Ambulance in Cusco

 As we were walking to class one morning, I noticed an ambulance stuck behind a tourist van. The ambulance was flashing its lights but there was no siren or alarm coming from the ambulance; only honking. I was so surprised to see that the tourist van lacked urgency to move out of the way. The tourist van didn’t move out of the way until everybody's belongings were packed and everyone was seated inside the van. Once the van started moving, the ambulance followed behind. The next thing I noticed that surprised me was that the ambulance was then stuck at a red light. A little later on our walk to class, I noticed that the ambulance was stuck at another red light. To give perspective for how slow the ambulance was making its way down the street, our group caught up to it, just by walking, at the second red light.

I wondered why there seemed to be less urgency for the ambulance here than in the United States. In the states, the van would have moved out of the way without loading the passengers and the luggage. In the states, the traffic lights would have changed to green to allow the ambulance to get through. 

This occurrence could be simply explained by the fact that the ambulance was not in a hurry and did not have anywhere to go. However, I was confused by the fact that the ambulance was flashing its lights making it seem like it needed to get to its destination quickly. I then researched ambulances in Peru. I found a government document giving an overview of the ambulances and the types of ambulances (I included the link below). I was surprised to find that there are three different types of ambulances. Type 1 ambulances carry patients that are in a stable condition. Type 2 ambulances carry patients in an unstable condition and have the ability to provide medical assistance. Type 3 ambulances carry patients in an unstable condition that require specialized medical assistance. The ambulances are labeled with their types; however, I did not know this when I saw the ambulance earlier so I did not see which type it was. I hypothesize that the ambulance was not needed for a patient at that time or that it was a Type 1 ambulance that was on its way to or carrying a patient that was in a stable condition.

https://www.inen.sld.pe/portal/documentos/pdf/normas_tecnicas/2006/11052010_NORMA_TECNICA_DE_SALUD_PARA_TRANSPORTE_ASISTIDO_DE_PACIENTES_POR_VIA_TERRESTRE.pdf