I‘ve benn leving in Japan for half a year now and this has always interested me. I come from Germany, usually when I see an ambulance/firefighter/police vehicle (that has their sirens on) they are fast. Normally they drive a lot faster than other vehicles on the street. They are not careless, especially in corners, bit you can difinitely notice that they are in a hurry.
Here it seems to be the exact opposite. Emergency vehicles seem to drive slower than everyone else on the street and especially in corners they spend a LOT of time. Yesterday a lot of firefighter vehicles drove by my house very fast, that was the first time I saw this in Japan.
I‘m not saying it’s bad to be careful, but they just never seem to be in a hurry, which is seems weitd for emergency vehicles.
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According to [this article and those interviewed](https://www.kobe-np.co.jp/rentoku/omoshiro/202203/0015120505.shtml) the speed of ambulances vary based on the passenger and their condition.
If they are near death then the ambulance is gonna hoof it to the hospital. If it’s an old person who collapsed that isn’t in immediate danger but wouldn’t appreciate the violent rocking of the ambulance as it speeds through the streets, a slower speed is meant for their comfort.
What you’ve noticed is probably a heck of a lot of elderly passengers needing a slower, smoother ride or simply passengers with unserious conditions. But if someone really was grievously hurt or ill that ambulance is gonna book it.
Yes, they’re emergency vehicles, but no everyone they’re carrying is under emergency.
I don’t have an answer to this question, but recently I was riding my bike behind an ambulance and it was literally slower than I can ride. I was looking for a way to overtake it.
As it approached a green light, it braked and slowed down while blasting “真っ直ぐ進みます。真っ直ぐ進みます。” over the megaphone. A green light…
They serve green tea and a light snack to the patient in the back. If they go too fast, the tea spills everywhere, and it’s impossible holding the delicate confection with chopsticks.
Fire engines don’t serve refreshments, so can drive at full speed.
Ambulances do nobody any good if they have a massive accident on the way to the hospital because they’re going way too fast, is I believe the reasoning. Better to take a bit of extra time and get there safely.
I’m not sure about how often people call ambulances in Germany, but searching “ambulance” in Japanese gets you the result of “instead of a taxi.” Lots of people call one when they don’t need it. The fact that it’s free in Japan is a wonderful thing, but people need to take a taxi when they’ve just gotten a little cut. (I went to the hospital to pick someone up after he cut himself with a keyholder and freaked out. I got to see the nurse chew him out for treating it like an emergency lol.)
No need to rush and risk a crash when the passenger just needs a bandaid.
>Yesterday a lot of firefighter vehicles drove by my house very fast
Strange coincidence, I saw an ambulance absolutely gunning it the other day. Took me by surprise as well.
I just want to know why they have to have loud sirens on an empty road at 3am.
No idea why they’re so slow. I just compare how the drivers are here to the US.
Japanese ambulance drivers slow down when cars are in front of them, and if the car doesn’t move, they politely ask them to move over the loudspeaker.
In the US, I’ve seen ambulances barrel down the street, and when cars were in the way the drivers yelled “Get the hell off the street!”
As someone else have mentioned, the speed should be on a case-by-case basis.
Maybe the ones you saw didn’t have an emergency case or maybe they did but they are still looking for or waiting for an accepting hospital.
In Germany, do people stop for the ambulance?
In Japan I noticed while many people give way, 10% of cars won’t stop at a green light for an ambulance. They just can’t take the risk of an accident there.
Also, especially in Tokyo, I have seen all cars were stopped but people kept crossing around the ambulance. Like the ambulance was stuck in front or in the middle of pedestrians crossing because they wouldn’t let it pass…
I would say they’re careful especially because a lot of people like pedestrians and people on bycicles do not really conform to rules and just keep crossing the streets minding their business.
Having said that, where I come from ambulances are crazy fast and they do not have the luxury of having a microphone to talk to people, just the regular loud diren. So fast that YOU would be crazy to cross in front of them. Despite that, I don’t recall hearing about accidents involving ambulances being a recurring thing.
Local city has an air ambulance that hoofs it.
Also has the doctor car that really speeds through the city at up to double the speed limit and the yelp siren going, critical cases the ambulance goes fast as well usually escorted by the doctor car. Depends on patient and road conditions.
I wonder too if crew numbers differ.. in the UK paramedic crew would be pairs, but I feel like I’ve seen 3 people in Japanese ambulances. Perhaps they’re able to offer more thorough treatment en route hence a slower, safer pace?
If they can control the situation in the back of the ambulance, there’s no real rush. If its a severely critical situation, like Ludacris said “Move! Get out the way!”
>Why do ambulances sometimes travel slowly?
>Ambulances do not always run slowly. They vary their speed depending on the symptoms of the injured or sick person, road conditions, and traffic conditions. Depending on the symptoms of the injured or sick person being transported by ambulance, there is a possibility that his/her condition or injuries may worsen due to the impact of the shaking of the ambulance, so it is important to transport the patient in a calm and comfortable manner. The vehicle may also pause or slow down on undulating roads.
>In addition, there are times when procedures such as securing an intravenous line (intravenous drip) are performed. Since securing an intravenous line is a procedure using a needle, the vehicle may pause while driving to perform the procedure. Incidentally, the speed limit for emergency driving is 100 km/h on expressways and 80 km/h on ordinary roads, as stipulated by the Road Traffic Law. The speed limit for driving slowly is not set.
>Q. When you drive slowly, for example, what kind of symptoms do people have?
>For example, in the case of a patient suffering from subarachnoid hemorrhage, preventing rebleeding will save the patient’s life and reduce the aftereffects of the hemorrhage. To prevent rebleeding, it is necessary to avoid as much as possible any increase in blood pressure caused by stimuli such as vomiting, excitement, or pain. Therefore, the ambulance should be driven in such a way that it does not sway.”
>-That means we have to drive slowly…. In the video, it looked like it was shaking quite a bit, and depending on the symptoms, it might make things worse.
>The road reproduced in the video is an example of a particularly undulating road in the jurisdiction. If you drive at normal speed on a road with large undulations, the shaking will be greater as shown in the video. The shaking varies depending on the size of the undulations and speed of the road, and the ambulance will also sway at highway joints and road ruts.
>Although it is not known whether the structure of the vehicle affects the shaking, the injured or sick person is lying on a stretcher, which easily transmits the shaking, and the ambulance usually carries a lot of equipment and five people (three ambulance crew members, one injured or sick person, and one attendant). We believe that the weight of the ambulance is one of the factors affecting the shaking.
Anbulance is fast in korea
I always assumed it was because some people don’t give a shit about prioritizing the ambulances need to get to their destination. I’ve seen a number of emergency vehicles trying to get around with the sirens going but some people still just do their own thing. Pedestrians running to cross the street (even on a red), cars cutting off the ambulance, etc. Shits sometimes wild in Asia when it comes to roads. I’m reminded of this video I saw a long time ago. [LINK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5edz6kIo&t=1s&ab_channel=sandabee)
A friend was driving me around once and this driver in the other lane was keeping pace at the rear half of his car, but kept swerving to get into our lane without slowing down or speeding up so it’d be clear to do so. My friend just told me that’s kind of normal for drivers to do there.