Drivers make way for dead, not the living

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"My ambulance, in which I was transporting a three-day-old baby with breathing difficulties, was caught in traffic. Other vehicles wouldn't give way even though I had the siren and the flashing light on," Asti Puspitarini, who drives a 118 Ambulance, said.

"When the baby briefly stopped breathing, the father quickly got out of the ambulance and, out of desperation, arranged the traffic so other cars gave way," she disclosed.

Fortunately, the baby arrived at the designated hospital in time for surgery, Asti said.

"On another occasion, drivers shouted at me because they thought my siren was annoying. I opened the ambulance window and told them that the siren was no joke. I had a patient whose family members were shouting in panic at me, asking me to drive faster," she said.

Asti said that drivers sometimes would not give way when they saw the ambulance was empty.

"We, 118 personnel, are told to turn on the siren only if it's necessary," she said. "An empty ambulance with a siren means it is on its way to pick up a needy patient."

"Sometimes I notice drivers are more likely to give way to hearses than to us. Perhaps it is because hearses usually have motorbikes with ruthless riders as escorts," she said.

On top of ignorant and uneducated motorists in Jakarta traffic, ambulance drivers also often encounter another challenge: severe traffic congestion in which even the most aware driver could not give way to an ambulance due to the lack of room.

"When traffic is too congested, I usually turn off the siren. What would be the point? Other drivers can't move anyway," H. Herbart, another 118 Ambulance driver told The Jakarta Post.

To help the situation, the ambulance drivers, who in 118 also have medical training, usually stay in contact by radio with the headquarters in Sunter, North Jakarta, where operators feed the drivers with updated information about traffic.

"With 50 ambulances stationed at 37 spots, our response time is between 10 to 15 minutes," she said.

Whereas in emergency cases, such as obstructed airways, breathing difficulties, circulation problems and disability, the allowed waiting time is 10 minutes, because under some circumstances where a patient could choke, for example, he or she could die within six minutes.

Another 118 strategy to improve its response time is to provide ambulance motorbikes ridden by a medical technician carrying emergency equipment.

"We presently have five motorbikes and are expecting to get five more," Asti said.

In an emergency, a medical technician on a motorbike should arrive first and an ambulance with more equipment follow behind.