'Beyond Hexton'; -Blue light run part 2

HItchin to Hexton; Blue light run part 2.
Some examples throughout of positive awarenss signs and also, a couple of pieces showing decision making and forward vision to inform choices being made.
Keep a look out for the duel carriageway join replay!
Stay safe all.
C.

[@elminster8149]

As a normal driver, I find these videos really useful for understanding what you expect from other road users and how you react to them.

[@stuartclarke9241]

Absolutely, it just makes driving flow as smoothly as possible without anyone needing to get angry and take further risks

[@Mercer18472]

Whilst it’s fascinating seeing this level of advanced driving, what really blows my mind is that you’ll probably be saving a life after this right run. Bravo.

[@cats-uk]

This guy is a hero!

[@tylinfoot7631]

Absolutely love the fact you thanked people where you felt it was necessary - despite it not being a decider as to how I act when an emergency vehicle is passing with blue lights, it's always nice to be acknowledged for fast thinking & fast reactions. Puts a smile on my face for the rest of my journey for sure. Something small but really liked it and thought it was great of you. Keep up with the informative content

[@marksapollo]

I’ve had emergency vehicles thank me a couple of times and agree it puts a smile on your face, because they really don’t need to thank you.

[@gerwynrees4970]

I absolutely love your drive along videos. To stay focused for that long is a real skill. Well done and keep up the good work. (Videos and saving lives) 😉👍

[@lordbyrom100]

A great response from all the drivers …..it’s sometimes hard to make a safe and fast reaction to the blues and twos but I take pride in my driving and do my best to react in a correct way ….watching mirrors is a MUST these days and watching as far ahead as possible makes driving more enjoyable safe and less stressful ….You and all the other services do a great job and one day I might need a fast response 👍👍👍👍

[@hypergolic8468]

Brilliant driving and we're very lucky to live in a country where assistance comes to you when you need it: thanks Chris and all our EMS personnel (call handlers / dispatchers / technicians / Paramedics / Clinical etc etc). And as I'll always say, credit to to the fleet services teams for putting the vehicles on the road day-by-day, especially when you think what the vehicles do.

[@stew2205]

Your drive through Hexton is probably the most exciting thing to happen in the village for decades

[@keithhaynes8079]

As ever brilliant driving Chris and well done to those drivers who pulled over for you , stay safe.

[@st200ol]

Amazing to see what was basically the middle part of my journey in reverse that day Aylesbury - Baldock. It took me a lot longer than that though. :-)

[@scrummpybear]

Id love to see a video on how you react/handle times when someone doesnt move over right away, wether due to them not seeing/hearing you or some other reason, but great videos regardless!

[@brianakelley123]

Light flasher dude was awesome, so satisfying to watch

[@rosielee938]

Your level of driving skills are second to none, hope more people find your channel and learn the importance of moving out the way safely and focus on their driving at all times. To many distractions for a lot of drivers. Thanks for another fantastic ride.

[@jimjoelliejack]

Why this came up on my feed I don’t know? That said I watched it because I spent 20 year as an NHS paramedic, I was a rapid response car and motorcycle rider. This was a very good example of how to respond, also there were some very good responses from the road users. Well done and drive safe.

[@Alfie-fs1vz]

I love your videos, ALOT please dont stop ever!

[@dot10k]

I get very emotional watching these videos. People doing the right thing and helping each other strengthens my faith in humans.

[@adif7542]

I enjoy watching you meet your limit points on entry into bends and, driving for best advantage.

[@stevesmith7530]

I am a firm believer in silent running wherever possible. For vehicle crew it is far less stressful, headaches, red mist and the like are greatly reduced. A by-product of silent running, the more response drivers who do it, is that sirens become more obvious, less of a background noise. Its similar to everyone wearing hi-viz, or so many vehicles driving along with amber lights flashing, the effectiveness is greatly reduced, they become normal. For the same reason I encourage more use of phaser and two-tone, they are less heard on the roads, so become more noticeable, especially in high traffic volume lower speed environments, Whilst you display your usual good luck in having so many aware motorists on your run, there were a couple I think could have made it easier. So for those of you reading wanting to know how to help us.... At 5:36, it would have been much safer and easier if the white Astra had followed the blue one into the junction with a left signal to acknowledge. At 6:46 On the bend is not the best place, especially as just a few yards ahead there is room to pull almost all the way off the road. At the early stage, where two vehicles slow right down opposite each other makes life difficult too, sometimes the best option is to maintain speed.

