The government of Karnataka has launched 30 motorcycle ambulances based on the Bajaj Avenger, across various cities to tend to accident victims in congested areas in just 10 minutes.
India has often been rightly criticised for not giving way to emergency vehicles, especially ambulances. Ambulances in India are generally either small minivans, minibuses or travellers. These vehicles take time to travel through places that have heavy traffic, which in a major way decides the life or death of an individual. To tackle this very issue, Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddharamaiah flagged off Asia’s first two-wheeler motorcycle ambulance, ‘First Responder Bikes’ at a function held under the aegis of the Department of Health and Family Welfare in front of Vidhana Soudha on 15th April 2015 in Bangalore.
The two-wheeler ambulances will be able to reach those patients and accident victims, who are in need of urgent medical help in congested areas or heavy traffic. 30 Bajaj Avenger motorcycles that have been modified into ambulances were launched on the day. The two-wheeler ambulances will be ridden by trained paramedic officers, who are equipped with first-aid kits and oxygen cylinders. The Bajaj Avenger seems to have been chosen because it is decently powerful and yet a comfortable cruiser at the same time. Also, a lot of equipment can be bolstered onto the rear of the Avenger, thereby giving it a leverage over other motorcycles. It has a 219.89, 4-stroke, single-cylinder, DTS-i engine which develops a maximum power of 19.03 PS at 8400 RPM and 17.5 Nm of torque at 7000 RPM.
The initial batch of 30 First Responder Bikes that have been launched alongside the pre-existing 711 ‘Arogya Kavacha’ 108 Ambulances, are expected to reach an accident scene within “Platinum 10 minutes” and attend the affected. 21 of the 30 motorcycle ambulances will be stationed strategically in different locations of Bangalore, while the remaining will be in Mysore, Mangaluru, Kalaburgi, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Davangere, Tumakuru, Vijayapura and Shivamogga. Health Minister, U.T. Khader said that every ambulance will carry a total of 40 medical items such as, stethoscope, pulse oxymeter, bandages and IV normal saline, other than 53 basic drugs also. The government has spent almost Rs. 2 lakhs on each Avenger ambulance.
Source – NewsKarnataka.com
