Getting a ticket for moving out of the way of an emergency vehicle

spiritus

I recently heard of someone who moved into a bus lane to allow an ambulance to get past him. His car reg was clocked by a camera and he ended up getting a ticket.
The more I read into this the more it seems that you should not move out of the way of emergency vehicles if that involves entering box junctions, bus lanes, red lights etc.
Can anyone shed any light on whether the law allows some tolerance in these situations?

AdrianC

Surely the big question mark is why the ambulance didn't just use the bus lane?

IF it really happened, rather than being an urban legend "friend-of-a-friend", then the ticket issue would be automated, but it would be easily appealed and quashed.

[Deleted User]

AdrianC said:

Surely the big question mark is why the ambulance didn't just use the bus lane?

IF it really happened, rather than being an urban legend "friend-of-a-friend", then the ticket issue would be automated, but it would be easily appealed and quashed.

It's enough of an issue the police and the RAC have a page of advice on it. Indeed, the highway code (rule 219) even tells you that you should comply with all traffic signs even when trying to allow the vehicle through. The police page tells you that if you do break the stop line of a red light, you must provide proof of the emergency vehicle to get it appealed and quashed. So no, not "easily" done. 

Car_54

This short video explains it all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHvQEIkcU

And there's more advice here https://www.bluelightaware.org.uk/

The official police advice is to comply with the law, and NOT to cross the stop line unless directed to do so by a uniformed police officer.

Supersonos

spiritus said:

I recently heard of someone who moved into a bus lane to allow an ambulance to get past him. His car reg was clocked by a camera and he ended up getting a ticket.
The more I read into this the more it seems that you should not move out of the way of emergency vehicles if that involves entering box junctions, bus lanes, red lights etc.
Can anyone shed any light on whether the law allows some tolerance in these situations?

This is basic driving skills.  It was covered by my driving instructor when I learnt to drive and I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the highway code.

I'm sure quality of driving lessons has slipped since the introduction of a multiple-choice theory test.  Middle lane driving is endemic, very few people seem to be aware of speed limits or the need to "make good progress" and now people are questioning if it's ok to break the rules to let through an ambulance.

neilmcl

spiritus said:

I recently heard of someone who moved into a bus lane to allow an ambulance to get past him. His car reg was clocked by a camera and he ended up getting a ticket.
The more I read into this the more it seems that you should not move out of the way of emergency vehicles if that involves entering box junctions, bus lanes, red lights etc.
Can anyone shed any light on whether the law allows some tolerance in these situations?

The only authority that has the right to force you to move are the police.

The ticket for bus lane infringements would come from the local council and of course they have discretion whether to cancel the ticket or not. You may not be so lucky of you pass through a red light though.

neilmcl

AdrianC said:

Surely the big question mark is why the ambulance didn't just use the bus lane?

IF it really happened, rather than being an urban legend "friend-of-a-friend", then the ticket issue would be automated, but it would be easily appealed and quashed.

These things can and do regularly happen. Drivers of emergency vehicles are specifically trained not to intimidate other drivers into running red lights or otherwise breaking the law but they also have to try and anticipate what another driver might do and running up the inside of traffic with sirens blaring might not be the safest thing to do as most driver's first instinct would be to pull over.

Sandtree

Its for the ambulance to go into the bus lane not you; they are the ones trained to deal with situations like going through red lights and similarly know the level of emergency they are dealing with and so what justifiable risks they can take.

If you do get a ticket you can appeal to the council’s better nature to quash it but they are not under any obligation to do so.

[Deleted User]

Supersonos said:

spiritus said:

I recently heard of someone who moved into a bus lane to allow an ambulance to get past him. His car reg was clocked by a camera and he ended up getting a ticket.
The more I read into this the more it seems that you should not move out of the way of emergency vehicles if that involves entering box junctions, bus lanes, red lights etc.
Can anyone shed any light on whether the law allows some tolerance in these situations?

This is basic driving skills.  It was covered by my driving instructor when I learnt to drive and I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the highway code.

I'm sure quality of driving lessons has slipped since the introduction of a multiple-choice theory test.  Middle lane driving is endemic, very few people seem to be aware of speed limits or the need to "make good progress" and now people are questioning if it's ok to break the rules to let through an ambulance.

I find that interesting, obviously as all good drivers know, the speed limit is a limit, not a target (rule 146 and also 125). However, I found a driving test site which advises on where instructors count a fault under "making progress" as  

• Crawls along at slow speeds on clear roads.
• Makes no attempt to achieve maximum speeds for the road when safe to do so

Crawls is quite a subjective word, to some people you are crawling if you do 55 in a 60 limit or even 80 on the motorway, but others might say even 40 in a 60 is fine. Similarly, the idea you must attempt to achieve maximum speed is interesting as it's a direct contradiction of the highway code. The word progress doesn't appear in the highway code

Car_54

Deleted_User said:

Supersonos said:

spiritus said:

I recently heard of someone who moved into a bus lane to allow an ambulance to get past him. His car reg was clocked by a camera and he ended up getting a ticket.
The more I read into this the more it seems that you should not move out of the way of emergency vehicles if that involves entering box junctions, bus lanes, red lights etc.
Can anyone shed any light on whether the law allows some tolerance in these situations?

This is basic driving skills.  It was covered by my driving instructor when I learnt to drive and I'm pretty sure it's mentioned in the highway code.

I'm sure quality of driving lessons has slipped since the introduction of a multiple-choice theory test.  Middle lane driving is endemic, very few people seem to be aware of speed limits or the need to "make good progress" and now people are questioning if it's ok to break the rules to let through an ambulance.

I find that interesting, obviously as all good drivers know, the speed limit is a limit, not a target (rule 146 and also 125). However, I found a driving test site which advises on where instructors count a fault under "making progress" as  

• Crawls along at slow speeds on clear roads.
• Makes no attempt to achieve maximum speeds for the road when safe to do so

The fault which an examiner (not instructor!) would mark under the heading of Progress is defined by the DVSA as "driving too slowly for road and traffic conditions". Note it makes no explicit mention of speed limits: there are many circumstances in which driving at or near the limit is not safe.

The point of the test is to ascertain that the candidate is safe to be allowed to drive unsupervised, potentially for decades to come. Anyone who is unable to drive at the limit (when it is safe to do so), or who cannot judge what is a safe speed, is not a safe driver.

ElephantBoy57

Car_54 said:

The official police advice is to comply with the law, and NOT to cross the stop line unless directed to do so by a uniformed police officer.

But in busy built up areas, people use common sense.