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Just a curiosity, in Brazil some executives are using ambulances for commuting[0]. [0] https://www.metrojornal.com.br/foco/2017/08/29/empresa-aluga-ambulancias

• rkowalick 9y ago
  Orson Welles also famously used an ambulance to get around to various radio shoes in NYC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AOrson_Welles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AOrson_Welles Due to his busy radio schedule, he was hard pressed to find ways to get from job to job in busy New York City traffic. In an interview conducted in his later years, Welles tells how he "discovered that there was no law in New York that you had to be sick to travel in an ambulance." Therefore, he took to hiring ambulances to take him, sirens blazing, through the crowded streets to get to various buildings.
  • brightball 9y ago
    There's a lady in South Carolina who's on medicaid that did that to the tune of costing the medicaid office about $400,000. I'll have to see if I can find the article. EDIT: Found it http://www.live5news.com/story/22075845/live-5-news-investigates-woman-accused-of-using-ambulance-for-taxi-service http://www.live5news.com/story/22075845/live-5-news-investig...
    • dogruck 9y ago
      Shameful to see the officials congratulate themselves on busting the lady after she copped a free ambulance ride 100 times. Seems like she was merely hacking a horribly inefficient system.
      • brightball 9y ago
        Can't argue that. Can you imagine the liability from the ambulance staff if they just didn't pick her up though?
        • dogruck 9y ago
          Yup, age old "that's not my job" strikes again.
      • malcolmgreaves 9y ago
        Wrong: the shame is on the woman who knowingly abused the system and took money away from sick people. Just because you can hack a system doesn't mean that you should.
        • dogruck 9y ago
          What portion of the blame does the poor woman bear? What is the just punishment? What about people who visit emergency rooms, for non-medical emergencies?
        • cbhl 9y ago
          Okay, but why does an ambulance ride in America cost $4,000 a pop? An Uber travelling the same distance would cost $4, maybe $40. This is health care costs being out of control right there.
  • icantdrive55 9y ago
    I liked him until today. Entitlement is an ugly trait. Yes--I'm projecting. I just see to much of it these days.
• outworlder 9y ago
  That's illegal though. It has only survived so far due to lack of enforcement. That's bound to change pretty quickly after the press got involved.
• dlisboa 9y ago
  São Paulo has the biggest helicopter transport fleet in the world, so that's not necessary. Just a case of someone trying to cheat the system, paying less for something illegal. Executives and doctors are some of the common users of helicopters around here.
• toomanybeersies 9y ago
  Apparently this is (or was in 2013) a thing in Russia as well: https://jalopnik.com/ultra-rich-russians-hire-fake-ambulances-to-drive-them-458478316 https://jalopnik.com/ultra-rich-russians-hire-fake-ambulance...
• gadders 9y ago
  Stephen Fry reputedly uses a black cab in London for similar reasons (black taxis in London can use lanes reserved for buses that are less congested).
  • zimpenfish 9y ago
    I suspect that a black cab ceases to be a "black taxi" when it is no longer operated by a licensed black cab driver. https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/red-routes/rules-of-red-routes/bus-lanes https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/red-routes/rules-of-red-rou... specifically says "Licensed London Taxis" which I'm guessing Mr Fry isn't driving.
    • gadders 9y ago
      I suspect that the police/traffic cameras can't tell or don't check and that is how he is (or used to) get away with it.