GPS is killing EMS

I see it all the time, you give a crew a call, 5 minutes later their calling dispatch because they can't find the street in the GPS.... Can't anyone read a map book any more!

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Permalink Reply by Clown on December 3, 2008 at 10:03am

Well neither company I work for uses GPS systems and though I wouldn't mind owning one, I haven't gotten one yet. I usually rely on the map if I don't know where I'm going but... If you think how often they are adding new streets and whatnot how often do your maps get updated and replaced??

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Permalink Reply by Ray Simpson on December 5, 2008 at 5:32am

What I love about GPS is that it helps me keep aware of what street is comming up, with my settinggs I can assures myself that I am on the right track especialy on night calls with trees in the way of signs or where signs are missing! I wish some one would make a GPS with a small keyboard to more quickly enter data. Our area needs work with the rural areas. I agree where you have AVL and In unit systems tied to your CAD can be great but simple GPS can be a help! When purchasing a GPS unit assure that you can get your Latitue and Longitue so you can guide in help to rural areas.

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Permalink Reply by Brent on December 5, 2008 at 7:00pm

I work in the private sector so I use the GPS all the time. But I also have to remember that it's ONLY A TOOL. If I know a better way then what the GPS is saying I will go the way I know. But I still know how to get to all of the hospitals my area w/o the GPS.

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Permalink Reply by steve price on December 5, 2008 at 7:33pm

i just bought a GPS system and i updated the files on it ,when i entered an address for an appointment the address wasnt listed it only brought up two addresses two blocks before my destination, they are good guides but thats all they are guides, and shouldnt be relied on as set in stone

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Permalink Reply by Barry Small on December 6, 2008 at 1:44am

I had a guest medic riding my car recently. He was so proud of his GPS then we started getting calls. I was taking off for the calls because I knew where I was going and he would be punching info into the GPS. He kept wanting me to slow down so the GPS could give directions. The only problem was I had already made the turns before the GPS told us. His wanting to hold back for GPS instructions threw off the whole flow of the response, and frankly was confusing. I can see it as a useful tool for LDT's (long distance transfers) that our service does a lot of. For E calls though it is just one more thing to go wrong.

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Permalink Reply by David Reynics on December 6, 2008 at 2:16am

Yours is one of the best reply's that I have seen yet. This EXACTLY my point. A crew should know their zone.
I worked in Sandy Springs GA for about 5 years, I could shoot off for a call & beat fire every time. I knew every cut through my zone to get from one major road to another. My average response time was 4.3 minutes (as told to be by managemant) the next closest person was 5.2 minutes. Now I will Openly admit when I was driving I had the worlds largest lead foot (I know that might come as a shock to some (LOL)) but knowing your zone makes all the difference in the world.

Barry Small said:

I had a guest medic riding my car recently. He was so proud of his GPS then we started getting calls. I was taking off for the calls because I knew where I was going and he would be punching info into the GPS. He kept wanting me to slow down so the GPS could give directions. The only problem was I had already made the turns before the GPS told us. His wanting to hold back for GPS instructions threw off the whole flow of the response, and frankly was confusing. I can see it as a useful tool for LDT's (long distance transfers) that our service does a lot of. For E calls though it is just one more thing to go wrong.

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Permalink Reply by emtguy on December 6, 2008 at 3:39am

GPS was designed for personal use, I don't think that it should be used to locate an address when going on a call. I work here in Sunny California, and we only do it old school.....use the map a.k.a. Thomas Guide. Don't be lazy people, do it old school and you will come to find out that the response time is shorter....

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Permalink Reply by Vapor Trails on December 6, 2008 at 8:08am

Well as a dispatcher here in NYC, I have crews that have GPS and some that don't. I find I have more problems with crews that have the darn things and follow it blindly and follow it down streets that a ambulance has no business going down while going lights & sirens due to heavy traffic. Don't get me wrong when I am working in the field I use one (TomTom) which I bought myself, but I don't follow it blindly and I know the neighborhoods well enough to know what streets not to use due to traffic. I guess it all up to the people who are using it, to know how to use it. There is no excuse for not having or knowing how to use a map.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Poole on December 8, 2008 at 9:23am

With all the hitech gadgets available now days, we, and I mean everyone, not just EMS, get to dependent on them. Remember one of the first lessons you learned as an EMT... Treat the patient, not the machine. In a way this can hold true to GPS, it's nice, but know how to use a map. Know how to read signs. And if you have ever worked in rural EMS, learn where Old Man Jones barn burned 18 years ago.

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Permalink Reply by Ken McElroy on December 8, 2008 at 9:41am

GPS is great when the data is accurate, but map reading should be required of everybody- Electronics fail fuses blow on the cigarette lighter plug but the hard map will always be there- If its in the ambulance lol

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Permalink Reply by Sam Hunt on December 9, 2008 at 9:29pm

GPS is great for long distance transfers...even if you know where you are going they give you estimated time of arrival and distance to next turn.

For 911 calls I have personally tested GPS and even though we have the ability to we do not use it. When hired you are required to study maps, take part in street study's by driving the area and then taking a map test. When I have tried using GPS the major problem I found was that while our units are in the bay (Even if the GPS unit is turned on) it cannot go through the building to acquire a signal. Once you have pulled out it takes 3-7 minutes for the system to "acquire satellites". That takes too much time and is too much of a hassle. The CAD systems in our units pulls up a map that was transmitted from dispatch but only shows the location of the address on the street and the surrounding areas/streets. It does not give us turn by turn directions.

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Sullivan on December 10, 2008 at 6:33pm

Joshua said:

Our service just started putting GPS in out rigs. While it can come in handy, I still rely in a map and my knowledge of my local to get me there, and I don't leave the station untill I know where I'm going and how I'm getting there. I find it does come in handy showing you upcoming cross streets, specially when its hard to read the street sign or when the signs are turned or missing.

That definitely is when it is the most useful! And knowing you are turning in 1/2 mile or 1/4 mile gives you the ability to plan your stops and turns, which is safer for other drivers. However, the GPS we use doesn't consider traffic OR the number of intersections on a road, so it only takes us the "quickest" way about 75% of the time. I also have a GPS in my phone, and it has traffic updates, so I usually will use it and the mapbook to plan my route.