[@geoffhalstead1811]

Have done the light flash a few times, and always received a wave. Raced at Kyalami F1 circuit in the ‘70s and recognise smooth drivers when I see them, and Chris Martin most certainly is, and a pleasure to watch his relaxed but vigilant style 👍👏 I always look as far up the road as Chris does and it makes for relaxed driving.

[@MrAllister88]

One of the many things this series of videos has taught me is why an emergency vehicle may turn its lights/sounds off then 30 seconds later turn them back on again. Interesting stuff!

[@SamMorganVids]

They don’t turn the lights off when responding, only the siren if there are no obstructions ahead

[@MrAllister88]

@@SamMorganVids They do. For example, when there are no places to pass and you don't want the cars ahead to stop.

[@drybones1689]

I really like seeing the average heroes that make your job that bit easier. The people that go the extra mile to give way when they don’t need to, get that extra few feet off the road to make passing easier etc. For 8 minutes or so with these vids, faith in humanity is restored

[@MikeWalls7829]

This could make a great computer game, I'd play it!

[@davidu4758]

Superb driving. Too bad here in the good ol' USA, this would end very badly.

[@mdmotorcycles10]

Hi Chris i really enjoy your videos as a motorcyclist i often wonder why there isn't any motorcycle paramedics in the area as i live in the same area as most of your videos are filmed as my local ambulance station is located near junction 9 of the A1 keep up the good work stay safe

[@ChrisMartinEMS]

Hi and as much as I'd like that but there isn't the need in rural areas like this... very rare occasions that a car couldn't get to jobs that a bike could as well.

[@rivierapalms6485]

Really enjoy your videos. Great to raise awareness. Keep up the great work!

[@Snakebloke]

My man here lookin like a buff Harry Potter. Respect.

[@stewartgrindlay9760]

What this shows clearly is that if everyone has clear positional sense you can save paramedics/doctors etc seconds for each car. Times that over how many cars were overtaken and the patient has a better chance. We will never meet the patient in the main but we can all play a huge role and save them

[@nerdettte101]

Beautiful drive my man, beautiful drive.

[@paulharris4524]

i really want them to be longer as i enjoy them immensely but thank god that aint, thank you for the work you do bud.

[@someperson8765]

Mad I used to live in barton le clay and you drove past my old school 🤣🤣

[@garyhesketh8164]

Smooth, precise driving. And at scene has to deal with a medical emergency. Takes a special person.

[@gamerconstruct]

Hey! I've been watching all your videos but I'll suggest to flip the rear view cam vertically, so it can be seen like a rear view mirror in real life.

[@ashleydavis3342]

I wish drivers in the USA could operate this way…both emergency vehicles and mostly regular operators

[@polomint46]

I wish more drivers were aware of surrounding traffic, recently had blues coming up fast behind so I positioned well, but the car in front decided emergency brake was needed, causing me to make a difficult overtake or a run for the ditch then get out of the way swiftly.

[@moxiemulgrew]

Great skills-miss the speed clock on screen tho.

[@fabiank7330]

GREAT!!! Really like your channel!

[@cahal]

Hey Chris - would you consider shooting at 60fps? It's a small change I guess, but I find it more 'immersive' if you know what I mean :)

[@Tinyhomesdevon]

Another great teaching video thanks Chris 👍 can you explain to me the reason for your choice of tones? Sorry if this has been asked before and also would you benefit from an index finger switch behind the wheel so you didn’t have to press the centre horn to change them?

