We’ve all heard the blaring sirens of an oncoming fire truck and have had to rush over to the side of the road to allow them the right of way. A fire truck is a huge vehicle that will take up the majority of the road, especially a smaller, two-lane road. We rely on these vehicles to rush to the safety of others, whether it’s to put out a fire or to attend to some other sort of emergency.

However, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), accidents involving fire trucks are on the rise. And because of the size of the vehicle, an accident with one of them can be catastrophic and more often than not even life-threatening.

Avoiding Fire Truck Accidents through Driver Training

Driver training for firefighters is vital to help avoid fire truck accidents. Some of the common reasons firefighters get involved in accidents include:

• The speed of the truck. A fire truck is most often required to travel at very high speeds on its way to the scene of a fire or accident. While this is necessary to save lives, it can put the firefighter driving the vehicle at high risk. The drivers can easily lose control of the truck if they aren’t properly trained.
• Congested roads. Depending on the city, some roads can be crowded with traffic at certain times, making it difficult for the firefighter to navigate through it.
• Not getting the right of way from other drivers. All drivers should learn that emergency vehicles like a fire truck, ambulance or police car has the right of way and should pull over to the side of the road to allow them to get by. However, some drivers don’t always adhere to this and since a fire truck driver expects them to, this could easily cause an accident.
• Debris or pedestrians in the road. If something or someone is in the path of the fire truck, this can cause a problem for the drivers if they aren’t able to move out of the way in time.
• Not following the rules properly. Even fire truck drivers are required to follow the rules of the road, like stopping at a traffic light or stop sign.

When firefighters have had proper, hands-on driver training, they will be less likely to be involved in an accident or pose a threat to other drivers sharing the road with them. DriveTeam’s Emergency Response Operations Courses (E.R.O.C) are designed to train firefighters in practical, hands-on driving utilizing squads and apparatus. Our mission is to raise firefighter’s skills and safety levels through classroom and hands-on driving for real world experience. Contact us today for more information.