Some of them come fitted with such a device alreadyUntil cars are actually limited, maybe a good interim step would be for them to be compulsorily fitted with an illuminated sign on the roof, which flashes the word "COCK" when the driver speeds or accelerates violently.
A friend of mine is a paramedic, sometimes working on ambulances, and I spoke to him about this last night.
Interestingly, he advised that while excessive speed was sometimes a factor in a number of the road traffic accidents that he is called to, he is not in favour of speed limiters. He cites many instances where they have come up behind cars traveling on single carriageways, where the driver panics and slams on their brakes as soon as they notice the 'blues and twos' behind them, and if there is solid traffic coming in the other direction, this means immediate gridlock.
His advice is that in these instances the driver should always accelerate to find the next available place to pull in and let the Ambulance (or Police car/Fire Engine) pass. He is not saying that they should do so recklessly (he's not trying to drum up more work for them!) but if they can safely exceed the speed limit to prevent further delays in the Ambulance getting to the patient, then there is an element of greater good at play.
Indeed, as you would expect, he is attuned to such instances, and found himself in a similar situation when driving his un-marked personal car when a police car came up rapidly behind him. The traffic in the other direction was almost stationary, and so he accelerated up to just over 60mph (the speed limit being 50) and then pulled into a layby 1/4 mile ahead to let the police car past. As they passed, the police officer in the passenger seat gave him a thumbs-up.
Of course I am not advocating carte-blanche to speed in the event of an emergency vehicle approaching from behind, but in the above instances a speed limiter could result in delays that could have harmful effects on patients/victims.
My understanding is that the system is designed with a manual override to allow for situations such as that which you described.A friend of mine is a paramedic, sometimes working on ambulances, and I spoke to him about this last night.
Interestingly, he advised that while excessive speed was sometimes a factor in a number of the road traffic accidents that he is called to, he is not in favour of speed limiters. He cites many instances where they have come up behind cars traveling on single carriageways, where the driver panics and slams on their brakes as soon as they notice the 'blues and twos' behind them, and if there is solid traffic coming in the other direction, this means immediate gridlock.
His advice is that in these instances the driver should always accelerate to find the next available place to pull in and let the Ambulance (or Police car/Fire Engine) pass. He is not saying that they should do so recklessly (he's not trying to drum up more work for them!) but if they can safely exceed the speed limit to prevent further delays in the Ambulance getting to the patient, then there is an element of greater good at play.
Indeed, as you would expect, he is attuned to such instances, and found himself in a similar situation when driving his un-marked personal car when a police car came up rapidly behind him. The traffic in the other direction was almost stationary, and so he accelerated up to just over 60mph (the speed limit being 50) and then pulled into a layby 1/4 mile ahead to let the police car past. As they passed, the police officer in the passenger seat gave him a thumbs-up.
Of course I am not advocating carte-blanche to speed in the event of an emergency vehicle approaching from behind, but in the above instances a speed limiter could result in delays that could have harmful effects on patients/victims.
I was a little concerned to read the Head of the AA commenting that "a little speed is sometimes useful such as overtaking or filtering onto motorways"
I interpret that as being speeding is ok in those circumstances which continues to peddle the narrative that sometimes faster is safer than slower. I remember lorry and bus drivers saying exactly the same thing when speed limiters were introduced for them