New Zealand Ambulance Bikes

St John Ambulance

St John Ambulance reactivated their motorbike unit in September 2008. The unit, consists of one Honda ST1300 and two BMW K1100. All three motorbikes have been specially equipped with all the necessary emergency lights, sirens, communication equipment and specialized medical equipment. The most recent addition, the Honda ST1300 also has GPS navigation added.

The motorbike unit is used in a first response capability, responding to emergencies before a transporting ambulance can be dispatched. The bikes are usually used during heavy congestion of traffic, or areas of large pedestrian volumes. The advantages of a motorbike compared to a wide body Mercedes is that the bike can access areas that are other wise off limits. Examples are malls, or busy CBD's. The responding motorbike ambulances are usually operated by advanced paramedics.

TV1 Breakfast Video of the Honda ST1300