We have good child passenger safety standards and guidelines for cars, but we don t have them yet for ambulances. Standard safety practices and techniques that work well in cars cannot be applied directly to ambulances, due to engineering and practical differences. So use caution in applying automobile standards and practices to your ambulances. Try not to use new products that have not been well tested or proved to be effective. Still, you can minimize the risk of injury when you transport a child in your ambulance.
Project supports efforts to improve the safety of children being transported in ambulances.
Through an EMSC grant, the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Children s Center is working to fill critical knowledge gaps and to develop standards for pediatric EMS transport safety. This project s results should be available in the year 2000. In the meantime, here are some guidelines that may help you make sure that your ambulance is a safe place for children. There are certain practices that can really help you decrease the likelihood of a crash. And in the event of a crash or near collision, these practices can really decrease the potential for injury.