Rainy day blue light response

Responding in the rain brings all new challenges. Increased braking distances, reduced visibility, reduced auditory awareness, reduced traction to name a few.
Short motorway stint and then town driving through fairly heavy traffic in less then ideal conditions.

[@Archerdon88]

The mix of sirens, engine sounds and rain is oddly therapeutic. Found myself near falling asleep listening to it with headphones on

[@freddieparrydrums]

Same

[@droemeldude7019]

I use it exactly for that at The Moment xD

[@raevski9096]

Yesss! I personally use this video when going to sleep. kzbin.info/www/bejne/amStpZynl814jJo

[@droemeldude7019]

@@raevski9096 odly satisfying

[@cats-uk]

EMS ASMR when?

[@thenullco]

Your gratitude towards particularly cooperative drivers is wholesome and uplifting.

[@ChrisMartinEMS]

Thanks, appreciate the comment.

[@williamfence566]

Nice to see the stereotypes are alive and well. Congratulations white van man, hope your phone call was an important one that you didn't notice blue lights and sirens for miles.

[@lizardfuel9]

It's very easy in a car to notice flashing lights behind you even whilst on your phone but in a van on the phone or with music on it's pretty difficult to spot.

[@rjk69]

@@lizardfuel9 It's really not. He was in the wrong lane for most of it even if there wasn't an emergency services vehicle trying to pass.

[@leonblittle226]

@@lizardfuel9 Van drivers inhabit a strange zone of driver ability - they haven't normally been in a lorry to understand the increased normalization of "driving in the mirrors" and have less visibility than a car with almost the same level of vehicle performance which makes them lazy to a degree. Sadly there is also a higher than average number of asshats who drive vans daily making the stereotype a reality.

[@Biffo1262]

@@lizardfuel9 The EMS driver deliberately offset his vehicles position so he would be visible to the van driver in his n/s mirror. He just wasn't paying attention. Regardless of that the van driver should have moved over to the n/s lane far earlier as required to by law EMS behind or not.

[@lizardfuel9]

@@Biffo1262 with respect sir I'd just like to point out that the flashing lights on that particular vehicle are very small and positioned centrally on the roof. This wouldn't have been visible to the van driver unless in the near side lane or some distance behind.

[@paulhoulden]

omg that van driver, I could tell you were so annoyed. These drivers baffle all of us, 10 out of 10 for patience!

[@Jowen0wen]

The way he maintained a safe distance as well; no matter what reason most people are in a rush for it's nowhere near as important as this guy's and yet you still see people driving way to close in the rain

[@renko1347]

Minute?

[@hahajimbo1045]

Even then driver may have noticed late but reacted safely many people go into autopilot mode and think they know the road but forget blue lights

[@davidcope51]

Great run in appalling weather Chris. Good reactions from most drivers apart from white van. Noticed the frustration, well held!

[@GeekBatman]

I noticed that as well haha. Chris Martin: *visible sigh*

[@liam00]

I don't know how the van driver didn't see. He even moved left and right to help them out

[@davidcope51]

@@liam00 indeed. Who knows! Distracted by phone call, badly adjusted mirrors, daydreaming, distracted by loud music or maybe all of these at once!

[@6robertdavey]

I was passed by a police car recently and his siren was almost inaudible until he was nearly alongside my cab. If I hadn't been on the phone (hands-free), with the radio muted, I doubt I would have heard him at all.

[@DonnaChamberson]

In my part of America people will do whatever it takes to drive off to the shoulder of the road, even if on the highway, when they see EMS vehicles with sirens! Sometimes it’s scary.

[@yeystoke]

Every time I watch your videos I'm blown away - while impressed with your driving skill, remembering that this is a critical care professional on his way to do good. Great job. Thank you.

[@archechme]

Love the sigh when behind the Transit. Much more collected than I would be.

[@niall8632]

Thank you for your service. My partner had an epileptic fit during the night the weekend gone which woke me and the kids up.. You guys turned up within 8 minutes of the call. Grateful doesn't do justice. God bless you sir, I will support as much as you upload.

