Tillercam Video of LACoFD Q33 Responding

Link Fixed


Just been messing around with mounting a camera on our Tillered Truck... I know it's nothing special but you can kinda get the idea of what it's like to ride in the Tiller box. Here is a link to the video..

Sit back relax and enjoy the ride...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfawm-HePjc

seems to have been removed by youtube....

Oh how I do miss the day's of running with Squad 33 while working at A.M.R. in Landscater, CA. :eek:

Mmmmm...Coaches wing's, :) Primo breakfast burrito's, :) wave at L.C.H. on the way by, Louies Burgers, past Lancaster Blvd, Essex House.

Load 'em up A.M.R.

Look's like you guy's were in 129's district? :D Nice vid...keep 'em coming!

Oh very nice!!

very cool video. im from a town of about 5000 so we dont have to worry about any of that traffic problems like that! make it nice for response times.

Daddy like tillers!!



Nice vid!

Thanks for posting such a great video! I always wondered what a run looks like from the tiller, now I know!

LACoFD- Can you please post your videos at www.californiafirefighter.com

Thanks.

I wonder how many times the tillerman wished he’d had his own brake pedal or that we wasn’t the last through the intersection:D

Sure would be a Way Cool Ride!

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane. They are leaving themselves open for big law suits should they had an accident or hit someone! Had this truck done this in my city, the Driver and Officer would be on the carpet before the day was over!

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane. They are leaving themselves open for big law suits should they had an accident or hit someone! Had this truck done this in my city, the Driver and Officer would be on the carpet before the day was over!

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Jonnee,
Glad I don't work there :)

Lacofd,

I went back and watched the video again after reading the post above and wondered if it was just my imagination or is there no rearward facing LEDS on the lightbar attached to the tractor cab? Is that so the tillerman doesn't get blinded at night or other lowlight conditions or did I just not see them?

Still a Great Video,

Mark

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane. They are leaving themselves open for big law suits should they had an accident or hit someone! Had this truck done this in my city, the Driver and Officer would be on the carpet before the day was over!

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No...not only in CA. That's the way it is in many departments, mine included. I'm not going to debate your driving rules vs others. They are what they are.

As far as lights facing the rear all they do is blind you at night and make it difficult for the tillerman to see. Many years ago we had strobes on the cab roofs of all rigs. The guys on every tiller, ten at the time, painted the backs of them black to prevent tiller blinding. There also were strobes next to the tiller seat and the tops and sides facing inward of those were painted too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane. They are leaving themselves open for big law suits should they had an accident or hit someone! Had this truck done this in my city, the Driver and Officer would be on the carpet before the day was over!

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Your kidding right? Please remember that California is one of the more populated states and we sometimes need to do some alternative driving to get onscene. Remember, this isnt your one horse, mom and pop volunteer operation.

Also, the two major fire apparatus collisions we have seen on the national level did NOT take place in California, so dont worry about us, thank you.

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane. They are leaving themselves open for big law suits should they had an accident or hit someone! Had this truck done this in my city, the Driver and Officer would be on the carpet before the day was over!

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I agree with what the others have said. Running in the opposite lane of traffic is a pretty common occurrence in many departments. There are ways to do all of those things safely and if you are following your departments SOP/SOG then you are covered! So what may work for you, may not work for someone else.

I'm simply outraged that you neglected to stop at the green lights...outraged, I say!

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane.

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Nah, some of us in Virginia drive against traffic too. :D

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Originally Posted by CALFFBOU

Your kidding right? Please remember that California is one of the more populated states and we sometimes need to do some alternative driving to get onscene. Remember, this isnt your one horse, mom and pop volunteer operation.

Also, the two major fire apparatus collisions we have seen on the national level did NOT take place in California, so dont worry about us, thank you.

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Well my friend, I am not from a one horse, mom and pop department. In fact part of a large metro department with 7 large career and some with both career and volunteer members in the general area. We too have our traffic and quite often traffic being backed up at traffic signals. With the help of a opti com system this opens up the lane for the responding apparatus to get through. No I will never say that we haven't taken the 'third' lane and bypass the stopped traffic. In the old days, 1970's we did just that. Now days with the advent of more cars, traffic and people that do not hear or pay attention to an emegency vehicle(s) runing lights and siren, we have new SOP's to govern how apparatus is driven.


You have to understand that every firefighter isn't in California and have the nice wide streets and avenues as you guys have. We on the side of the country don't have the wide streets unless you are in the downtown part of DC where their streets are much wider than in other parts of that town.

Regardless on how you guys drive, we wish you good luck and a good response. We do it some what different on our side of the US.

As far as a major apparatus accident, knock on wood, we haven't one for sometime. Not wanting to be in any more as I have been in one that scared the bijeebies out of me when I had been on the job for about two years.

It isn't any fun.

Yes we have the usual scrapes and brusies that other vehicle(s) jump out on us and hit the side or a driver will catch a tree limb or utlity pole every now and then.

Excellent video Dave!

Tillers are awesome. But I can't believe that the captain didn't honk the horn at that first controlled intersection!!! :D :D :D

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Only in California! Truck running red traffic signals, stop signs and in the opposite traffic lane. They are leaving themselves open for big law suits should they had an accident or hit someone! Had this truck done this in my city, the Driver and Officer would be on the carpet before the day was over!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonnee

Well my friend, I am not from a one horse, mom and pop department. In fact part of a large metro department with 7 large career and some with both career and volunteer members in the general area. We too have our traffic and quite often traffic being backed up at traffic signals. With the help of a opti com system this opens up the lane for the responding apparatus to get through.

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Well, it seems like you left out an important piece of information in your original post then. If you have opticom's, then you won't have to worry about trucks driving through red lights. So how about you get of your high horse and quit yer bitchin about how your department would never drive through red lights, if you have an opticom system that keeps you from having to drive through red lights to begin with....:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by MarcusKspn

Well, it seems like you left out an important piece of information in your original post then. If you have opticom's, then you won't have to worry about trucks driving through red lights. So how about you get of your high horse and quit yer bitchin about how your department would never drive through red lights, if you have an opticom system that keeps you from having to drive through red lights to begin with....:rolleyes:

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Had you read my post in its entirely, you would have seen that back in the 1970’s we did what the guys do in California as the Utube video shows. Yes we went into the oncoming lane.

We have had the opticom system for about 20 years and yes the apparatus trips the signal control box and allows that vehicle a green signal to proceed.

Who is on whose high horse? We have rules and regulations, SOP’s/SOG’s that our department adheres to. In part it states that all apparatus on an emergency response shall come to a complete stop at all red traffic signals and stop signs, and can proceed when the other traffic has stopped yielding to the responding apparatus. This means that if an apparatus on a run comes to a traffic signal that is red and the opicom system has not changed that light or if no opitcom is connected to that signal, then the apparatus must come to a complete stop and proceed when the traffic has yield. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Having said that members who choose to violate them will be discipline accordingly. This means the Officer and Driver/Operator of any apparatus.

Being a Chief Officer and having companies in a Battalion I ensure that the Officers of the Companies are properly training their members in all safety and procedural guidelines.