Ambulance ‘telematics’ system used as court evidence

An “experienced” ambulance driver hit and caused the tragic death of a pedestrian on a marked crossing near Chelmsford while responding to an emergency call.

This is one of the first times evidence from a telematics system has been used in a case of this kind, where it was used to prove that the ambulance driver was travelling within the 30mph speed limit at 29mph with the blue lights flashing and the siren armed for use. The case had been brought against the ambulance driver on the basis that she was speeding at the time of the accident and driving without due care.

The telematics evidence was upheld in court and the ambulance driver was cleared of causing death through careless driving. The case highlights the importance of using this type of in-vehicle equipment to protect a member of staff from prosecution, while carrying out their job within the law and following correct guidelines.

Ortus’ DataPoint telematics solution is designed specifically for Emergency Service Vehicles and captures a huge amount of high resolution data from a variety of on board systems.

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