[@James-xo8dl]

No words spoken about the van around 2 minutes in but the stab at the throttle and the sigh say it all :)

[@BlackDalek]

I reckon I didn’t even blink watching this one and had goosebumps! Awesome driving and loving that motor you have too. Looking forward to seeing more in the wet!!

[@dunnohow8822]

I found this channel recently and find these videos so mesmerizing. Im a lorry driver myself but always wanted to drive one of those blue lights emergency vehicles. Thank you for letting me somewhat remotely experience it.

[@robtolley]

Another great video Chris. Thank you for the job you do. Much respect

[@stuarthtodd]

Incredible to watch you get through that run. Great to see the other drives behave themselves as best they could, bar the white van driver. But also seeing (for the first time, as a first time viewer!) acknowledging and thanking those who have stopped and let you pass when you can.

[@kitsuni363]

Wow, that was really impressive. Thank you for helping people with that calm and grateful attitude.

[@jacob6927]

The best part of the video is when you say thank you. In your haste you have time to thank. Congratulations from Romania👍

[@bbbrown4679]

It is really interesting to see how you have to adapt your driving style based on the weather conditions, especially your distancing between the cars in front. Would you say you are more aware of hazards that you may have to react quickly to in bad weather conditions? Or do you find that with experience, you learn how to avoid those hazards the majority of the time?

[@mrhuffler9791]

Personally I hope EVERYONE adapts their driving style to the driving conditions. Making sure you are always alert to the particular dangers posed by high speed and particular driving conditions comes with experience. And hopefully NEVER using your BLOODY PHONE in the vehicle. (hoping phone users are reading 🙄 )

[@ValenDRV]

@@mrhuffler9791 Well spoken.

[@dazeen9591]

I mean duh kinda obvious people with critical thinking skills would keep larger distance from the car in front in case of extreme rain, blizzards, fog and if the roads are covered in ice

[@johnmh1000]

Thanks Chris, another great video.

[@KarlTremain]

another great video - thanks for posting, always good to know what you're thought processes are too, so i can try and react better if i'm ever in front of an emergency vehicle.

[@keithhaynes8079]

Again many thanks Chris for the video and stay safe.

[@jeffbanks9955]

You guys are heroes thanks for what you do!

[@benabusthethird9751]

Also, I love how polite you are. It goes a long way.

[@simonbarnard1861]

Another great video. I wonder if these should be part of the driving theory test material to make awareness systematic.

[@David_Crayford]

Seems van didn't see you until in drivers side mirror - only so far right you can safely go I suppose. Quite exciting but mindful of patient at end.

[@stuhodder]

Love the videos, I lived in Knebworth, I know how bad that high street gets, you got through really nicely this time!

[@Jessebella1]

Really interesting watch again, im just as interested in you driving as I am learning what to do myself when I hear sirens, we all do what we think best which is to move out of the way but sometimes the better options are actually to stop etc, I also love answering things my young son asks because he loves to watch these with me too, for example, he asks why you do not use the hard shoulder very often and it was nice giving him the very important and good few answers to that.

[@pred5194]

One thing I have noticed from watching the videos , it’s so nice to see so many people moving out the way and doing it safely , where as up north (Newcastle) it’s a whole new story the frustration from the emergency services up here must be very hard to bare

[@rossi3149]

Impressive driving. Fair play to you! True hero's 👍🏻

[@DeBert]

Very nice to watch! Stumped again how everyone reacted pretty well, except the two vans who make more miles than the other road users...

[@JoeBlac]

Cabin noise in light-commercials with sparse sound insulation can be dramatically different to cars, especially at highway speed with the roar of water spray from the tyres, percussive impacts of rain, screech of the wipers, scream of the engine and whine of the transmission. Absolutely no excuse for not checking mirrors though.

[@LoadingGames.]