[@simonc111]

Some else asked the same question! I think it's to do with the type of road. Long siren for long roads, short one for busy areas. Normally it's the change of siren type that actually gets the attention of a driver, which is why you cycle through the sounds sometimes.

[@BaziwizZy]

I’ve got to a point where…at least on the fiats I just use my thumb to change it so I don’t need to take my hands of the wheel. I mean for me it wouldn’t make a difference having a switch.

[@oneandonlyjaybee]

​@@simonc111 change of hazard, change of tone. Also when more than one vehicle is responding they will choose different tones to each other to prevevent cars thinking there's only one vehicle passing them. A change of tone is also used when a driver ahead hasn't yet noticed and reacted

[@beneverard7430]

Great video Chris

[@cats-uk]

I can’t imagine how headache inducing it must be with the sirens on so much. Also hearing loss? That’s surely a risk over the years

[@hogwild5844]

At 4.30 second forward van drivers only "mistake" was they should have put their right hand indicator on to indicate they intended to stay in that lane. Its what i do for filtering bikes for example. If a bike is approaching in flowing traffic and is filtering i will move either to my far left or my far right of my lane and will put my indicator on to show my intent. Also important to try remember if you see an EMS coming through from behind on a single carriageway road if you are approaching a blind blend and they are filtering through traffic behind to slow traffic in your lane to "hold it" prior to the corner so they can pass before the bend. Oncoming traffic will normally see them coming and stop to create a gap for a long oncoming lane pass before the bend.

[@mirrar_2800]

5:34 I feel bad for the blue car not getting a green check mark

[@davedavidson8845]

I hope if a need a paramedic to help me someday he is as good looking as this fella 😍

[@williamswag7181]

I love these videos

[@dstuchbury]

Question: If pulling over safely isn't an option i.e. there's nowhere for me to go, would you rather I pulled over as best I could, or not impeed your progress (i.e. position left, but maintain good speed) and get out of the way as soon as it's safe / possible?

[@ChrisMartinEMS]

Hi Dan, good question and essentially it is our job to progress round you so don't want you to do anything unsafe is the first point. If there is nowhere safe, e.g. double white lines, blind bend, heavy on-coming traffic etc, then easiest is to keep moving at legal speed until a clear opportunity comes along. At least that way we are still progressing. Thanks for the question.

[@heronblue3577]

People who showed clearly no signs of stopping or helping should get fines in the post.

[@Anriandor]

Maybe a silly question but since there appears to be a lack of lorries, did you find responding to calls easier or was there no noticeable difference at all?

[@dcwhitworth]

He's commented in previous videos that lorry drivers are generally exceedingly good in terms of awareness of and behaviour around emergency vehicles.

[@GooseMcSwan]

no wonder no one wants to be a lorry driver when thats everyones attitude towards them.

[@chriswareing1991]

always wondered do emergency services ever get flashed by cameras. obviously you dont get the tickets but how does that work

[@theyoutubeguy1]

Emergency vehicles used to often get tickets as the camera would take a photo when the lights appeared off. When the depot receive tickets, they look at the reg and time and work out whether it was actually responding to an emergency at the time, if they see no evidence that it was then the driver pays the ticket and takes the points. Eventually they came up with the idea to put solid blue lights on the vehicles so there was constantly one on for the camera to see.

[@chriswareing1991]

@@theyoutubeguy1 thank you for explained always wondered what happens

[@iain4295]

Did you ever get any where, looks like a long journey for only these country roads to travel on?

[@polopowered]

4:32 nice driving from all parties.

[@GarethL2008]

I counted maybe 2 to 3 drivers who weren’t quite on the same wave length but not to bad

[@revveduprides5125]

I still don’t get why an ambulance paramedic needs to be in an unmarked car. Unless I’m missing something it’s not as safe as a fully marked car that is easier to see 🤔🤔

[@jonpeters9065]

It's essentially his own car rather than just a vehicle to use on jobs. Takes it home, does the shopping, takes his wife out for a meal, kids to whatever practice etc in it. (Can't confirm 2 of those) Wouldn't want to be doing that in a fully liveried vehicle.

