Peter-Vincent Schuld

Of course, I’ve seen a lot of misery in my career as a photojournalist. Injury, grief, death, displaced persons, disasters and here and there a solid crisis area. Although I am still no stranger to the adrenaline, to go to work in the event of an emergency, I no longer feel the need to be present everywhere. I’d rather not be honest.
I follow with interest the work of professional photojournalists covering 112 reports who know how to capture the hard news in a dignified and respectful way. I did the same in my late teens and partly learned the trade of a photojournalist on the street and then literally went out into the wide world.
I was always touched by the work that the rescuers carried out and always realized very well that I could end up in an ambulance myself, which has happened to me a number of times. But what made the most impact on me was when my loved ones needed the quick help of the people from the ambulance. At the same time as I write this, I realize that I always get a certain feeling of emotion when I am in the car and I hear or see an ambulance (or another emergency service) approaching. I find myself getting angry when people don’t move quickly enough or just don’t move out of the way when they hear the sirens. For example, it will be your father or mother who needs emergency care.

It won’t be the first time that I block the traffic purely out of coal, without losing my mind and looking at where the ambulance with sirens and flashing lights has to go, in order to ensure a free passage of that ambulance.

Especially on roundabouts. “Quickly enter the roundabout before the ambulance drives on, because that saves seconds of time,” reasons many drivers, while every second counts for the victim. I was, am and remain completely done with that handling.

If an ambulance or any emergency vehicle approaches with “blue blue” then you move aside. Point!
But no, you don’t think it’s possible how many times I see an ambulance squeezing through traffic and struggling because either drivers aren’t paying attention or are just too paralyzed to pull over and even panic. I sometimes think “don’t you have that when you’re in traffic and an ambulance is coming? Don’t you ever think, please be on time?”

A human life is as fragile as a thread. Although, unfortunately, aggression against aid workers in the Low Countries occurs almost every day, I fear for the coming New Year’s Eve. This night has had a dubious reputation for years when it comes to aggression against emergency workers. Often under the influence of alcohol and drugs. This kind of behavior should never, ever be tolerated. It is right that in the Netherlands the punishment requirements that the Public Prosecutor pronounces against suspects of this type of misconduct are considerably higher. You leave social workers alone and let them do their work without hindering them.

I speak only from my own experience; Those times when I came into contact with ambulance personnel myself, either as a “victim” or as a relative of the victim, I was only too happy and grateful that they came to provide that help anyway. But before the ambulance gets to the victim and afterwards when the ride to the hospital is urgent, just make room.

Although blue flashing lights for police, fire brigade and ambulance are standard in almost all of Europe, there is one country that is an exception to this and that is Spain. In Spain, fire and ambulance vehicles are required to drive with orange flashing lights and sirens. Only the siren makes them priority priority vehicles. This to the great displeasure of the aid workers themselves.

In principle, it is forbidden for ambulances and fire trucks to drive with blue flashing lights. That is only reserved for the police and Guardia Civil. This to the great annoyance of other emergency services such as the fire brigade and ambulance. Ambulances and fire brigades that dare to do so risk a hefty fine. These fines are also effectively handed out, as they were recently in Mallorca. However, more and more fire brigades, ambulance services and civil defence services are flouting this ban. In Barcelona, new fire engines have recently been put into service with a “blue blue” finish. In Madrid, red flashing lights are used, in the province of Alicante, fire engines have orange lights on the roof, but often carry “white strobes” on the front of the vehicle.

For more than 10 years, there has been a discussion in the Spanish parliament about allowing blue flashing lights on priority vehicles other than those of police forces. It is, of course, a travesty that only police cars are allowed to carry blue lights. Orange flashing lights are actually intended for slow or exceptional road traffic and during road works. On the Facebook page “Rotativos azules para los servicios de emergencia”, aid workers have been complaining for years that they have to make their way through traffic like garbage trucks. It seems that emergency services will indeed be allowed to use “blue blue” in the near future. A consultation among firefighters launched by the Spanish Directorate General for Traffic resulted in a “yes” to the use of blue. The ball is now back in the court of Spanish politicians.
A piece of advice for you when driving in Spain; Also, pull over if you see a vehicle with amber flashing lights and sirens approaching.