When an ambulance is approaching

Most drivers know to pull over when an ambulance or police car is approaching with lights flashing and sirens blaring. But what exactly does the law require of drivers when emergency vehicles need to get through traffic or are already on-location at a roadside emergency? "Move-over" laws generally specify what motorists must do when approaching or being approached by first responders dealing with an emergency. Here are some of the basics requirements of these laws and common penalties for drivers who fail to yield to an emergency vehicle. Yielding and Making Room for Emergency Vehicles Most states have move-over laws that tell drivers what procedures to follow when driving in the vicinity of first responders (and sometimes highway workers) who are attending to an emergency or some other official business. Normally, these laws cover two scenarios—yielding to first responders who are en-route to an emergency and driving past emergency responders and highway workers who are stopped at the side of the road. Pulling Over for Police, Firefighters, and Ambulances Generally, move-over laws require drivers to pull over when first responders are en-route to an emergency and what their lights and sirens activated. The idea behind this law is, of course, to help emergency workers get to where they need to go as quickly as possible. To achieve this purpose, move-over laws typically require drivers to: • always yield the right-of-way to emergency vehicles • park on the rights side of th...

You’re driving along, thinking about your next stop when suddenly you hear a faint siren approaching. It’s still too far away to discern where it’s coming from and you’re wondering what you need to do. Your mind clicks in to defensive driving mode - ready and more than willing to take on any emergency vehicle according to the rules of the road. But do you really know what you’re supposed to do when an ambulance or emergency vehicle is approaching? Back when you first acquired your driver’s license, you had to memorize things like this, because you had to take a test demonstrating your knowledge of the appropriate action to take. But for many people that was years ago, and in some instances, the rules have changed a bit. Nonetheless, you need to know how to react to emergency vehicles in a variety of situations. Rule One: Emergency Vehicles Have the Right-of-Way Whether you’re on a freeway, a county road, near an intersection or simply driving down the street, one rule applies to every driving scenario: Emergency Vehicles always have the right-of-way. You may have to react differently at an intersection than on a straightaway, but the principle is always the same: By following some basic rules, you’ll avoid having an accident with a police car, fire truck or ambulance. When a siren approaches from behind, slow down and check for traffic on your right. you may simply want to pull over right away, but there may be a vehicle in your path. If not, pull over to the right and sto...

There’s An Ambulance Behind You. Here’s What You Should NEVER Do 5 min read By eCompareMo on July 12, 2019 It seems the A Facebook video shared by a certain Jing Zamora revealed how barbaric and calloused Filipinos are—even when there are emergency vehicles that urgentlyly need to pass through. As seen in the video, she was rushing her mother to a hospital in Laguna after the latter fainted. Unfortunately, the driver of the vehicle couldn’t get past through the traffic because their lane was occupied by counterflowing cars and motorcycles. Despite the flashing lights and the blaring siren, drivers and riders didn’t budge and pave the way for the emergency vehicle. According to a report by ABS-CBN News, the patient fell into coma because she didn’t receive the proper medical attention on time. Judging by the video, it seems like Filipinos are painfully ignorant of the traffic rules whenever there are emergency service vehicles nearby. So in case you didn’t know what to do or you slept through your driver’s license test, here are the things you should do—and should not do—whenever there’s an emergency vehicle passing through. It’s in the law Did you know that it’s in the law that ambulance and other emergency vehicles have the right of way during times of distress? If not, then this is a good time to brush up your knowledge. According to Dubbed the “right of way for police and other emergency vehicles,” the entire section says it all: “Upon the approach of any police or fire...

When you suddenly see blue flashing lights behind you, an emergency vehicle is approaching. But many people don't realise that getting out of the way can lead to a fine if you do it incorrectly. So, what should you do? Our full guide explains how you can safely (and legally) let an emergency vehicle pass. What should I do if there’s an emergency vehicle behind me? You should take action to let the emergency vehicle pass, but it’s important to remember that you need to keep within the letter of the law in doing so. If you jump a red light to make space, you’ll still be breaking the law and are likely to be prosecuted. The same goes for entering a bus lane or yellow box junction. In a court of law, it will be up to you to prove that the reason you broke the rules of the road was to clear a path for an emergency vehicle. And even if you succeed in doing this, there's the potential for months of worry beforehand while you wait for your day in court. Should I stop where I am? This is rarely the best course of action, because emergency vehicles will then have to weave around you. You should try to manoeuvre towards the side of the road and then slow down to a stop. The exception is when there is a bus lane; leave this clear for the emergency vehicle to use. Am I legally obliged to move over for emergency vehicles? The Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 states that it's an offence to obstruct or hinder emergency services vehicles. However, that doesn't mean you should commi...

