Moore was also just taking a shot-in-the-dark?)

[IzzyEng4 427]

I think for AMR to convert over to this type of Type I or III ambulance with this concept would be a financial disaster if done immediately for AMR CT, MA & NY. If you look at the entire fleet in CT for example, thye area all Type II except for the specialized units for larger patients or PEDI Critical Care units. I know that New Haven and Bridgeport has one each, 5-Charlie-6 and Bridgeport 7116 or at least that is what number used to be assigned to those units when I worked C-Med New Haven and might have changed since. There could be two box type ambulances for each service though, I cannot remember.

Mnay private services go for the Type II mainly do to the fact is is a lower costing ambulance. If you look at AMR's fleet replacement, and I'm going to use New Haven AMR since I was more familiar with them, they only purchase approximately 5 new rigs every two to four years (this is an approximated time and vehicle number amount). It is possible to convert the whole fleet over with in 5 to ten years in New Haven when the life expectancey of the current twenty to thirty ambulances has ended.

This would be a major decision to convert over to this style ambulance mainly to cost. The Type I & III style boxes are my favorite mainly because you do have more room to work. This would be interesting to see if AMR does infact go over to this ambulance when all the "kinks" are worked out. The concept vehicle still has to meet triple K national standards though as well. Should be interesting to see if AMR will stray away from the Type II's. Just hope they plan out the replacement rotation correctly.

[SHFD781 0]

Here is another company doing similar things to their ambulance in regards to safety. They made alot of changes including starting to use the five point harness type seat belts.

Florida Rescuers Design Safer Ambulance

SUSAN NICOL KYLE

EMSResponder.Com News

Paramedics at Winter Park Fire Rescue Department weren't willing to settle for the run-of-the mill ambulances any longer. They designed their own.

They dug their heels in to get what they wanted - a safer and more efficient vehicle. Even when manufacturers tried to talk them out of the modifications, they held fast, said Paramedic Lt. A.J. Isaacs, the project manager.

After reviewing ambulance crash studies from NIOSH, Isaacs said he was determined that changes would be made. And, Chief Jim White agreed that safety was paramount.

Isaacs said it just made absolutely no sense why someone would need to stand to tend to a patient who is secured to the cot. NIOSH crash tests involving a slow speed collision showed the attendant seated in the CPR seat being pushed into the radio and light panel, striking their head. It was the first thing to go in Winter Park's new ambulances.

Instead, there's a seat on the opposite side with five-point safety restraints for the paramedic. While belted, they still have complete access to the patient and equipment.

The control panel for the lights and radio has been moved to that side and sits at an angle. At the right of the attendant's seat are cabinets holding needles and IV equipment and the drug box. On the other side, is one for the sharps box and trash.

"There's absolutely no reason to stand up," Isaacs said. "It's all here within reach."

The airway management chair is equipped with a regular harness and lap belt. The EKG monitor is on a shelf where the CPR seat is in most ambulances. The shelf slides in order for the paramedic to keep an eye on the patient's heart rhythm.

The department has automatic CPR devices for cardiac arrest patients.

A DVD player is mounted above the rear door, and while en route to the hospital the patient watches a message from the county medical director. The attendant selects the topic depending on the type of call or complaint.

The two MedTec ambulances which cost $170,000 each, also have been equipped with new stretchers, ones that Paramedic Lt. Pat McCabe said will prevent back injuries. By pushing a button, the cots raise or lower.

In addition to the safety features, the ambulances have a hydraulic generator to run an air conditioner to keep the box cool. McCabe said in the Florida heat it was impossible to keep the patient compartment cool.

And, they've taken advantage of empty space by adding to two compartments accessible from the outside to store extra oxygen cylinders.

A NIOSH study of ambulance crashes showed more than 70 percent of EMS personnel rarely used belts while riding in the patient compartment. At slow speed, the box often goes forward and dips down, tossing attendants into the bulkhead.

On Wednesday, the NIOSH researchers also took a look at the Winter Park ambulance features, and indicated they were impressed.

Isaacs said while the ambulance he designed meets KKK specifications, he would eventually like to see the restraints become part of nationwide standards.

The Winter Park Department has asked NIOSH to perform tests to determine if the restraints really do protect the attendants.

Companies interested in the design can contact Jim Philips at Med Tec, who worked closely with his hometown fire department to make their concept become a reality.

There is also some pictures of some of the new features http://www.emsresponder.com/article/articl...ction=1&id=3519

Also check out the Winter Park Fire Rescue's website. It's pretty nice. Here's pictures of their new ambulances.

[Guest paramedico987]

Just gimme a place to store all my crap and a catch net... that's as safe as it's gonna be.

I will give props for the spring mounted bumper and backup camera that is really pretty cool stuff. I have the sensors on 2 busses I use and they don't work AT ALL so save your money if you're planning on spec-ing a bus with them. and as far as harnesses go --> they can only work if you wear them... how many of us forget to buckle up in the cab even?