Coming through!
May 10, 2015 9:09 AM Subscribe
A white-knuckle ride through Budapest. We've had a recent discussion of how to react when an ambulance comes up behind you. Here's how it looks from their side. (SLYT, beware of volume)
Do they just drive around the city until they hit someone, and then drive them back to the hospital?
posted by a lungful of dragon at 9:21 AM on May 10, 2015 [30 favorites]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 9:21 AM on May 10, 2015 [30 favorites]
Actually, I was thinking they're a hell of a lot better about getting out of the way (if not necessarily actually pulling to the right and completely stopping) than the drivers around here (central Illinois) are. I can't count how many times I've seen an ambulance trapped behind one dumbass driver at an intersection who refuses to just. effing. move.
posted by obfuscation at 9:22 AM on May 10, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 9:22 AM on May 10, 2015 [7 favorites]
Either that was sped up slightly, at least in some parts, or there were a few incredibly near misses that I doubt American ambulance drivers would attempt.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:24 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:24 AM on May 10, 2015
For sure, there were some ballsy/questionable moves in there.
posted by obfuscation at 9:26 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by obfuscation at 9:26 AM on May 10, 2015
If I ever need an ambulance, I want that driver.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 9:27 AM on May 10, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Benny Andajetz at 9:27 AM on May 10, 2015 [5 favorites]
Can't believe the number of drivers who just mashed on their brakes in the middle of the road. No attempt to get to the right or left, just stopped right in the middle of the road. Ugh.
posted by xedrik at 9:33 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by xedrik at 9:33 AM on May 10, 2015
Are they joyriding? I know where they are driving, he basically went in a large circle!
posted by ReeMonster at 9:36 AM on May 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by ReeMonster at 9:36 AM on May 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
If I ever rob a bank, I want that driver.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 9:36 AM on May 10, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 9:36 AM on May 10, 2015 [7 favorites]
For some reason this made me wonder for the first time how the hell emergency response people put up with having a siren in their ear all the fucking time. I'd go nuts.
posted by threeants at 9:48 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by threeants at 9:48 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
Wow, that was amazing. I held my breath multiple times.
One thing for sure, their ambulances are not the wide-bodied ones we have here; that one slipped through some amazingly tight gaps. Clearly the driver knows the width of his vehicle to the cm.
posted by Bovine Love at 9:51 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
One thing for sure, their ambulances are not the wide-bodied ones we have here; that one slipped through some amazingly tight gaps. Clearly the driver knows the width of his vehicle to the cm.
posted by Bovine Love at 9:51 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
For most of the route he's driving through a gap of at least one full lane, which is going to be measurably wider than the width of the ambulance. So with a few exceptions (one of the highway ramps and the last 20 seconds or so) he's not really threading the needle.
What really impressed me was that for the most part the other drivers had a good sense of their vehicles as bodies with shape and form: They knew how far they could pull over to let the ambulance pass without bending fenders. In the US, drivers mostly don't have this sense; they only understand their vehicle in terms of full lane width and indeterminate length, and are unable to gauge how much clearance they have with objects on their left and right (or, when parking, to their front and back).
posted by ardgedee at 10:05 AM on May 10, 2015
What really impressed me was that for the most part the other drivers had a good sense of their vehicles as bodies with shape and form: They knew how far they could pull over to let the ambulance pass without bending fenders. In the US, drivers mostly don't have this sense; they only understand their vehicle in terms of full lane width and indeterminate length, and are unable to gauge how much clearance they have with objects on their left and right (or, when parking, to their front and back).
posted by ardgedee at 10:05 AM on May 10, 2015
I'm really glad I don't do this. I would constantly have to suppress the urge to ram the asshole drivers. (And then there would be more hurt people, and I would get arrested.)
posted by wormwood23 at 10:07 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by wormwood23 at 10:07 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
Nothing fucking pisses me off faster than the fuckers* who won't get the fuck out of the way for a fucking ambulance. They should be taken out and fucking shot.
*in honor of Mother's Day, I restrained myself from using the word "motherfuckers".
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:29 AM on May 10, 2015 [7 favorites]
*in honor of Mother's Day, I restrained myself from using the word "motherfuckers".
