Dr Lee: Ambulance drivers must abide by traffic laws

SIBU: Ambulance drivers must obey traffic regulations to ensure speedy and safe transportation of patients to medical facilities.

Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said this in a WhatApp message to The Borneo Post yesterday when asked whether the Ministry of Health ( MOH) has any plans to send ambulance drivers for special training from time-to-time, given the number of accidents involving ambulance over the years.

“Ambulance drivers are supposed to ensure safe and speedy arrival of patients to medical facilities. In so doing they must obey traffic regulations to ensure safety and not cause unnecessary delays,” he reiterated, without committing to a direct answer.

National Road Safety Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has suggested that ambulance drivers undergo special training on driving techniques to be ever ready to face challenging driving situation and execute preventive manoeuvres in a safe manner.

He said recently that there had been a number of accidents involving ambulances in the past couple of years.

According to police statistics, there were 646 accidents involving ambulances between 2006 and 2014, he added.

“All these drivers (of emergency vehicles) know very well that they need to rush to hospitals.

“It is necessary for ambulance drivers to be trained properly and given special training to enable them to take evasive actions in a safe manner.”

Lam Thye also advised motorists to slow down for ambulances on sirens.

He pointed out that ambulance drivers on their part need to be careful and slow down as other motorists may not be able to see clearly where exactly the ambulance is, especially at a big traffic light intersection where there are usually many vehicles around.

In a recent incident in Kuching, a 40-year- old pregnant woman accompanied by two nurses were on their way to the hospital in an ambulance when it was hit on its side by a sports utility vehicle ( SUV) at a traffic light intersection.