A response video that includes narration of good and bad driver behaviour around a responding emergency vehicle has been viewed nearly 400,000 times after being posted on Truganina Fire Brigade’s Facebook page.
Truganina’s ‘Brigade - Community Safety Coordinator’ (and the video’s narrator) Graham Abbott said, “We thought the video was a pretty good example to demonstrate effective driver behaviour, so we threw in some narration over the top. We had no idea it would be so well watched once it was online.”
“Once we had put together a draft of the video, we crosschecked it with the driver and other members involved, as well as the brigade captain, before it was published. It’s really important to ensure that everything in the video is in line with SOPs and other requirements like Brigade Standing Orders, otherwise we knew the keyboard experts on social media would swing into action.”
Most of the comments on social media were really positive and, where there was an occasional provocative comment, other community members were pretty quick to moderate debate and generate positive discussion.
The video concludes with six simple key messages for drivers when they see an emergency vehicle. They are:
- Don’t panic
- Give way to the emergency vehicle no matter which direction it’s coming from
- Indicate your intentions
- Move to make room safely - if possible to the left
- Don’t brake suddenly
- Obey the road rules.
Author: Jamie Devenish