A lot of unmarked cars are hard to see in a vans mirror, combined with them not having loud sirens , the drivers side mirror is always the best option, this guy kept going to the middle to try and be seen in the passenger mirror , not a bad tactic and the van should have been more aware ,but once he moved right and was seen in the drivers mirror the van moved over.. Vans have terrible mirrors compared to both cars and trucks

[@BBD0984]

Your face when that van wouldn't move 😅 Excellent drive. As a professional driver I'd love to do this high speed driving. It's just another level!!

[@vinniesbeans4247]

It’s so cool to see you doing this especially in an area so familiar to me

[@MalcolmCrabbe]

Some really good examples of people with poor awareness in this video - the Van driver on the A1(M) being the prime example, but also the red car on the roundabout at Gunnelswood that caused you to brake hard ! Nice to see a bit of Knebworth to - Please make these videos longer... could watch this all day :)

[@BucksBlueLightVids]

Great video as always!

[@charliekilo8944]

Love the horn activated siren!! Wow that’s cool

[@sidehop]

Do you guys have the rumbler in your country for emergency vehicles? One that you can 'feel' so anyone oblivious will at least feel it then seeing the lights.

[@motionsynthesis]

reminds me of my military days. Served as an EMS driver as well. Emergencies weren't frequent but bursting through the busy Seoul streets was quite a ride though, cheers.

[@alastaircunningham6551]

I had a VRS 230 Estate before my G31 530d, and I’m now in a T6 V90 Recharge. I loved the Skoda, it was genuinely ace. I’d happily have another !

[@moderatorone9512]

I know all emergency call outs are important, but this one seemed more important than others i have seen you run Weather and conditions were awful, but i noticed your decision making was slightly more confident and determined By that i mean you made your decision well in advance and stuck with it, where as often you have a couple of options and you position yourself to be able to take either depending on others awareness of you. This was evident when you were approaching the middle of the road bollards, with a car in front @4.18 minutes I know he braked but he did so quite late and your window was very small...great awareness by you of your positioning It appeared you committed yourself to squeeze in front of the car and squeeze through him and the bollards....that told me a sense of urgency in this call Brilliant driving sir and i doff my cap to the skilled work you do, anytime of the day Well done

[@andrewwright1200]

The number of people who seem oblivious to the lights and sirens! frightening

Hi, I'm really fascinated by your videos! As a former ambulance driver I really value this type of videos that actually help inform the people on how we think on the blue light responses and as Ambuchannel112 had to remove all of his videos due to the privacy laws in their country, you are my to go youtuber now. But I must say that I am very courious on which siren do you use? In slovenia we mostly have the Federal Signal PA300 sirens, but over in the UK I know you use a lot of Whelen series sirens and I was just wondering if that is the case in your rapid response vehicle. Keep up the good work even in these troubling times and stay safe out there!

[@Rroff2]

That is a shame - I learnt a lot from watching Ambuchannel112's videos - but I've not kept up with them in awhile so didn't know they'd had to take them down - I did wonder why no new ones came up in my feed.

[@anoldfogeysfun]

@@Rroff2 - I think Robin was offering far too much information on his channel, R . . . basically, almost from start to finish of a call. As in where he was going, what the medical issue was, etc. Even though the patient was never named, perhaps family members would know if they watched it. Maybe if he stopped doing that he might have been able to continue. Or it could have just been new privacy laws being put into place . . . Chris here literally offers us no clue what his call was for, or even an estimated address of where he may be going to on an actual call - maybe that is the way around it all. And we never see him arrive to any of his call either . . . So, it's kind of kept private all of the way through and mainly just about a part of his drive?

[@omardude39]

In response to your query on equipment, most Police/Ambulance/Fire vehicles in the UK use Whelen Alpha series sirens/amplifiers. It is standard practice for the siren to be integrated with the horn to form a driver control. Some sirens are different on special appliances, and for some reason police motorcycles rarely use this equipment, but Whelen are the go-to for the UK in general. Personally I like them, and I assimilate these tones to the UK's emergency services just as many millions of other people do.

