Police Sirens - What to do where you hear it?

specialK

I was told by my uncle who was a firefighter, to always obey the law. Any emergency vehicle does not have the rights to the road. It is up to use to use our common and let them pass if we see it safe to do so.

A friend of his was flashing approaching red lights. The 1st car in line crossed the line to let him through, it resulted in a crash. Who got the blame? the driver who 1st crossed the line to let the engine pass, but then so did the fireman, so really it is about keeping the road safe, if you can't judge then just continue to drive safely, there will soon be a safe gap that they can get through, as they are the ones trained to deal with this.

Their sirens and lights are not a god given right to pass traffic. Keep safe at all times.

anewman

This advert is currently running on TV http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J84dm5xRyXk

I think it's wrong they don't make it clear that it's illegal to go through a red light.

banger9365

you thing it's hard to move a car out of the way try moving a HGV when there coming down the road and you know if you cannot go they cannot go unless the cars make enough room.
the worse thing that happend to me was near hull,there is a bad right hand long bend ,fire engine coming up behind me ,advertising ,so i slowd down to a stop just about before the corner (min 300yards),it was a very wet night so putting a fully loaded hgv on the verg was a no no, you could see the driver and the one at the side of him wayving me on ,so i put me foot down (if you can call it that)well on a good day you could go round this bend at about 30 to 35mph unleaden put loaded from a almost stop and fully loaded you be lucky to get to 20mph before you get that too fast feeling on the bend,we got round it felt like forever and bless him they raised the hand in thanks has he went passed ,it still do's not stop that sick feeling you when you thing you should have done more to help them.
silly really still get it now thinking about.
do not know why i wote this,it's was just another day at the mill

wolvoman

Exact situation happened to me 2 years ago.

Caught on a red-light camera halfway across a junction. I claimed that I had no alternative but to move across to let an ambulance through.

I had the points and fine but my solicitor had the case thrown out within minutes when I took it to appeal. All costs paid for including loss of earnings.

The law did its job - you just need to go through the due process.

Reggie_Rebel

Get out and all run in different directions

davejack711

As a Paramedic, who has been driving for many years on lights and horns, yes we have driving skills passed to us as part of a driving course for emergency services.
We are told, a, never to force people of the road, b, if the road is blocked with volume of traffic to switch of horns as not to get other drivers aggitated and do some thing rash, c, we are also obliged to follow the highway code and is against the law to pass thru lights on red, but we do have permission to treat them as a give way, providing we dont cause other drivers to have an accident.
If there was a bus lane, then we would use this as this would allow us to continue with our journey unpeeded.
Please dont stop opposite other vehicles when stopping as most of time we will not get thru, we are not on bikes and ambulances tend to be wide, also dont stop on brow of hills or bends we can not see around.
Thing to remember as with all driving, is use your mirrors more often listen out and above all, concentrate on what you are doing. this way when we come behind you, it will be no great surprise to you and you can plan ahead what is the safest option for you and us!!
hope this helps

C_Ronaldo

The way i understand it is that if theres a police car/fire engine or an ambulance with lights flashing behind me then you hav eto do what you can to move out of the way

Bob63

All I can do as an emergency services rider (blood bikes) is encourage you to read and use the excellent advice issued by the IAM:

Emergency Vehicles

Deciding what to do when you hear an emergency vehicle approaching can be a dilemma. Do you stay where you are and potentially block the progress of an emergency vehicle? Or do you move into a position that may put you or other road users at risk?
Unfortunately, some drivers over-react to emergency service vehicles travelling on “blues and twos” (blue lights and two-tone horns). This is often because they don’t hear or see the emergency vehicle until it’s too close, and then take drastic action to get out of the way.
The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) says that good driving practice will alert you early to emergency vehicles: regular mirror checks (side and rear) for example, and keeping the windows slightly down around town, so you can hear sirens approaching.
Don’t panic and just brake. It’s natural to want to react. But instinctively putting your brakes on immediately in front of an emergency vehicle doesn’t help: it slows the progress of the emergency vehicle and jeopardises other road users.
Think about where you are on the road. You should deal with the problem in the same way that you deal with any other potentially hazardous driving situation. What is the safest option available to you?
Don’t cross red traffic lights or speed to get out of the way. The emergency driver has training and legal exemptions that you don’t have. Bus lanes and box junctions can be problems too, but let them resolve the problem of breaking the rules – not you.
If you are moving it may well be that you can continue at a reasonable pace and the emergency vehicle can follow you out of a pocket of congestion (such as a blocked one way system). In that scenario, attempting to pull over too soon, or slow down, might just cause a needless obstruction and so hamper the progress of the emergency vehicle.
Indicate your intentions clearly Don’t pull in opposite other obstructions, such as centre bollards. If you are thinking about pulling over across an entrance to a school or factory, you may be unwittingly preventing the emergency vehicle reaching its destination. And do think about where you are asking the emergency driver to overtake you – on the brow of a hill or a blind bend can be placing him or her in a very difficult position.
Get out of the way as soon as you can do so in safety.

If everyone followed this guidance then my job and that of the other emergency services would be much easier! As the advice states - we have the legal exemptions, so let us break the law instead of you.