Ok... I've had it...

A good friend of mine (we'll call him B.) was T-Boned at a blind intersection about 3 months ago. He had the green light, and was listening to some smooth Jazz, and doing 45 miles an hour as he approached the intersection in his Honda Accord.

As he passed through the intersection, he was struck in the drivers door by a very heavy, 6 wheeled utility vehicle. The last thing he remembers is hearing the crunching sound of the impact.

His car was driven 45 feet and flipped over several times. B suffered a broken left collarbone, broken hand, and four broken ribs. Had he not been driving a car with side impact protection (he had a new Honda), I feel he would have died.

Now for the greatest injustice. The Vehicle that hit him, is claiming that it is B's fault. The Vehicle that hit him, was an ambulance, driving at 45mph+, ran through the intersection without it's siren on. It did have it's lights on, however, the intersection was blind, due to overgrowth of bushes and shrubs, causing the traffic in both perpendicular directions to the Ambulance's travel to be a completely blind to the Ambulance's approach.

Now the best part... In the State of Georgia, there are NO REQUIREMENTS for any special training to drive an Emergency Vehicle. Not even a massive fire truck, filled with TONS of water. In Fact:

------- Quoting CDL Rules from the Georgia Department of Drivers Services, (http://www.dds.ga.gov/Commercial/cdlrules.pdf)
Section 1-1-.02 of the COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE RULES OF THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY -------

1-1-.02 Commercial Driver's License Exemptions.

...
(2) Firefighters and operators of emergency equipment are exempt from having a commercial driver's license provided their vehicles are equipped with audible and visual signals and are operated by a person in the employ of a volunteer or paid firefighting organization. Emergency equipment such as a fire truck, hook and ladder truck, foam or water transporter, or other vehicles used only in response to emergencies are included

------- End Quote -------

So. there you have it... So if you get hit by an Ambulance, Fire Truck, or anything else... just remember to thank the GA Dept of Drivers Services... for making it easier to injure, maim, and kill innocent people, all in the name of "safety".