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:29 AM on May 10, 2015 [7 favorites]
Reminds me of cycle messenger work, but way safer.
posted by honor the agreement at 10:30 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by honor the agreement at 10:30 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
For some reason this made me wonder for the first time how the hell emergency response people put up with having a siren in their ear all the fucking time. I'd go nuts.
Yeah, this video is much more pleasant, but also weirder, if you watch it while listening to something like this
posted by aubilenon at 10:39 AM on May 10, 2015
Yeah, this video is much more pleasant, but also weirder, if you watch it while listening to something like this
posted by aubilenon at 10:39 AM on May 10, 2015
From the makers of Crazy Taxi come Rambulance!
posted by The Power Nap at 10:45 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The Power Nap at 10:45 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
How far is the hospital?? They seem to be driving forever!
posted by robbyrobs at 10:52 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by robbyrobs at 10:52 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I asked my brother for his opinion on this, since he's been doing this for a living for at least a couple of decades. His response:
"The drivers appear to be well versed in that they knew what was expected and moved aside quickly and safely without much coaxing. The driver was going too fast in those red light intersections though. You need to slow down and make sure everyone with a green sees you and is stopping. I even slow down at intersections when I have a green cause people panic and do strange things. Overall that was typical of a run with no problems: no one stomped on the brakes right in front of him in a panic, no one pulled out in front, no one refused to get out of the way and drove faster to stay in front, etc."
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:59 AM on May 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
"The drivers appear to be well versed in that they knew what was expected and moved aside quickly and safely without much coaxing. The driver was going too fast in those red light intersections though. You need to slow down and make sure everyone with a green sees you and is stopping. I even slow down at intersections when I have a green cause people panic and do strange things. Overall that was typical of a run with no problems: no one stomped on the brakes right in front of him in a panic, no one pulled out in front, no one refused to get out of the way and drove faster to stay in front, etc."
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:59 AM on May 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
Yikes, that was crazy. He was definetly going too fast in those red lights, and almost crashed head-on with that bus when he was going the wrong way. If cutting it too close means getting into some accidents now and then, that means not getting to the sick person/hospital in time.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 11:04 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by CrazyLemonade at 11:04 AM on May 10, 2015
Your idea of white-knuckle and my idea of WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE are very similar, I think.
posted by ZaneJ. at 11:08 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by ZaneJ. at 11:08 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
This is why I could not drive an emergency vehicle. I'd get fired lickety split for doing nutty things while running with lights and siren completely unnecessarily. It is also my idea of great fun.
Sure, most of the time I'd get the patient to the hospital faster than anyone else, but the times I didn't...
posted by wierdo at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Sure, most of the time I'd get the patient to the hospital faster than anyone else, but the times I didn't...
posted by wierdo at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Critical mass: When calling an ambulance results in one plus delta ambulances.
posted by All Out of Lulz at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2015
posted by All Out of Lulz at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2015
What really impressed me was that for the most part the other drivers had a good sense of their vehicles as bodies with shape and form: They knew how far they could pull over to let the ambulance pass without bending fenders.
When you drive in Europe, you get used to intersections that were perfectly fine for ox-carts moving at 3 mph but haven't been upgraded since, or roads that suddenly pass between two buildings that have been eight feet apart since Charlemagne and certainly aren't going to move for your dumb ass. If you don't know exactly how big your car is, you're going to have to repaint it three or four times a year.
posted by Etrigan at 1:04 PM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
When you drive in Europe, you get used to intersections that were perfectly fine for ox-carts moving at 3 mph but haven't been upgraded since, or roads that suddenly pass between two buildings that have been eight feet apart since Charlemagne and certainly aren't going to move for your dumb ass. If you don't know exactly how big your car is, you're going to have to repaint it three or four times a year.
posted by Etrigan at 1:04 PM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
I've lived there most of my life. I put the route into maps and it seems he did almost 9 km by that point, making it an average speed of about 90 km/h, which seems about right. Also, there's a whole series of these vids, and the depressing truth is, the Hungarian ambulance service is so overstressed, under-resourced, that this was the closest ambulance to where they were going. And the video only shows about half the route. I guess they made the trip in 13-15 minutes. People frequently wait half a hour or more here. With the consequences you'd imagine.
posted by holist at 1:11 PM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by holist at 1:11 PM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
One thing for sure, their ambulances are not the wide-bodied ones we have here; that one slipped through some amazingly tight gaps. Clearly the driver knows the width of his vehicle to the cm.
