Local EMS provider American Medical Response has arbitrarily began significantly slowing ambulance responses and care for trauma, cardiac, and stroke patients here in Hawaii.

Once AMR began mandating drive cameras in all of their ambulances, the AI software in ambulances will trigger an alarm in the ambulance to warn the person driving that they are speeding.

If you get a few of these you get remedial training. If you get more then you could be fired for violating the driving policy.

Both the fire and police department have similar policies but they are not enforcing them and don’t currently have AI-equipped drive cameras in their vehicles.

Since implementing these drive cameras and activating the AI features, response times in many districts here in Maui have doubled from what they used to be. The same is true for the transport time to the hospital once you have the patient on board.

In situations where minutes are critical, this can place the patient outside of acceptable windows for life-saving treatment. A good example of the ridiculousness is Piilani highway in Kihei. The flow of traffic is an average of 60 mph, although the speed limit is 35.

This means that an ambulance driving lights and sirens on that highway will be limited to driving slower than the flow of traffic even with someone dying who needs emergency care provided by the medics or by the hospital.

These policies curtail benefit from time-sensitive and life-saving treatments.

Ralph Curtis
Kahului