Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers are often the first responders to traffic crash scenes.  Too often they are deployed to scenes of crashes involving serious injuries that result in death despite the best in pre-hospital treatment.   As a result they have a great stake in traffic safety, and are committed to the education and prevention of traffic crashes. 

EMS staff are strong advocates of seat belt use because they know first-hand that seat belts do indeed save lives. In fact EMS partners have been instrumental in helping Maryland attain one of the highest seat belt usage rates on the East Coast.

The role of EMS has expanded beyond response to proactive education.  For example, many fire departments and EMS crews will go door to door in communities sharing traffic safety messages.  Several EMS officers are certified as child passenger safety installers.  Just recently, the Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) launched a media and education campaign aimed at prevented drinking and driving with the theme: Drunk Driving: It’s Been Done to Death.

Links

• Drunk Driving: It’s Been Done to Death
• MIEMSS