[@simonc111]

I was wondering this too! Makes sense that it's his own car, but I agree that it's safer to have a marked car. Maybe if he's on call when at home it's easier to have 1 car for his use with all the advanced equipment rather than having a car for work time and a car for home time.

[@GooseMcSwan]

I'm pretty sure he fully explained this in another video! He is not an ambulance paramedic. an ambulance paramedic works on an ambulance. He is a critical care paramedic and he is also an officer (management). He is required to take turns on call, from home. Able to go about his normal day to day business but also ready to respond to a critical or major incident.

[@flykj]

When you approach double white lines how come you don't knock off blues but only silence twos? EFAD traing gets you to knock them all off.

[@steviep_0457]

Might have been asked before. But whenever there is a speed camera. Im guessing you guys just speed through them as you have somewhere to be fast Great vids, great subtitles to say what your thought process is

[@simonc111]

They do have an exemption to go above the speed limit, so cameras are not an issue in that sense. However I think there's often paperwork associated with going through a camera so sometimes it's easier to slow down if you're on a slow road anyway...imagine going through 5 cameras on a way to a call and having the paperwork to justify all of them!

[@thenullco]

@@simonc111 There are now solid blue lights on responding vehicles - a measure to identify who’s on call, cutting down on paperwork.

[@DutchFurnace]

As much as I enjoy all these videos, I do find myself thinking "wouldn't it be better if there were multiple of you, and it took either of you less minutes of less fast driving to get to the calls you're doing alone now".

[@NJG_76]

Light blue Peugeot had ample time to stop before the on coming vehicle came along on the opposite side.

[@TheNeilFox81]

It appears that few of the vehicles you passed indicate left to show they are pulling over. I would usually do this to show the blue light vehicle I'd seen them. However looking at the drive from your perspective I wonder if indicating is more likely to cause another vehicle to pass and potentially get in your way?

[@oneandonlyjaybee]

It can do, so you have to be ready for it and only pass when you're sure it's safe and everyone has reacted positively to your presence

[@pizzadelivery3]

Hey Chris, can we get an explanation of the different horn sounds? I assume you switch them based on how urgently you need drivers to respond to your presence i.e. faster siren = make way?

[@simonc111]

I think it's more to do with the type of road. Long siren for long roads, short one for busy areas. Normally it's the change of siren type that actually gets the attention of a driver, which is why you cycle through the sounds sometimes.

[@User66ish]

It’s purely to do with ensuring the drivers hear. There is no specific siren for a certain circumstance however if someone doesn’t respond to one siren they can switch to a different to provide a different tone making them stand out more. Sometimes it just falls to preference and sometimes people do have specific circumstances where different sirens are used. Each tone has its merits some are louder and provide a more sudden tone making navigating traffic lights for example slightly safer and others are of more variety in the tones making it easier for someone with let’s say a hearing difficulty to realise their presence

[@convvell]

Long siren travels further, so is usually the one heard furthest away. Short siren is better when close up but as mentioned it’s the change in noise that gets most people attention

[@Hitaleit7778]

How far do you have to drive to an incident, all these seem a very long way?

[@alyx6427]

4:54: there was almost a whole seconds between the strip and main brakelights coming on

[@Matthew_M11]

I am questioning what Chris does? These two videos took over 15 minutes, including some fast forwarding! What type of medical event would you be useful at, especially when your response distances seem so long?

[@stevehunter8473]

Serious incidents providing additional support for the first crews that arrive on scene incase they need extra kit, hands, or stronger drugs or to coordinate a scene where multiple crews are in attendance.

[@HopeYukizmizu]

pretty beefy sounding car and fast, my Micra can barely reach 60

[@airbus350ulr]

Good job

[@FlyingPhysicist]

Curious what car this is? I'm guessing a BMW diesel estate of some sort...

[@mattadamson2417]

It's a Skoda Octavia. Chris did a tour of his car a couple of months ago which is worth a watch

[@FlyingPhysicist]

@@mattadamson2417 I 'm surprised to see it's a petrol. Also surprised 220hp is sufficient.

