National Association of Ambulance Drivers (NAADs) Protest Self-Driving Ambulance Development

Self-driving ambulances are secretly being developed behind closed doors all in an attempt to outsource the American ambulance driver, this charge coming from Rusty Schmidt President of the National Association of Ambulance Drivers (NAADs).

“This is an outrage and disgraceful attempt at subverting the role of the heroic ambulance driver! These proud operators work tirelessly, driving the ambulance and saving lives by driving fast. We demand an end to the development because no robotic driving ambulance can replace the highly honed, eagle eyes of our nationally accredited drivers,” said Rusty.

Self-driving cars are predicted to be the norm by the year 2020 as automakers such as GM, Mercedes and BMW race to become technology leaders in the driverless vehicle market.  As the tech improves and they can show that these vehicles are safe for public use, when will we see the first autonomously driven ambulance? According to Rusty, it’s not far off, “The fact of the matter is would you want your family member driven fast to the hospital by what is essentially a robot? It’s getting closer to that day and I for one will  not stand idly by as I watch the common driver left on the roadside as these mechanical monstrosities speed the critically ill patient to the hospital or their paramedic partner to and from coffee runs!”

 

With continued developments in the world of self-driving vehicles and nationwide insurance and budgetary cuts towards healthcare, ambulance drivers have a genuine reason for concern.  A Director of a major private ambulance service who asked to remain anonymous, recently said, “It’s going to be a hell of a fight, but the amount of money that can be saved by using self-driving ambulances will be incredibly substantial. Robots require no overtime, healthcare, benefits and don’t talk back when asked to hold over for a 6 hour out of town trip at the end of shift, this will change how we run our operations and we look forward to the day when we can begin incorporating driverless ambulances into our fleet.”

 

NAADs state that they will continue to monitor the situation and plans are in the works to begin a national campaign against self-driving emergency vehicles with the slogan, “Ambulance Drivers are People too!”