Do you know what to do when an ambulance come up behind you, sirens blaring and lights flashing? It is a question all motorists ask themselves at some point, a lot of them when it is too late. It is a situation Queensland Ambulance Service is hoping to avoid through the release of a video to The vision, shot by a dashcam mounted to an ambulance trying to make its way through Brisbane's busy CBD, shows the struggles paramedics face through heavy congestion, constant traffic light stops, and motorists unsure of what to do. "This is the reality facing paramedics driving through busy city traffic to serious and life-threatening emergencies," the Facebook post read. What you should do around emergency vehicles • Slow down • Move left to give the vehicle a clear run down the middle of the road. If you can't move left safely, stay where you are and let the emergency vehicle overtake you • Not move your vehicle suddenly • Not drive into the path of the emergency vehicle QAS paramedic Lara King said being behind the wheel of an ambulance in heavy traffic responding to an emergency situation could be hectic. "It's a very intense experience and it can be quite stressful for the paramedics because people can be quite unpredictable," she said. "You don't know what the average person is thinking about or concentrating on at any one moment and we have to try and anticipate how they're going to react and how we're going to respond to that again." Keep calm and drive slow Ms King urged mot...

Watch Video: York College EMS, a student-run emergency medical first responder unit, began in a dorm Here it is, the annual reminder article about how to respond when an emergency vehicle pulls up behind you.It appears that this message can never be repeated too often. And,drivers in the Poconos this past weekend seem to need a refresher course! So here it is. Last week's Something to Think About: The top 10list EMS providers cite as their favorite and familiar pet peeves about drivers and emergency vehicles: 10.Drivers who continue to drive, never pulling over and certainly never noticing that an ambulance is behind them. 9. Drivers who continue to drive alongside the ambulance on the shoulder of the road. 8. Drivers who see an emergency vehicleapproaching,note other cars have pulled over, allowing for a great opening into traffic and then pulling out in front of the approaching emergency vehicle, thus securing their place in traffic and perhaps in history.No, you have not been made King or Queen! 7. Drivers who suddenly, without warning, hesitation or anything else, look in the rear-view mirror, see an emergency vehicle, then stop dead in the middle of the road or even more creatively of late, pull to the center and just stop. 6. Drivers who feel, that by some great power, they will outrun the ambulance behind them. 5. Drivers who feel they have the right to ride on the coattails of the speeding emergency vehicle through traffic, simply to beat the system. We are getting...

All About the Move Over Law and Emergency Vehicles Are you aware of Move Over Laws that say you must move over if a police car, ambulance, or fire truck is stopped on the roadway and give these vehicles room in order to avoid a possible accident? In recent years, various versions of a move over law have been passed in many states that mandate you must yield to emergency vehicles and “move over” or you could face fines or a penalty. Read on to learn more about the laws regarding yielding to emergency vehicles so you can be prepared whenever you see one on the road. What is a Move Over Law? States like Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia are just some examples of states that now have a move over law. This law states that all motorists who are traveling in the lane adjacent to the shoulder must move over one lane whenever any emergency vehicle or utility vehicle is stopped on the side of the road. All first responders like police, state police, fire, and EMS, as well as utility and department of transportation vehicles, are all covered under this law when it comes to drivers moving over. The purpose of the law is to keep offices, other drivers, and road workers safe from being hit by a passing car. Sadly, the number of officers and other highway and emergency While hefty fines are certainly something you want to avoid, crashes are what you really want to try to prevent. Traffic crashes kill more police than any other cause of death, even shootings. Even when emergency vehicles h...

Björn Lidestam 1,2 *, Birgitta Thorslund 1, Helena Selander 1,3, David Näsman 1 and Joakim Dahlman 1 • 1Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Linköping, Sweden • 2Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden • 3Department or Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden Emergency driving entails substantially higher risk rates than ordinary driving, and it is crucial that other road users notice the emergency vehicles on call. Sirens and emergency lights are used to warn and demand that other road users give way and provide safe passage, but accidents still occur. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of a broadcast hyper local Emergency Vehicle Approaching (EVA) message via RDS radio, noticing that an emergency vehicle on call is approaching and demands that others give way, on the propensity of individual drivers to give way. In two simulator experiments, a total of 90 car drivers participated. In Experiment 1, drivers were passed three times by an ambulance in traffic conditions where it was easy to detect the ambulance early, and two versions of EVA message were compared to a baseline condition without a broadcast message. In Experiment 2, drivers were passed only once by an ambulance and in traffic conditions that made it difficult to detect the ambulance early, and either received an EVA message, or no message. The results showed that...