[@convvell]

@@FlyingPhysicist it’s not about speed per say, more that whilst everyone else is stopping you are able to continue your journey.

[@FlyingPhysicist]

@@convvell thanks for that wisdom 👍

[@ilikechickensausages2075]

What happens if you come across a cyclist on a blind corner do they have to dismount and get out of your way.

[@bentdog8917]

Odd question. Do you have any interests in cars as a hobby?

[@garyminion9610]

Hope your dinner was still hot when you got in.

[@hcjkruse]

Thanks. This confirmed the positive reaction I always try to have is appreciated. But why do I always have SWAT teams in my mirror? ;) That driving must be exhausting. And after the driving you still have to handle the incident and the paperwork. As Dutch driver this still looks odd and scary or something from a computer game. Still sometimes I think, he is driving on the wrong side of the road. Even at normal speeds but with a left steered car I found driving the Devon country side sometimes challenging. I was happy I fitted an extra mirror on the passenger sun screen to cover what is normally a dead zone. I kept the mirror after my UK 2019 holiday.

[@ichbin1luke]

What car you driving? :)

[@dp_ozzy]

Can you do it at the city?

[@Shyted]

Not a single handbrake turn.

[@joski9030]

May I ask why you drive so far and never catch anyone ? Without sounding stupid is this just a practice run ? Or are you a paramedic?

[@gwishart]

He's a paramedic, not a police officer. He ends the video before he arrives at the scene to protect the privacy of the patient(s).

[@larskristianmoe-hansen9574]

Speed?

[@googlelimp9834]

i had to do the blue light course when I was in the forces what a pile of shit that was, but that was 1999, so don't know what its like now......

[@Tom63617]

Is it police, fire, or ambulance?

[@ChrisMartinEMS]

Hi, its an ambulance car. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6qYlZtpjpZjmZY

[@JoshXCVIII]

Very poor from that blue car at 6:40

[@keeli5575]

0:23 Didn't think you could overtake on double white lines? At least that's what Ask the Police say, they recommend driving at the speed limit and after the lines break pulling to the left. It does look like he was going less than 10mph though.

[@ChrisMartinEMS]

Hi and yes, overtaking on double whites is normally a no go but OK one the vehicle being passed is static or below 10 mph which this vehicle was.

[@Equinoxliveson]

I did not like the fact that you speeded up going past a school with 20ph boards showing and then overtook on the zigzag lines right out side the school

[@Hugo51079]

Why do you run an "unmarked" car. I would have thought that the more visibility the better for you?

[@brockers0142]

He said on a prior video that he is a responding manager. That means he uses an unmarked car as his day to day personal car. That way he can be on call outside of his typical working hours if a major incident means he is needed.

[@kairotv3924]

please dont fast forward. i like to watch the whole video without speeding it up thanks :)

[@loganbozzy]

How long was your blue-light training ?

[@findthebadger418]

4 weeks

[@GooseMcSwan]

@@findthebadger418 yes for the basic ambulance training. think you need to be adding more weeks on to get to his level.

[@findthebadger418]

@@GooseMcSwan Nope, sometimes an extra day or two for the car course (trust dependant) But ultimately everyone in the ambulance service is trained to the same level, unlike the Police where there are multiple levels.

[@stiggyness1976]

If I'm not mistaken you wheel spined out of the junction at 2:55. I thought when you are trained according to roadcraft it teaches you to be smooth with the controls and feed the inputs in slowly and smoothly, without TC that would of lit the front end up lol.

[@bumpkinrocks]

Oh stop with the pointless criticism, abit of power on loose gravel is all it would need!

[@stiggyness1976]

@@bumpkinrocks it was an observation, nothing more.

[@wirdy1]

Inside wheel is unweighted, so less grip; anti-roll bar can only do so much. Turning at low speed tc can be a bit intrusive to a professionally trained driver, but also turning it on & off when required would be a greater distraction.

[@thenullco]

@@wirdy1 Perfect response.