Half-Blind Ambulance Driver

[RepairTech]

OK my right eye is correctable with a contact lens, my left eye is .... well. ... meh.... ok it's lousy. I can read the big E on the eye chart and that's it. Depth perception? What's that?

So ....

(a) What do you folks here think are my chances of getting an ambulance driver's license?

and...

(b) What do you folks here think are my chances of getting certified as an EMT-1, and if certified, hired?

I've kind of charged into this, did First Responder and am now in EMT school, and not really thought about the eyesight issue. But frankly to me it's looking like I might have a bright future in dispatch or something.

Let me know, don't pull any punches.

Thanks!

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[greytmedic]

I worked with a guy who lost an eye to a grenade in Iraq and he got his license, so having one eye didn't stop him.

 

[jbar]

The issue is more getting a driver's license. Do you have a driver's license now? Can you parallel park? If you can park your car without running into things you'd probably be okay driving the rig. But if you can't get a driver's license then you'd probably pass your medic but it might be hard to get hired if you can't drive.

 

[RepairTech]

The issue is more getting a driver's license. Do you have a driver's license now? Can you parallel park? If you can park your car without running into things you'd probably be okay driving the rig. But if you can't get a driver's license then you'd probably pass your medic but it might be hard to get hired if you can't drive.

I have a driver's license for car and motorcycle, no problem parallel parking.

My plan is to "charge the battlements" and see if I get through. Maybe my bad eye will disqualify me for something like driving a rig, but they're gonna have to throw me out. I was just curious what kind of problems people are running into.

thanks.

 

[deleted6669]

I used to have a medic partner who was completely blind in one eye.
he was a better driver than I am and drove the rig almost all the time.

 

[Altruist]

(a) What do you folks here think are my chances of getting an ambulance driver's license?

and...

(b) What do you folks here think are my chances of getting certified as an EMT-1, and if certified, hired?

Maybe Cali (given your EMT-1 reference) is different... in the few states I've worked in, there's no such thing as an "ambulance driver's license."

I had to have a valid drivers license (regular one, no special codes), an Emergency Vehicle Operator's Course (EVOC) certificate, and a bit of extra online training our insurance company made us go through. The EVOC is like 12 or 16 hours or something like that.

Oddly enough, I don't know of too many laws restricting emergency vehicle driving. The ambulance company's insurance puts way more restrictions on you than whatever laws are on the books.

Oh yeah, and I had a partner who had no central vision in one eye due to a nail gun accident in his old line of work. He was a very good (slightly crazy) driver, and awesome to work with. It was never a problem for him.

 

[RepairTech]

OK great all, thanks for the input. I'm just gonna charge on ahead and "pretend I'm gonna win" and not worry about it so much.

 

[csmmedic]

You are going to have to check with the CA DMV and also find a doctor you can convince to sign off on a Medical Examiners Card (little green card in california which "certifies" as medically cleared to drive an ambulance).

I *highly* recommend you research this before you go to EMT class if your end goal for the time being is employment. Also, look into the local job market for EMTs in your area, because there really isn't a job market for EMTs in CA right now. If you are just going to EMT class for the information or first aid skills, don't worry about it.

 

[RepairTech]

There's not much of a job market for ANYTHING lol.

Yeah I know I have to get signed off by a doc.

thanks.

 

[DitchDoc73]

in the few states I've worked in, there's no such thing as an "ambulance driver's license."

It's completely state dependent. In Florida you have to have at least a Class D license, or a commercial driver's license (Class A-C). You must get a special endorsement as well. A normal driver's license (Class E) will not allow you to drive any emergency vehicles...

 

[RepairTech]

DitchDoc I love your name.

Yeah gotta get cleared by a doc, in CA it might be something I can do, maybe not.

I'm just gonna go ahead and see. I worked my butt off paying for the EMT course and I'm gonna finish and get certified and then take it from there. There are a lot of less-glamourous jobs that call for EMT certification and well, someone's gotta do 'em.