Ambulance driver fined for crash while out on a call

The driver, Benjamin Adam, of Vazon, Castel, admitted driving without due care and attention.

Prosecuting Advocate Liam Roffey told the court how the collision in January had happened at 1pm near the junction with the Saltpans when the ambulance was travelling at 58mph.

It was responding to a category two call – the second most important in terms of urgency – and the maximum response time was 14 minutes.

The call to help a patient near the Peninsula Hotel, who had breathing difficulties, came in while the ambulance was at Salerie Corner.

It was the prosecution’s case that Mr Adam drove without due care and attention from St Clair Hill to the point of impact.

He crossed the central white line while overtaking another vehicle near the top of St Clair Hill, which was in effect a blind corner. Just beyond the junction with the Saltpans, the driver of a silver Mercedes, which was in front of the ambulance, was signalling their intention to turn right into a property.

As the Mercedes was turning, the ambulance, which was attempting to overtake, collided with the front offside of the car. The blue lights and the siren on the ambulance had been on at the time.

A police expert from the UK was asked to view the dashcam footage from the ambulance.

He found the Mercedes had been braking consistently for several seconds prior to turning. It would have been reasonable for Mr Adam to accept that it might have been about to turn, but he made no attempt to slow down. On the whole, he had been driving too fast and made no allowance for what might happen.

The car driver suffered minor aches and pain from a whiplash injury.

In interview, Mr Adam said he had seen the brake lights on the Mercedes and thought that driver was yielding to him. He estimated his own speed at about 40mph.

Defending, Advocate Samuel Steel said this was the first case in at least 20 years, possibly the first ever, in which an ambulance driver had appeared in court for the standard of their driving while at work. His client, one of only two paramedics locally to have a masters diploma in critical care management, had not anticipated that the driver would turn right in front of him.

An internal driving suspension of six months had been imposed following the crash in January and he would now face an internal disciplinary hearing following these proceedings.

Judge Gary Perry said driving emergency vehicles required split-second timing and nobody could get it right 100% of the time.

‘I can understand that with your siren and blue lights flashing, you would have thought that the driver would give way, but speed was the problem,’ he said.

‘This was a category two and not a category one call.’

Ambulances were able to travel at up to 60mph, but that should only be in exceptional circumstances, and the road in this case had multiple driveways and junctions on both sides.

The judge said he did not wish to deprive the community of someone who did such an important role. He fined the defendant £650, but did not suspend his driving licence.