[@user-ie6jr4bg1w]

Hi mate, its not due to privacy rules it is because his boss did not appreciate it, there are plenty of other ambulance drivers, police officers and fire fighters who still make video’s and or vlogs in the Netherlands!

[@scottlewisparsons9551]

I used to watch Ambuchannel too. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Very disappointed when it had to stop.

[@lukejohnson3755]

Love the sigh as the van pulled over! Plus, would your cars benefit from rain repellent and the glass?

[@thehidden.756]

Like the way you still say thank you to other drivers. Very nice driving.

[@dazasc1621]

What great driving calm and collected even in those bad conditions. 👍

[@ZestyLimeStudios]

Its so cool your based around the 3 counties, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire & Buckinghamshire. Ive lived in Bedfordshire since day 1 & know exactly where you are on the videos

[@tomatoes3]

Took that van long enough to to realise you were there . Brillant driving under those conditions.

[@ryanyoung7170]

Loved this clip, seems quicker in the rain lol

[@suiblade.]

Brings back the Legendary AmbuChannel vibes

[@nature-kt2rv]

Je suis impressionnée par cette grande maîtrise mentale, qui donne cette impulsion à toute votre conduite sur la route. Apporter en plus, votre marque personnelle, pour ce qui est de faire ce geste de reconnaissance envers ceux qui se comportent bien envers vous, c'est vraiment une surprise. Et prête à sourire. Qui a dû respect aujourd'hui, pour les autres automobilistes ? Ils doivent se compter... quand aux incivilités, elles sont devenues explosives. Vous êtes vraiment un excellent pilote. Un salut amical depuis la France.

[@Durzel]

KZbin algorithm bringing another gem. This video definitely shows the importance of a smooth, considered, telegraphed response to an approaching emergency services vehicle, rather than a “stop dead wherever I happen to be” one.

[@ChathamFireDeptfan]

Could you please do more commentary drives? As a fellow first responder your advice and information on how to position for the best chance of visibility and how to overtake in safe controlled fashions has so insanely helpful. I’m learning how to be a better driver and while your regular videos are very helpful I find your commentary to be invaluable

[@mateyko555]

He is doing it wrong so I dont think we should ask him.

[@ChathamFireDeptfan]

@@mateyko555 Disagree, I've found his observations to be very helpful, I respond POV to fire scenes occasionally and his tips help keep me safe

[@samal3196]

@@mateyko555 What's he doing wrong?

[@mateyko555]

@@samal3196 He risks too much. I drive both firetrucks that weight like 16t and 2-3 tons as well as medical ems vans. What you see here is nothing that can be compared to those as this is very short and lightweight vehicle. Driving like this in rain is a guarantee of a crash i he is forced to brake (VERY intense cause he is going too fast). His lights are place in the middle only instead of as wide as possible what additionaly limits visibility in mirrors of the drivers in front of you(great example how he has trouble with this can be seen here kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3O4pYufhtuIsLs ) . He generates very serious relative speeds to them in very bad conditions. Lack of imagination and overconfidence. Glad it didnt result in anyone hurt whatsoever. The issue is most people that watch this underestimate those things. Of course everyone asseses risk themselves but there should be serious disclaimer about that. Reading about firetruck drivers using his observations and driving tactic makes me worry. Disabling audible signals is totally stupid this is not giving chance for drivers to hear you before they have chance to see you.

[@samal3196]

@@mateyko555 Hm, I see. Do you know anywhere where one can see Better ems driving? I'd be interested to be able to compare and contrast.

[@xoe26]

That red Ford @3.30!

[@gentlegiant171]

Goin for it in the wet! Nice bit of driving

[@samharvey9733]

Hi, love the videos, how does the rank structure go for the Ambulance Service?

[@chrishoughton3203]

Hi Chris, amazing driving. What is the light bar you have on the vrs as it looks to hold up well at speed in bad weather even though its a suction mount.

