type II vs type III ambulance

[starlife911]

I am looking for information stating why a type III box ambulance is safer than a type II. Does anyone have input or web sites that can provide data?
I am with a volunteer ambulance and we are going to purchase a box and need to "sell" this to the Town. We currently have box units now, but the town is looking to cut corners to save a few bucks. I guess they figure since they don't have to work in the ambulance, it really doesn't matter how safe you are.
By the way, we only do 9-11, we do not run transports.

[shfd739]

Not sure about a type 3 being safer but from a personal preference they are much easier to work out of and in due to the increased space.Atleast there is room in a 3 to actually function if you are double loaded or have extra hands riding in.Personally Im starting to prefer a type 1.The cab has more room and if involved in a wreck there is more space between the front seats and the bumper.It seems like our type 1s have better visibility over our type 3s along with more ground clearance and our 1s have air ride rears with auto dump for loading.

[armymedic571]

If I am correct the Vehicle code does not require any specific standards for Ambulances, other than loaded stress on the doors of the unit. Horton Ambulance to my knowledge is the only company that I know of that has any specific standard and crash tests their ambulances. The down side. They are expensive as all heck...

[croaker260]

approach it from a gross vehicular weight point of view, simply put..I have never seen a type 2 on anything but a 350 single axil chassis.

A type 3 however can be a 450 or chevy equilivant, this means better stopping power, better handling when loaded (since you arnt over the GVW with equipment, a 600 pound patient, and 1200 pounds of medics workingthem)
This also translates into cost savings on brakes and other drive train components.

..if you get a type I instead of a type 3, they are actually a bit safer (IMHO) due t more engine out front, and they have slightly lower maint cost due to easier engine access(less time/labor involved).

Finally anything with a duel axil is stabler and less top heavy, even the mini-mods with duelies...

[TurkII]

I'm probably going to be the idiot standing alone on this one, but I actually prefere working in a Type II compared to a Type I or III. Between two services I worked for I had the pleasure of working in all three types.

True, there is much more room in a Type I or III, but I really liked having everything I needed within arms reach like I could with the vans. The vans also allow you to reach the patient while seatbelted to the bench seat or Captain's chair.

I'm also not convinced that the boxes are safer compared to the vans. Take a look at most of the ambulances across the sea in Europe... they're ALL van style and this is because of their government regulations based on statistical facts and tests. The United States DOT has NO requirements for ambulance safety standards in regards to the back of the ambulance.

If you really want to get some hardcore information about ambulance design safety, try to get in touch with Dr. Nadine Levich. She can probably be considered one of the only "experts" in the topics of ambulance safety. Her website is http://www.objectivesafety.net and gives detailed reports and statistics about safety and ambulance design. I will warn you though that ALL of her research shows that vans are safer than boxes.

[AZCEP43]

Type II's do tend to keep unwanted personnel out of the transporting unit.

[firespec35]

Well from a general view. Type 3 is wider than type 2 which is going to lower your center of gravity. It seems that a type 3 would have heavier duty equipment due to the heavier duty chassis (at least the full size mods). Now ask me to prove this with something you can take to a governmental body and we have a different story. Personally I like type 2's if I'm alone in back. Lately third riding for paramedic I have started to appreciate the Medium duty type 3's a lot more