Was There Some Fire Convention In OC?

Allow me to rant a little bit...

Driving to Easton tonight, around 8PM, I was passed by several pieces of fire equipment.

They were:
Cordova Tanker 53
Cordova Brush Truck 56
Trappe (Either an Engine or Rescue - they look the same to me)
Two brush trucks from other companies in Queen Anne's County. Since I cannot remember specifically who they were, I will not venture a guess to avoid implicating any innocent parties.

The driving displayed by these fire fighters was downright dangerous, disrespectful to other drivers, and should be considered an embarrassment to the companies that they represent.

Specific actions that worried me:

All vehicles made many unsafe lane changes, cutting off other motorists, especially in front of traffic lights.

Typical following distance of any vehicle was 1-2 car lengths. What would have happened if any passenger vehicle had to make an emergency stop while any of these emergency vehicles was tailgating? In all fairness, Trappe's vehicle was much better about allowing more room in front of them. But somehow I feel two truck lengths is probably not sufficient given the amount of traffic and their speed within the Cambridge City Limits.

Inside of Cambridge, all vehicles appeared to exceed 50mph while driving the section of Rt 50 near WaWa and the Cambridge Public Safety Building where the speed limit is 35mph. Despite this aggressive driving, I was able to pass them while doing the speed limit (traffic lights are the great equalizer). This goes to show how they disregarded their own safety and that of the public with no benefits gained.

1 of the unidentified brush trucks, while towing a trailer that contained a child's playhouse, appeared to exceed 75 MPH on the Choptank river bridge. My guess is that they liked the 7 litre diesel engine in that truck, and felt it necessary to test its limits given their rate of acceleration.

2nd of the unidentified brush trucks was not far behind. Perhaps they were racing?

Cordova Tanker 53 was dumping water all over the road. Did they drive out of town on a full tank of 3000 gallons? How much extra fuel would they burn hauling 12 extra tons of weight around them?

I understand that these volunteers are probably highly trained in driving their vehicles appropriately during emergency situations. Despite the urgency of their calls, I doubt that this type of driving would be considered appropriate. And during non-emergency situations, there is absolutely no reason why they should drive like this. Perhaps their officers can offer the appropriate drivers some non-emergency driving instructions, where they can practice using turn signals, safe following distances, obeying the speed limit, and even advanced techniques that save wear and tear on their vehicles and conserve fuel, so that they do not lose their vehicle availability and budget money due to driving like a jackass.