In Seattle they have these mercedes sprinter ambulances now. I think the fire department is still mostly running old style box-on-a-ford-van ambulances, but the local ambulance company isn't.
That said, this person is driving like fucking Jason Statham. This is EXACTLY what i imagined driving an ambulance to be like when i was little kid. Which is to say, crazy taxi, but you always end up at a hospital. Those red light runs are something even the cops wouldn't do here. And the cops drive like the cops in GTA or midtown madness(like, 60+mph on a one lane residential street).
It's like Rendezvous with an ambulance.
posted by emptythought at 1:16 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
In Seattle they have these mercedes sprinter ambulances now. I think the fire department is still mostly running old style box-on-a-ford-van ambulances, but the local ambulance company isn't.
That said, this person is driving like fucking Jason Statham. This is EXACTLY what i imagined driving an ambulance to be like when i was little kid. Which is to say, crazy taxi, but you always end up at a hospital. Those red light runs are something even the cops wouldn't do here. And the cops drive like the cops in GTA or midtown madness(like, 60+mph on a one lane residential street).
It's like Rendezvous with an ambulance.
posted by emptythought at 1:16 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hope heart attack patients are kept out of view of the windshield.
posted by Cranberry at 1:20 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Cranberry at 1:20 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've viewed this type of journey in a UK ambulance at rush hour, from the front seat, when my wife went into labour at 25 weeks and the only neonatal intensive care unit was 2 hours away (NHS woes!). The two-lane motorway was completely jammed but all the cars moved to either side, allowing the ambulance to go straight down the middle. It looked like unzipping your jacket.
posted by colie at 1:32 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by colie at 1:32 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, The Power Nap, as soon as I saw the light rail I thought "this needs to be a mix of Crazy Taxi with a resurrection of the Rush 2049/San Francisco Rush franchise".
posted by straw at 1:37 PM on May 10, 2015
posted by straw at 1:37 PM on May 10, 2015
Knowing to drive the wrong way through a section: "Okay, this driver is good."
posted by grimjeer at 3:56 PM on May 10, 2015
posted by grimjeer at 3:56 PM on May 10, 2015
Knowing to drive the wrong way through a section: "Okay, this driver is good."
Ok, see, I would've said that a driver who doesn't even hesitate to drive the wrong way through an intersection is crazy; but to each their own I guess.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:02 PM on May 10, 2015
Ok, see, I would've said that a driver who doesn't even hesitate to drive the wrong way through an intersection is crazy; but to each their own I guess.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:02 PM on May 10, 2015
This is some seriously skilled driving. I couldn't figure out why he sometimes passed on the left and sometimes on the right, but he always made the right call.
posted by anothermug at 5:33 PM on May 10, 2015
posted by anothermug at 5:33 PM on May 10, 2015
I still suspect some segments of the video must have been sped up at least a bit, because to allegedly "make the right call" at that apparent speed, with so many utterly unknown variables (i.e. what the average semi-skilled drive might do) would have been more sheer luck than skill.
I mean, it's one thing to gauge such razor-thin judgements on a race track, where you can assume the other drivers know what they're doing and are therefore somewhat predictable; but to have that sort of trust in other drivers' behavior on the open road is goddamn insanity. Driving like that guy was doing at (at someone's estimate upthread, 55+ mph) is an accident waiting to happen. And flying at-speed through red lights strikes me as monumental stupidity.
In conclusion, if this video hasn't been tweaked, them boys is flat-out loco, and lord deliver me from ever needing an ambulance in Budapest.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:04 PM on May 10, 2015
I mean, it's one thing to gauge such razor-thin judgements on a race track, where you can assume the other drivers know what they're doing and are therefore somewhat predictable; but to have that sort of trust in other drivers' behavior on the open road is goddamn insanity. Driving like that guy was doing at (at someone's estimate upthread, 55+ mph) is an accident waiting to happen. And flying at-speed through red lights strikes me as monumental stupidity.
