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Hello!!I tell you about ambulances today.Below is a quotation from Yomiuri Shinbun(http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080624TDY02307.htm )

Ambulances 'treated like taxis'
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Many people request ambulances for nonemergency purposes, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey of fire departments in 51 major cities.
In many cases, people called ambulances because they thought they would have to wait less when they arrived at the hospital.
In 2007, about 50 percent of ambulance requests were made by people with minor injuries or mild symptoms.
In the survey, The Yomiuri Shimbun asked 51 fire departments in Tokyo, prefectural capitals and major cities what people who called 119 asked for.
According to the survey, 37 fire departments said some callers wanted to use ambulances for nonemergency purposes in a manner similar to a taxi. This was observed in various cities.
A fire department in the Koshinetsu region said a woman carrying a bag filled with items prepared for her hospital stay rode in an ambulance.
A Kansai fire department said many people called 119 and named a time and date for an ambulance pick up. Many fire departments said they often observed this behavior.
People even lie about their maladies, some fire departments said.
A Koshinetsu region man in his 60s told a 119 operator that he was too sick to move and requested an ambulance. However, when he was examined, he did not display symptoms that necessitated emergency treatment. It was later discovered that he had made a reservation at the hospital beforehand.
In the survey, 28 fire departments said some people with minor symptoms, such as a cold, called 119 because they thought they would be treated before other patients if they arrived by ambulance.
In many cases hospital nurses decide the severity of a patient's condition. If a nurse determines that a patient has minor symptoms--even if the patient arrived by ambulance--they are not necessarily treated immediately.
In one case in the Sanyo region, the family member of a patient with a minor cut demanded that the patient receive treatment before others because she arrived in an ambulance. The family member made the demand after being told to wait in line.
Seven fire departments said people waiting to be treated at hospital sometimes leave to call 119 because they think they will be treated faster.
A fire department in the Kanto region said it received a 119 call from a man in his 50s who claimed he had a stomachache.
After an ambulance drove him to the hospital, the fire department found out he had been waiting at the hospital earlier.
"I waited for one hour and I got irritated. I thought I would have to wait less if I arrived by ambulance," the man said.

It is very awful that ambulances can't go directly to the patients in critical condition.I've never taken ambulances.But whether one has taken ambulances or not, everyone must think how to use ambulances.They are not free taxes, of course.Our action may save someone, or endanger someone, I think.