Saw a Doctor driving on a green beacon today for the first time in ages.
Aside from hoping he was a better doctor than driver, I have been wondering why doctors (uniquely?) have been allocated a green emergency light?
Also, he wasn't equipped with, or at least using, any form of siren.
Even the relatively tiny and rare mountain rescue teams run on blue lights.
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Possibly because blue light drivers have to undertake advanced driving courses, whereas doctors don't. I am not sure if doctors on a green light are given the same privalages as blue light drivers, treating red lights as give way junctions, etc.
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The copper with the blue light who tried to reverse into me yesterday did not appear even to have passed his basic test. Nor did the nice police lady who recently caused me to crash-stop to avoid a collision, as she swung into the nick car park without being troubled by so minor a consideration as an opposing traffic stream
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Sounds like the policeman I saw yesterday, turned right out of the station car park onto a busy main road without even the slightest of glances at the traffic approaching from his right had side - the traffic which had to brake suddenly to avoid an accident.
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Which also sounds like the policeman who nearly killed me last year driving across mini-roundabouts through Hampstead Garden Suburb on blue lights at motorway speeds to attend an accident. The accident being an MG coming together with some other car at parking speeds. A supermarket trolley would have caused more damage.
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Possibly because blue light drivers have to undertake advanced driving courses, whereas doctors don't.
No, that is not always the case Tom. For fourteen years, and until recently I used to drive 'blue light' as a part timer in a government agency. I never received any formal training and was basically just self taught at it.
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Possibly because blue light drivers have to undertake advanced driving courses
Police drivers don't need any sort of formal driver training before they can use blues. Training is certainly needed before they can put the sirens on, though.
Around here the under-powered, under-serviced diesel Fiestas only have lights fitted, and before the driver training any police officer has to obey the rules of the road (juntions, traffic lights, one-way streets, etc) like any other mortal.
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Mike Farrow
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Except in remote areas I don't think any GPs use green lights these days. Hardly any of us do our own out of hours calls and if a call comes in during the day that sounds like immediate attention is required it makes better sense to call out an ambulance, the paramedics are better equipped and carry out emergency treatment much more often than we do so are more experienced.
You cannot use a siren with a green light and since it is pretty hard for other drivers to see it is probably a waste of time in an emergency.
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