What to do when you see blue lights and hear sirens

[mg16]

hence the need to educate people rather than berate them.

[Waldo]

Stay calm. Observe where the emergency vehicle is. Observe what's going on around me. Consider my options. Then after assessing the situation, do what I can to facilitate a safe and speedy passage for the emergency vehicle.

[carosio]

I was confronted with this half way along on the Mosboro' Parkway heading towards Normanton roundabout - doing 50mph when ambulance with sirens on came up the back. Double white lines and no stopping, so I maintained my speed until I could pull over where the lane widens prior to the r'bout.

[Waldo]

Thats the safe way of doing it, which ultimately is how it should be done.

No point in causing a traffic collision just to let the ambulance get through to attend another one somewhere else.

 

I have done it tho, obviously I made sure it was clear and I didn't hare off down the road I just moved forward far enough to pull in front of the car next to me and allow the ambulance through.

 

I ended up straddling the pedestrian crossing, but as no pedestrians were around it didn't seem unsafe.

 

The problem is; on the one hand, we drivers are encouraged to follow the rules of the road (we are punished if we do not), yet on the other hand, we are being asked (or it's expected of us) to think outside the box, use our own judgement and perhaps safely disregard the rules (the law) in order to allow emergency vehicles to pass.

 

You can't have a rigid set of rules in place, where people are punished for breaking those rules; and at the same time, expect that people should break those very rules, because an emergency vehicle is up their ass.

[Obelix]

I don't think anyone expects drivers to break the law just because there is a blue light vehicle behind you. Certainly the advice is never to do that.

[willman]

I was confronted with this half way along on the Mosboro' Parkway heading towards Normanton roundabout - doing 50mph when ambulance with sirens on came up the back. Double white lines and no stopping, so I maintained my speed until I could pull over where the lane widens prior to the r'bout.

 

Ignore me i'm thinking of wrong road.

[Waldo]

Legally yes. And if they are caught by a traffic light camera it won't be accepted as an excuse.

 

Where such cases get to court; do you think the judge would take circumstances in to account and be more leniently inclined towards the driver?

 

I'd always be very wary going through a red light; it's possibly you could actually make matters worse, and cause more chaos on the road (in addition to landing yourself in trouble legally).

[Cyclone]

A judge probably would I guess, at their discretion though.

[geared]

I don't think anyone expects drivers to break the law just because there is a blue light vehicle behind you. Certainly the advice is never to do that.

 

Precisely.

 

The lights are usually there to stop two flows of traffic or traffic and pedestrians meeting.

 

So no-one would ever give advice to disregard the lights.

[Waldo]

I don't think anyone expects drivers to break the law just because there is a blue light vehicle behind you. Certainly the advice is never to do that.

 

You could argue that an emergency vehicle behind you, will it's lights flashing and sirens blazing, could be construed as an expectation that you move. If the only place you can move, is forward through a red light, is that not an expectation that you break the law?

 

Or am I in error, thinking that we're taught sirens and flashing lights on emergency vehicles means move out of the way? I am sure that's what I've always been taught.