[@SinkyYT]

I still think the government was stupid to refuse a free broadcasting license to the company that designed a device to be fitted to emergency vehicles that was designed to force mute in car radios and phones within X metres of a responding emergency vehicle. With todays in car technology that should be fitted as standard.

[@bastooopanooo2311]

Really ? I wasn't even aware.

[@SinkyYT]

@@bastooopanooo2311 Yeah that was a good few years ago. It was set up to say "Emergency vehicle approaching" but the company was told they would need to pay broadcasting fees and I believe they dropped it.

[@leonblittle226]

Interesting how that red focus emerged from behind the range rover and transit van made you reconsider your braking plan completely after a moments pause, that was a great example of "thinking time" in the real world scenario.

[@NotesFromAfar]

Oh wow, that van... scary that somebody can be that massively unaware.

[@0tobsam0]

2:40 That guy at the red light deserves a medal for pulling to the left that early!

[@dalmo001]

I would actually give the medal to the 2nd driver who gave the one at the lights room to move over in the first place. Still, excellent situational awareness all round.

[@burdenstephen]

​@@dalmo001 yeah both deserve credit, the 2nd driver made the space and the driver at the front had the awareness to use it

[@lookingfortrouble6970]

That some of the best driving I've ever seen

[@daveonthegocurley]

Just subscribed , great videos could I ask what part of the EMS are you in please?

[@bastooopanooo2311]

Unbelievable that van guy didn't respond for so long. Just unblievable.

[@tjay0005]

That was a nice ride along 💯

[@Dave-dm7vt]

The Saab at the end, no wonder it was so late to react, the driver’s side mirror was folded in!! 🙄🙄🙄

[@type17]

Folded mirrors - tell me that you can't drive without telling me that you can't drive...

[@Dave-dm7vt]

@@type17 Your response makes absolutely no bloody sense!

[@andyp8752]

Good spot👍

[@Evercreeper]

This content surely is exploding! On my youtube recommended again 👍

[@Z0RDR4CK]

are your sirens connected to your horn? seems to me everytime you honk, the tone of your sirens switch to another mode and also, if you turn on/off your sirens you honk aswell.

[@user-vs3pt8ic3i]

very quick and professional

[@Loke6074]

You have some incredible driving skills. May I ask what car you are driving and what tyre brand is mounted on the rims?

[@Sharrendan]

Smooth driving and great entertainment. 👌🏻

[@urskalin3137]

4:00: I love the "Thank You" - wave and the 👍

[@billbyfield5985]

Question: why do you drive an unmarked Octavia? Is there any reason it doesn't have livery like the others used?

[@Kohinek]

Hey, I saw few videos of first respondents from UK and I wonder when cars are piled up on red light, why do they usually turn off the sirens and just kinda wait until it frees by itself? From my point of view, I would appretiate the sirens behind me so I can just slowly drive into the crossroad even its red light for me. Cuz in my country at this situation red light nor solid line is not a wall.

[@olmostgudinaf8100]

Those blu light really bring out the blue in the road signs.

[@MrJBMedia]

Really interesting watching your videos and seeing what you deal with, and seeing your thought process annotated on the screen is great. Can you tell me, what decides which type of siren is being used? Is that controlled by you somehow, or does the car change what siren is on based on stimulus like speed? Thanks for all you do.

[@BluntSmokeTrauma]

you can obviously hear it changes when he hits the horn...

[@lautoka63]

I enjoy this channel for Chris's skills & obvious good work at the end of a call. There's an interesting three-dimensional parallel which some of you may enjoy: a chap called Tim has a channel called Pure Glide, where he comments on his glider flights as he flies along. You also get a bird's eye view of some lovely scenery.

[@deanbeckworth1053]

Great observation and driving, what engine is it?

[@muenchnerchecker]

Great and Save Drive! The guy is a Great driver!

[@BABYADO29]

Great run, do you have access to a trust car or do you mainly respond in your own.

[@md2320]

Very intense, and then you have to cleared your head and deal with what your going to!!!! Very special people.

