Trust no one on the road

Driving defensively is a critical step in avoiding apparatus collisions


Fire apparatus spend countless hours each year traveling among incidents, transporting critical water, equipment and, most importantly, firefighters. Following are actions for every engineer to observe to avoid and survive a collision.

Trust no one

Other drivers are distracted, drunk, asleep or incompetent until proven otherwise. Drive defensively, anticipating the drivers around you will make the worst possible decisions and will also react erratically and indecisively as you approach them at an intersection or prepare to overtake a vehicle. Never trust another driver to do the right thing. Instead, expect them to do the worst thing.

Four Colorado firefighters were injured when their fire apparatus collided with another vehicle.
Four Colorado firefighters were injured when their fire apparatus collided with another vehicle. (Photo/Aurora FD Facebook)

Read next: How to avoid and survive an ambulance collision

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