Ambulance etiquette

[Welly]

Driving the other day I heard an Ambulance coming from behind, spotted it in the mirror and prepared to 'ease over' a little (at my current speed) to let it fly past when the numpty in front of me slammed on and mounted the pavement

My interpretation of the correct method it to keep an eye on the thing and move over or otherwise make room for it to pass. I also find it acceptable to speed up if possible to find somewhere better for it to pass you, The traffic should part, open up, like a wave in front of the Ambulance but so many motorists stop dead causing a huge line of parked cars behind or even make the passage much worse for the Amby.

What do you all think?.......

[Doggy]

Couldn't agree more - Mrs Doggy got 'rushed' to hospital a few months back, (turned out not to be serious, thank God). On the way we caught up with some slow traffic going through Geddington on the A43, (famous for it's speed cameras). Most people pulled in, but the stupid f*#king idiotess immediately in front of the ambulance repeatedly overtook the ones that pulled over at about 15 mph.

Any slower, I'd have got out & brained her meself.

[eoin27]

I agree with you in theory. But your idea of a good place to sit for a few minutes might not be someone elses idea of a good place. What I mean is that there is no communication between drivers so everyone does their own random thing. Especially in heavy traffic.

Its funny you should bring up the subject because the other day, in heavy traffic, a cop car wanted people to move out of the way and get past in a rush. People all around me were mounting theire cars up quite aggreesively on a large 9" Kerb. One Vectra went right up on the verge fast. Had to have damaged something. Now the coupe sits quite low (50mm lower than the saloon) and there was no way I was damaging my wheels, sussy or bodywork. So I quietly pulled over to the edge as far as I could and waited it out. I know it could have more than likely been a genuine emergency but I could imagine the reaction in the police station if I went in with a bill from the repair shop.

[sirwiggum]

Get out of it's way seems to be the plan for emergency vehicles.

I know what you mean about idiots who stop dead.
Even on the likes of short sliproads or motorway merges they will do an emergency stop and have a look around them.

What is the craic for traffic light cameras? If you go through one to let an emergency vehicle through are you in the clear?

[teamster1975]

What is the craic for traffic light cameras? If you go through one to let an emergency vehicle through are you in the clear?

I would have thought so. I've been at the front of a queue at traffic lights before and pulled forward to let a fuzz car get past.

[DaiRees]

Nothing worse than people just slamming the anchors on willy nilly, the lights and sirens mean "Get the fek out of my way peasants" not "please cause a blockage or accident that'll hold me up you fekking numpty!".

...and another thing: 70mph duel carriageway near me, hardly a day goes by when to don't see an ambulance on there with the blue lights on (I assume they spend all their time ferrying patients between PCH in Merthyr and University Hospital in Cardiff, obviously a product of the efficiency improvements in the NHS ). Anyway my point is that they don't go 70mph, so you see it in the mirror, but you simply aren't in it's way, in order for it to pass you you'd actually have to slow down. Or you catch it up and then feel funny about passing it. Why the hell don't the drivers just turn the lights off until they need them???

[teamster1975]

Why the hell don't the drivers just turn the lights off until they need them???

To instill blind panic in the lemmings before them of course!
I swear some of the drivers are on a power trip with the blues & twos anyway.

[omega]

What is the craic for traffic light cameras? If you go through one to let an emergency vehicle through are you in the clear?[/quote]

no
there was a case in the paper about this a while back the guy pulled forward to let the police past and got flashed by the camera,he took the police car number traced the copper and the police wrote a letter for him to take to court.
still got 3 points and a fine but someone payed his fine for him but still got 3 points on his licence.

[highlander]

That's exceptionally mean. How many points would he have got if he sat where he was, blocking the police car, until the lights changed?

[omega]

That's exceptionally mean. How many points would he have got if he sat where he was, blocking the police car, until the lights changed?

i suppose the anser is 0 as you are only ment to pull over in a safe place so going through a red light isnt safe

[TooT]

On a side note, Do you think when in heavy traffic that a ambulance will weave its way through while taking the time to wait for the traffic to pull over safe but a pissed on power copper and some fire engines bully there way through traffic scaring the sh*t out of everyone? I do

[swiss]

Wifey says in the States you're required by law to pull over and stop if you see a light or hear a siren, even if the source is not coming past you. It could be three streets away and heading away from you, but you hear the siren you have to pull over and stop.

Was going up the A4 towards HPC. The traffic was flowing like Extra Thick™ treacle when an ambo came up the middle lane. Of course people shoved the outer two lanes aside to let the thing past, but before anyone could trickle back in to the middle an Audi whipped by, tailgating the ambulance for a free blues and twos ride all the way in >.<

[mandelbug]

Keep moving, that way you don't stop and delay the ambulance, after all an ambulance moving at 30 is better than one at 5 trying to squeeze between you and another object, especially if they are after turning at the next or nearby junction

As for traffic lights, the crew of any emergency vehicle strictly speaking could get a TS10 however generally they are just torn up on the basis that it was to save a life. If a copper pulls up behind you at a red light, they are required to direct traffic and override the traffic lights to get you through them otherwise they are meant to turn the two tones off whilst they wait patiently in the line.

[DaiRees]

In the case of the bloke who got the points after crossing the lights despite the letter from the constabulary etc... that's just plain rediculous, surely he should've taken that one to the courthouse? It's a matter of principles mun!

[STALLED]

Here it's the law that you have to pull to the left and let the ambulance pass - Usually people come to a complete stop on the side of the road/pull to the hard shoulder!