Don't Be Part of the 1%

Where are we?

Finding an emergency can be a bit like playing the lottery. Sometimes everything goes perfectly and we find the house without any trouble. Other days we are just baffled. There is a long list of things that can go wrong:

• The house/mailbox has no markings
• The mailbox number is covered with snow
• The mailbox is missing a number
• The mailbox is marked only on the end and not the sides
• The mailbox number is unreadable
• The mailbox only has a last name listed on it
• We drove past the house (see above) and the next neighbor isn't for half a mile
• A panicked caller gave the wrong address
• It raining/snowing/sleeting/ooblecking and we missed the marking
• We were dispatched to the wrong town. Did you know that there is a Mountain View Rd/Dr in Richmond, Jericho, Bolton and Williston?

We realized that we had a problem since we started tracking this problem back in April. Fifteen percent of the time our response was delayed due to a poorly marked address. Often we had first responders that went through the trouble of locating an address prior to arrival so that number may be even higher. The 1% of calls that had a big delay (>5 minutes) could actually make a difference in a patient's outcome if they were presenting with a serious problem.

We decided we wanted to offer reflective, green, 911 address signs. Although this is not a new concept we wanted to make this the easiest process anyone could imagine and make cost a non-issue for anyone that wanted a sign. 

We were fortunate that the Ketover family of Richmond wanted to fund a project that would have an impact on the community. One stipulation of their donation is that signs should be free for participants in Medicaid, WIC and Dr. Dynasaur. Now that a funding source was available we just needed to figure out how to keep costs down.

Mike mounts a sign in Richmond

We purchased sign blanks with high intensity prismatic sheeting and reflective numbers in bulk quantities so we could realize some cost savings. Next we implemented online ordering (google forms) and payment (Paypal). We also offered free mounting to wooden mailbox posts for anyone that has a power tool deficiency. 

Much better

So far we've sold 27 signs (5 were given away for free) with very little marketing effort. We are slowing down our marketing operation because we ran out of 2s much faster than any other number but we should be fully operational again in early January.

For anyone that would like to order you can go to our online order form. Our supply of 2s should be replenished by early January and we'll take care of our backlog of 2 containing addresses.

Please remember that no sign lasts forever. Even well made signs generally only have a life of 7-10 years. Take a look at your mailbox today and order a sign if it isn't well marked. If you have any questions or have a challenging marking situation get in touch with me and we can work out a solution.

Can You See Us Now?

Old ambulance markings

A few years ago we made a radical departure from how our ambulances were marked. We realized we were doing a number of things wrong and not maximizing our visibility while operating on the roadways. One of our members did a ton of research and figured out what we could do to make ourselves more visible. This required a huge departure from our current color scheme and took a little while to get everyone to buy in.

The new markings

Color
The first big change was moving from maroon to a yellow and blue color combination. The fluorescent yellow color is highly visible both day and night. The decals are also made with a retro reflective material meaning that they reflect light back to the driver.

Contour stripes

Contours
The entire ambulance is outlined in a retro reflective stripe. Being white it is hard to see during the day but at night it makes it obvious that a driver is approaching an ambulance.




Chevrons

Chevron

Chevron are the inverted V pattern found on the back of emergency vehicles. The idea is that they draw a drivers attention toward the vehicle because it is so unique. Some of the key points to designing an effective chevron are:

• Make each line at least 6" wide. Any less and it makes for odd optical illusions.
• Select contrasting colors: blue & yellow, red & yellow, red & white, blue & white and green & white are recommended.
• Cover only about 50% of the rear of the truck. 100% becomes distracting and costs more.
• Chevrons should only be on the rear of a vehicle otherwise it causes confusion

We've been quite happy with our ambulance design and plan to hold on to it for a long time. In doing this research it is surprising how many ambulances are designed for good looks rather than visibility. If you want to learn more you can check out this FEMA publication.