Posted by We’ve all heard the distant wail of the siren of an emergency vehicle, but many of us have no idea how to behave when one is coming towards us either from in front or behind.
Many people get in the way of the emergency services purely because they panic and stop wherever they are. So, I’m going to see if I can help if you fall into the category of “what the hell am I supposed to do?”
Rule 219 of The Highway Code states:
“You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or Highways Agency Traffic Officer and Incident Support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road. Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb. Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you”.
Traffic Lights
So you are stopped at red lights, and an emergency vehicle is trying to get past you. Let’s assume that they have chosen not to pass on the wrong side to the road, maybe because there is oncoming traffic from other directions. I get asked if it’s legal to pass a red light to let the emergency vehicle through. The simple answer is no. You would be committing the offence of contravening the red traffic light. However, there are obvious mitigating circumstances, and you should, of course, move out of the way if, and only if, the emergency vehicle has its sirens and flashing warning lights on and in a safe and cautious manner. Bear in mind that you are still breaking the law, and the onus will be on you to provide evidence of what happened if you have a crash. In other words, don’t just drive through a red light where maybe there are pedestrians crossing, or traffic that may collide with you.
The best thing in my experience is to always leave about half a car length between you and any vehicle in front when you stop, to allow you to manoeuvre if you need to.
Other Junctions
The same advice goes for other types of junctions where they are not signal controlled. Give yourself room to manoeuvre out of the way. It’s good practice for many reasons to leave a good gap between yourself and any stationary traffic in front of you. For a start, if you get crashed into from behind, you are less likely to get pushed into the vehicle in front. If there’s a motorbike in front of me, I give them even more space because if I get hit from behind, I don’t want to hit and injure someone in front. So, leaving a gap is all you need, to be able to get out of the way of emergency vehicles at junctions. Funnily enough, if you are the smart one who leaves that gap, you’ll help everyone else because they will “pass the gap on” down the line.
A and B roads
Firstly, don’t just stop if you hear an emergency vehicle approaching. This can be both dangerous and cause other road users to be forced to stop in an inappropriate place. So, firstly look, ahead and in your mirrors. Find a place to stop or drive slowly on so that the emergency vehicle can pass. Make your intentions very clear. In other words, use your indicator to show that you have seen them and make obvious movements to position yourself out of the way. The drivers of emergency vehicles are taught to look for signs that other drivers are aware of their presence before passing, so be obvious.
Lanes and narrow places
If you have an emergency vehicle behind you on a narrow road, keep driving at normal speeds until you can get out of the way. This is one where people can panic and stop in a completely inappropriate place. If the emergency vehicle is coming towards you, stop and then if you can reverse to a passing place, do so, unless they do it first. A fire engine is a big vehicle to have to reverse on a lane, so make things easy for them if you can.
Other things to remember
The emergency services don’t always use their “blues and twos” sirens and lights. It depends on the emergency. They may just flash their headlights or hoot at you. This is because sometimes they don’t want to alert someone ahead to their presence.
Do not under any circumstances use the hard shoulder to drive past a blocked or closed motorway. I’ve seen people do this on so many occasions and it is the most ridiculously stupid thing you can do. The emergency services use the hard shoulder, often at speed to get to crashes. If you do drive on it, expect to earn yourself a heavy fine and a load of points. I have a friend who is a traffic police officer, and he is delighted to report anyone for doing this. Last year I was stationary on the M5 in Somerset for over 4 hours due to a fatal crash. When we eventually were allowed past the scene, there was a little queue of the idiots who thought that their journey was more important than anyone else’s. Fortunately they were queuing to get their tickets from the police.
If one emergency vehicle has passed you, there’s a good chance that there will be more. This is because often, more than one unit will respond to an incident, and may then be stood down when the first one arrives on scene.
Finally, just remember, the emergency services just might be trying to get to an incident involving a family member or friend of yours, so use your brain and make it as easy as possible for them on all occasions.