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has a loud and important voice in this matter and this is taken into consideration. The fleet manager and SRD are constantly looking at vehicle design and industry changes to see what may be beneficial to RAA. There are always new tools, designs and ideas claiming to be safer; however, they are not always safer for RAA. Excellance, Inc. is the ambulance manufacturer providing RAA Type III units. The standard construction has proven to be truly crash-worthy. In one case a RAA unit was struck in the patient compartment by a vehicle running a red light. The other vehicle went under the ambulance and came out from the rear. The ambulance was already due for refurbishment and was sent to Excellance for work. During the process of repair and re-chassis, the manufacturer found all original welds to be intact. This is a testament to the compartment integrity and construction. Their ability to adapt to RAA unique specifications turns a committee vision into everyday reality. The customization and design-specific construction provides a fit-for-purpose RAA vehicle meeting the needs of a high-performance, system status-managed EMS environment. Conclusion Two parallel tracks of thought are occurring. One track has to do with accident prevention and includes human factors engineering. The vehicle operator is the only one in control of the ambulance. Identifying the right candidate to hire and train to understand the dynamics of how to manage an ambulance in all conditions and situations is the initial link in the CCS. The complimentary track is based on surviving the accident and has experts working to create a more efficient and safe vehicle. This is equally as important and hopefully one day a new design will be an ambulance manufacturing industry standard. Meanwhile, replacing an entire fleet of vehicles would be extremely cost-prohibitive and potentially create a new problem. If you use a fleet replacement plan then how do you tell crews they have to use the less-safe vehicle until all units are replaced? While the overall program is successful for RAA, each agency must look at the topics and make decisions based on their own organization. Safe vehicle operation should not be based on budget constraints! Developing basic educational guidelines, routine monitoring, proper vehicle maintenance and purposeful change are great preliminary starting points in designing a similarly successful program in your agency. Postscript This article was planned and written some time ago. There were a few people who mocked the idea at the time as they believed the decision to reveal our processes would surely jinx us. Just before the editorial deadline, the predicted misfortune happened. During a routine non-emergency transport, one of our crews in a Type II unit was involved in a horrific accident. The initial information our management staff obtained made us fear the absolute worst. The crew was about 35 minutes outside of the city and we had no direct control with on-scene activities. Our safety director and a supervisor went to the scene. Although the vehicle was a total loss, we are most grateful the crew survived, battered and bruised, but okay. We deliberated on running this article. Was it right to boast about For More Information Circle 37 on Reader Service Card VEHICLE OPERATIONS EMSWORLD.com | APRIL 2014 35 EMS_26-36_CoverReport0414.indd 35 3/13/14 2:40 PM