Health Care, 'Murrican Style

[abaris]

Out here the rule is if you hear a siren you pull over and stop until it goes by.  Many is the time that they are practically on top of you before you hear the siren but there is still usually time to pull over.  Still, even with that, I have never seen an ambulance or fire truck blow through an intersection at full speed.  They always slow down to make sure someone isn't pulling out of the side street.

85 miles an hour? That's about 150 kilometers. That would have been considered reckless driving where I got my license to ride with the blues on. Unless it was on a highway. That, going by your picture, certainly isn't the right spot to do that kind of speed.

[Minimalist]

Agreed, Ab.  If speed was so essential why did they not send the helicopter to the first accident?

It did not come out on the Screen Capture but there is a stop sign on Rt 500 at the corner facing the camera.  I assume that there is a similar stop sign at the other corner... looks as if there is a a white line under the dump truck which could indicate a marked STOP line. 

Once again, Google and time brings us this:

http://www.speed-limits.com/indiana.htm

Indiana Speed Limit - Undivided Roads
The maximum speed limit on rural undivided roads roads in Indiana is 55 miles per hour. This category includes most small backroads and local routes.
When these routes pass through a residential or heavily-trafficked area, the speed limit will usually drop to 30 mph or below.

I would classify that as an undivided road.  Whether or not the handful of houses visible constitutes a "residential area" is something for the local authorities.  However, just for the hell of it I went back to Google Earth and went up and down Rt 600 for several clicks.  I found Speed limit signs both north and south of the intersection in question marking 50 MPH  and, again, both north and south of the intersection, yellow caution signs indicating that there was an intersection ahead.

35 MPH over the limit is excessive.

[Divinity]

I'm pretty sure Ambulances aren't allowed to go faster than what is considered 'reasonable', and they certainly can't do it without regard for the safety of others. They're only allowed to go faster than the speed limits if they do not danger life or property. In some areas they must also believe that the speed is necessary to save the life of their passengers (though not all areas)

85 mph at an intersection, in what's likely a 50 mph speedlimit, is probably not 'reasonable'. I think most ambulances tend to stay within 10 mph of the speed limit, unless the roads are empty. Some stay within more than that.