It is learned that a 52-year-old patient was killed when a 108 ambulance, which was taking him for treatment to the GMC hospital, crashed against a truck on the Santa Cruz-Bambolim highway on Thursday. Two others who were in the ambulance were reportedly also injured in the mishap. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be a custom followed by most of the motorists in Goa to give way to an ambulance with the siren on. People need to be sensitized to the fact that every second counts in a medical emergency, which is why it is vital for people to give way when an ambulance approaches. It may mean the difference between life and death for the patient. The motorists must move to the left making way for the ambulance on hearing the siren. Instead of clearing and pulling to the side of the road, many motorists race ahead of ambulances and fire brigades or follow closely behind them in order to pass more quickly through traffic. If a police car is following with its lights flashing, it means that a VVIP motorcade is following behind. Then the motorist needs to stop and continue on its way once the motorcade has passed. In other countries motorists who fail to give way to an ambulance with the siren on are penalized heavily. Given the fact that motorists in Goa are reluctant to give way for an ambulance with the siren on, the ambulance driver too needs to drive cautiously in order to avoid an accident.
