sorry about your friend's friend.
I'm merely pointing out these absolutist statements are wrong.
As always, use your best judgement rather than blindly following rules. This is also why cops, prosecutors, judges, and juries have discretion about applying the law, because the law simply cannot be blindly applied.
(Which is why I object to mandatory sentencing laws.)
If someone is "bleeding out" in that they have an uncontrolled hemorrhage driving faster is never the preferred option.
Generally speaking there are two types of hemorrhage:
1. Those that can be controlled through direct pressure and the body's clotting ability.
2. Those that cannot be controlled through direct pressure and the body's clotting ability.
If the hemorrhage is type 1 the best course of action is to calm down, slow down, and apply direct pressure while the patient is immobile until the bleeding stops. Driving fast will only stress the patient and may possibly lead to additional bleeding through jostling or poor application of direct pressure. Once the bleeding has stopped you can travel to the hospital at a reasonable and prudent speed.
If the hemorrhage is type 2 the only course of action is to apply a tourniquet. Once the tourniquet is applied you can proceed to the hospital at a safe pace. It is impossible to drive fast enough to save someone with an uncontrollable hemorrhage unless you are within 180-to-300 seconds of a hospital. A tourniquet can be anything, including a shoelace, belt, or torn-up shirt.
Even if the hemorrhage is a type that cannot be stopped by a tourniquet or pressure, like a chest wound, driving faster will likely not help because without applying an occlusive bandage to the wound(s) the patient will likely be dead in minutes. An occlusive bandage is any airtight barrier, like a piece of plastic, that can create a seal needed to allow for adequate respiration.
In all cases treating for shock is more important than speed. For non-EMS personnel the only preventative measures for shock are: stop bleeding, wrap patient to retain body heat, and place patient in a position of comfort.
When it comes to bleeding driving faster without basic interventions does little-to-nothing to improve the outcome for the patient, and a lot to increase the chances of creating more than one patient.
Driving faster than is reasonable is called "diesel therapy" and the only times I have used that is for breech presentations during childbirth, which are also the only times I've heard my paramedic sound scared and we've run some gnarly calls.
If you come across someone who has amputated their leg with a chainsaw and you are five minutes from the hospital at maximum speed and EMS is 30 minutes away, it is better to lie the patient down, keep them still, apply a tourniquet to the appendage, do whatever is necessary to warm them (including putting them in an idling car, preferably lying down, with the heater at maximum), and call 911 than it is to throw them in a car and drive fast.
Although I would drive fast, I would not drive recklessly, as I am well aware that causing an accident would do nobody any good.
What I said is the exact same stuff they teach you in Lifeguard training, and if 15-year-old me can learn it, anyone can. Never took it, but babysitter training probably covers it as well.
https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/first-aid/first-aid-tr...
For example, on a two lane road I'll move into the left lane if there's a cyclist on the right shoulder, if the left lane is clear.
As for a red light, my pedal will be to the metal if my buddy is bleeding out in the passenger seat. Is that far-fetched? It happened to a friend of mine at Boeing. He didn't get his friend to the hospital in time.