[@nicksh1990]

I love the little side-eye you gave the van after they finally moved over at 2:13. Definitely seems like a case of "Let's just have a quick look at the idiot".

[@MrWayneStephen]

Hi Chris. Couple of questions from your videos, apologies if they've been answered before: - What car type do you drive (is it modified) - You seem to drive very far, are you always the closest available? - More of a statement - it makes you realise how fast peoples brains must work to take in all that happens on the road, yourself and other cars with awareness

[@BadDriversOfFriuli]

I'm wondering about the car model too 🤔

[@hiddenhills8893]

Skoda octavia rs

[@benedekroka8114]

Yes, he is driving a Skoda Octavia RS. Check out his older video about this car. It was uploaded 4 months ago.

[@Harrod200]

I really do think that the siren changing being linked to the horn can send the 'wrong' message to drivers; if I were in the white van coming off the roundabout at 3:40, I'd likely think you were trying to hurry me along rather than turn off your siren for a moment for the opposite effect. Perhaps some simple device which only sounds the horn if it's held for half a second or so could be a simple improvement here without adding to your workload as a driver?

[@_Steven_S]

Most (if not all) control systems are capable of being wired such that once 999 mode arms the siren, the default horn is disengaged allowing tones to cycle through without the default beep and holding would use the bullhorn tone. But no-one runs the few extra wires to the horn, instead favouring the easy (and practically free) method of using the vehicle-reported CAN signal.

[@drfate9110]

Very cool graphics. When it is coming out?

[@gemmapowlespowles8739]

love your videos i didn't realise that you were based in Stevenage

[@benabusthethird9751]

2 minutes between those junctions is impressive.

[@danzesociety]

Do you have to do the advanced driving, that the police do?

[@ColinTheShark]

Watched a few of your videos the recent weeks. I just now noticed, is your front facing camera on a gimbal? It is so smooth and not at all shaky as one would expect from a normal dashcam! Huge props for keeping your calm during moments like these, and thank you for the work you're doing out there.

[@linesanraman7974]

It seems to be a 360° camera. I stand to be corrected.

[@TMM6944]

Any one else learning lots from these kind of videos ? It's nice to know whats going on in the heads of the blue light teams, at least we know what they expect or what they would like us to do.

[@anaxes7714]

What exactly are the blue lights? Because, here in Australia we have Red and Blue, so is there a difference?

[@aviationist1018]

This gave me the perspective of being in a Emergency response vehicle, a European on of course

[@TheJustin99]

It’s great to see how well people move out of the way in these videos. In the US, most people are too impatient to move over

[@wbwam7710]

Out in the suburbs its decent, middle of PA and most people are out of the way ASAP, at least my family is.

[@CiaranGallagher77]

have you ever had a speeding ticket issued od do you have a steady burn blue like the ,marked vehicles

[@er.ic7004]

Nice drive what car do you drive?

[@jaalwa3]

Is it beneficial to blue light drivers if the general public indicate as we move over, and brake as we slow down? Or is it easier for us just to carry on and let you overtake when safe? Is there any official advice on any websites?

[@jaalwa3]

And if we're in oncoming traffic, flash our headlights to show we've noticed you?

[@izdiharizzanwibowo2629]

This dude looks so cool , what a such nice job and outfit

[@ilikechickensausages2075]

Ever thought of a windscreen coating for the rain to sheet off quicker due to the UK weather

[@dickdickenson7587]

Mate, what car you was driving? Model and engine please

[@jonbirks]

Got a question. Who has priority if another emergency vehicle is travelling on the same route as you, but to a different location? Probably very rare, but you both have places to be.

[@chorizojoe8282]

I was so annoyed by the driver of the white van who wouldn’t get out of the way, and the driver of the red coupe at the roundabout who sped through instead of letting you go. Amazing driving!

[@bernardmillet3903]

What is the car? It sounds great

[@vojtik1234]

Very good driving skills

[@markshillinglaw3003]

That car sounds quite good