In conclusion, if this video hasn't been tweaked, them boys is flat-out loco, and lord deliver me from ever needing an ambulance in Budapest.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:04 PM on May 10, 2015
I remember an episode of QI where Stephen Fry talked about how in the US, the rule is to pull over to the right and stop, as if that had never occurred to anyone in Britain before. What the hell do they do there, I've always wondered. Apparently everyone just tries to get out of the way at random (left or right as appropriate)?
posted by axiom at 9:37 PM on May 10, 2015
posted by axiom at 9:37 PM on May 10, 2015
almost crashed head-on with that bus when he was going the wrong way
Nah, the bus driver saw them and waited on purpose – that's a "thank you" honk the ambulance driver gives the bus. I liked the variety of honks: "coming through the intersection" warning honks, "erm hellooo?!" honks, "thank you!" honks.
Background: lived in Nice for 15 years, where driving is worse than in Italy (I say this as someone who has driven and been driven in Italy). Drivers of public service vehicles have an unspoken code they honor for each other to make things less chaotic. Buses, for instance, are well aware that they can block other traffic, and will do so on purpose in order to help fellow public transport/ambulances/etc.
posted by fraula at 2:20 AM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nah, the bus driver saw them and waited on purpose – that's a "thank you" honk the ambulance driver gives the bus. I liked the variety of honks: "coming through the intersection" warning honks, "erm hellooo?!" honks, "thank you!" honks.
Background: lived in Nice for 15 years, where driving is worse than in Italy (I say this as someone who has driven and been driven in Italy). Drivers of public service vehicles have an unspoken code they honor for each other to make things less chaotic. Buses, for instance, are well aware that they can block other traffic, and will do so on purpose in order to help fellow public transport/ambulances/etc.
posted by fraula at 2:20 AM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
The video begins in the XIV district of Pest - Zuglo - and basically takes you over into Buda. The first shot is actually from the end of my old street onto Nagy Lajos street to the highway overpass, which probably has the highest rate of fender benders and semi accidents of any intersection in Budapest. A highway exit ramp, overpass, bike lane, pedestrian walkway, and about eight city streets converge here with rarely working street lights and confusing crossing signals. If the driver can make it through this section onto the M3 highway, he can drive anywhere. Also: after he crosses the overpass bridge onto Hungaria korut you can see the amusement park to your left, with the antique wooden roller coaster which will be torn down in the near future.
And no, Hungarians don't like to get out of the way, whether in cars or on foot. Who the hell are you to brush ME out of the way? The attitude is to take ombrage first, ask questions second.
posted by zaelic at 3:16 AM on May 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
And no, Hungarians don't like to get out of the way, whether in cars or on foot. Who the hell are you to brush ME out of the way? The attitude is to take ombrage first, ask questions second.
posted by zaelic at 3:16 AM on May 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
@axiom: Yes, how does stopping help anyone? You get out the way as best you can.
posted by salmacis at 6:13 AM on May 11, 2015
posted by salmacis at 6:13 AM on May 11, 2015
Who the hell are you to brush ME out of the way? The attitude is to take ombrage first, ask questions second.
Going by my grandparents and the worldview they imparted to my Dad, this is the essence of Hungarian-ness.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:03 AM on May 11, 2015
Going by my grandparents and the worldview they imparted to my Dad, this is the essence of Hungarian-ness.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:03 AM on May 11, 2015
Merely stopping would be dumb, of course. But the fact that all traffic (on both sides; also remember traffic in the US has the opposite handedness of Britain) predictably (1) pulls over to the right and (2) then stops makes it easy for ambulance drivers to find a path, since this behavior leaves the center of the road clear and tends to reduce the danger of cross-traffic (stopping is what helps there, since the rule is to stop of you're close to the siren, not only if you see an ambulance coming up behind your or ahead).
posted by axiom at 10:04 AM on May 11, 2015
posted by axiom at 10:04 AM on May 11, 2015
The Mercedes Sprinter, which is the platform this ambulance was built on, are pretty amazing beasts. I own and drive a 144" wheelbase model, which is probably the same size as this ambulance, and I can fit it easily into some places that I had difficulty putting a full sized pickup, even with no rear windows and no backup camera.
The two things that really spiked the sketch-o-meter for me was one dive between two cars that left very little room for error, and going as fast as they do through all those intersections.
posted by hackwolf at 10:46 AM on May 11, 2015
The two things that really spiked the sketch-o-meter for me was one dive between two cars that left very little room for error, and going as fast as they do through all those intersections.
posted by hackwolf at 10:46 AM on May 11, 2015
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posted by jonathanhughes at 9:17 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]