Ambulance death sounds siren on drivers making way

Emergency physician Wang Yuzhu hardly knows anything about the woman whose life she tried so desperately to save.

In an incident that has since become a cause celebre online, Wang's patient, a woman in her 50s, died on Friday in the back of an ambulance, even though the hospital to which it was heading was only a stone's throw from where she was seriously injured by a concrete mixer. The life-or-death journey proved too long in Beijing's afternoon rush hour.

"The scene of the accident is no more than three km from the hospital, yet it took us a good 40 minutes to arrive there! Barely any cars made way for our ambulance! So woeful!" Wang wrote in a post on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like microblogging service.

"As a doctor, I feel regret for the loss of a life; and as a citizen, I feel helpless," Wang, who has worked at the Beijing Emergency Medical Center for over a decade, said under the screen name "Monica-Xiaomo."

Wang's bitter experience was reported by the Beijing Evening News and her post was retweeted more than 30,000 times on Sina Weibo, triggering a wave of heated debate and soul-searching on the Internet.

Some Internet users lambasted the lack of social ethics among drivers, who are often seen illegally maneuvering on emergency lanes or parking their vehicles on bicycle lanes or sidewalks.

"What cold-blooded souls they must be! How can you expect such drivers of little morality to make way for ambulances?" said Internet user "Heikaixin" on Sina Weibo.

"What's wrong with the people of modern society? What if you are the one who is waiting for first aid in the ambulance?" said "chen_up_2012."

Some, however, noted that the misuse of "privilege vehicles" like police cars using their sirens without any emergency tasks has led to the mistrust or even disgust among the public.

"Out of respect for life and their conscience, people have no excuses not to make way for ambulances or fire engines. But I suspect that there are so many "privilege vehicles" which abuse their powers so often that people have lost trust in them and don't know if they are really on special or emergency tasks even with sirens on. That's why some drivers refuse to make way," said Internet user "zhigaozhimingriyue."

"It's really woeful! I have to say that many ambulances and police cars misuse sirens even without any emergency tasks. The true murderer of the woman is the loss of trust," added Weibo user "betty-lmw."

Wang refuted the rumors of misuse of sirens by ambulances, saying that their vehicles are supervised by the central command center and they only use sirens when it is really necessary.

"Actually, we are also the victims of siren misuse by other privilege cars," Wang said. "People would indiscriminately think that we are the same as them. Out of distrust or disgust, they refuse to make way for us, too."

Zhang Shaojun, who was driving the ambulance during Friday's incident after having worked at the center for several years, said about half the drivers on the road would not make way for his vehicle.

"Some drivers would purposely slow down ahead of me if I signaled them to move to other lanes," Zhang complained.

"The ultimate victims, however, are the public themselves," according to Wang. "Who can be sure that they won't be taken to hospital by an ambulance someday?"

Others have questioned whether Beijing's terrible traffic congestion is mainly to blame for drivers failing to make way for emergency vehicles.

Wang said this was partly true surrounding the Friday tragedy, which happened on a street that was badly clogged.

"Even so, we usually have some other choices, such as driving on bicycle lanes, which is allowable for ambulances," Wang said. "However, many cars were parked on bicycle lanes that night, making it impossible for us to proceed."

"It is hard to say this really reflects on the lack of social ethics among the public, but I do hope that people won't park their cars in emergency lanes, or in case of emergency, people could move aside a little so that our ambulances can get through," she added. "People need to have more knowledge about ambulances and their use of sirens. We don't use sirens much, but if we do, it is in urgent situation."

Beijing police recently launched a campaign to improve traffic in the city, including a crackdown upon bad driving behavior such as illegal parking, jumping in line and infringing on bus or emergency lanes.

The number of automobiles in Beijing exceeded 5 million in February this year, making it one of the most clogged cities in the country.

Wang called for the public to make way for ambulances, when it is possible and safe enough for themselves. "It is making way for life, and it might be your own life, too," Wang said.