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This paper examines the directional handling characteristics of several vehicles in their original condition, then examines modifications to a few of these vehicles to determine if the handling characteristics can be made more forgiving of normal operators without sacrificing utility and without substantial increases in cost. These analyses of vehicles are made in the context of what normal operators are capable of performing with regards to steering response.

Ambulances are largely exempt from crashworthiness and occupant protection passive safety design standards in the USA, and have a poor road safety record. This comparative evaluation of USA ‘concept safety’ ambulances and a standard Australian ambulance is based on basic principles of crashworthiness and available crash test data. There are features of USA ambulance design that are not within known principles and technical aspects of crashworthiness and safety design, and include some predictable serious occupant protection hazards. The USA ambulance industry should recognize and apply crashworthiness and occupant protection principles to reduce current system failures for this fleet of essential service vehicles.