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Edited 18 May, 201214 yr by Tim31

just the other day an ambulance was coming up behide me on the A4, so I pulled into the middle lane to allow him/her to pass and what did the numpty in front of me do..........yep pulled out on it.......they might be heavy but they've good brakes! It was so very nearly a bad accident!

The question of what you do at a red light if you get blues and twos behind is actually quite straightforward, sit tight until the lights change. They have a dispensation to treat a red traffic light as a give way line but you do not and should therefore not cross the stop line. Doing so can panic drivers coming through the green and cause an incident so it really isn't a good idea.

The latest emergency service thinking is that if they are coming up to stationary traffic which has no legal place to go they should turn the siren off and even turn off the blue lights until the traffic ahead has somewhere to go. The idea being not to panic somebody into doing something stupid and potentially dangerous.

The general advice from the senior instructor at Devon & Cornwall police is to keep going at a safe and legal speed until you find somewhere safe to let them by, then signal and do so. The point about not going up the kerb was well made, you are not expected to do so, as if you damage a wheel or tyre in the process they could find themselves dealing with another emergency as a result.

When I am teaching learners (not something I do very much these days) I have a handout I give them on the subject, it originally came from the police driving school at Exeter, it shows exactly what they want us to do.

Rob.

^ exactly my point!

See I disagree. If I'm at a red light, and the emergency vehicle can't get through I will pull forward to let them through. Obviously taking into account the junction, but if it is going to be more of a danger then you have to assess the situation. End of the day it's about common sense, but unfortunately some drivers lack that in today's society.

As for the emergency vehicle stopping and turning off their blues and two's, well that doesn't make sense.

The question of what you do at a red light if you get blues and twos behind is actually quite straightforward, sit tight until the lights change. They have a dispensation to treat a red traffic light as a give way line but you do not and should therefore not cross the stop line. Doing so can panic drivers coming through the green and cause an incident so it really isn't a good idea.

The latest emergency service thinking is that if they are coming up to stationary traffic which has no legal place to go they should turn the siren off and even turn off the blue lights until the traffic ahead has somewhere to go. The idea being not to panic somebody into doing something stupid and potentially dangerous.

The general advice from the senior instructor at Devon & Cornwall police is to keep going at a safe and legal speed until you find somewhere safe to let them by, then signal and do so. The point about not going up the kerb was well made, you are not expected to do so, as if you damage a wheel or tyre in the process they could find themselves dealing with another emergency as a result.

When I am teaching learners (not something I do very much these days) I have a handout I give them on the subject, it originally came from the police driving school at Exeter, it shows exactly what they want us to do.

Rob.

If people have nowhere to go, we will hang back (so as not to push people into doing anything illegal) and turn the sirens off (so as not to pressure them) , but NOT the blue lights, we are still on an emergancy response after all.... if the lights go out too, it means we have been stood down. we wouldn't want to confuse people

Old philosophy, treat everyone on the road as an idiot and take nothing for granted.

If people have nowhere to go, we will hang back (so as not to push people into doing anything illegal) and turn the sirens off (so as not to pressure them) , but NOT the blue lights, we are still on an emergancy response after all.... if the lights go out too, it means we have been stood down. we wouldn't want to confuse people

I was trained to turn the blue lights off if you were stuck same as if your approaching a car on and hill or series of bends that are unsafe to pass on ie solid whites etc etc then we turn the lights and sirens off until the road opens up then fire them back up again and away you go.

Its common sense, unfortunately most of us aren't taught to the same standard as emergency vehicle drivers. I've pulled through red lights to make a way but only when its been absolutely safe too. I usually spot an emergency vehicle atleast 10 seconds before it will get to me...most people i see only realise theres blue lights behind them once its actually behind them. Even with careful planning on my part sometimes the person in front does ridiculous things and actually impedes the flow of the emergency vehicle.

If theres one thing I think is paramout it is to make sure whatever your intentions are, they must be absolutely clear. They are still going fast and if they hit you its gonna hurt. I always use the indicators well in advance then use the brakes and keep them on until they are past. You can't pull away suddenly if the brakes are on!

I was trained to turn the blue lights off if you were stuck same as if your approaching a car on and hill or series of bends that are unsafe to pass on ie solid whites etc etc then we turn the lights and sirens off until the road opens up then fire them back up again and away you go.

Maybe it's different in different areas, different services ect.... I know the police do the same as us (ambulance) up here, I was in a coned single lane 50mph roadworks recently, with nowhere to go when a traffic car came up behind me with blues and twos on at speed, he then backed off, turned his sirens off abd left his lights on, at the end of the section I pulled in, his sirens went back on abd off he went.... We'd do the same, and that's our current policy

It's often different in different parts of the country though, for example we won't leave patients at home who have been unconscious, some services will....

Maybe it's different in different areas, different services ect.... I know the police do the same as us (ambulance) up here, I was in a coned single lane 50mph roadworks recently, with nowhere to go when a traffic car came up behind me with blues and twos on at speed, he then backed off, turned his sirens off abd left his lights on, at the end of the section I pulled in, his sirens went back on abd off he went.... We'd do the same, and that's our current policy

It's often different in different parts of the country though, for example we won't leave patients at home who have been unconscious, some services will....

I think it's just personal preference with each driver, People just need to observe more, they never check there mirrors and don't see the blues until its on top of them.

Edited 23 February, 201214 yr by mdon

I think it's just personal preference with each driver, People just need to observe more, they never check there mirrors and don't see the blues until its on top of them.

its definatley worse in a car though than a big ambo! (you are police right? so I assume most of your blue lighting is on a car) I was in our octy response car yesterday for our first job, as the night crew hadn't come back with the ambulance, and doing a typical run, people don't see the car half as much as a big 5 ton ambulance comming up behind them, definatly harder....

its definatley worse in a car though than a big ambo! (you are police right? so I assume most of your blue lighting is on a car) I was in our octy response car yesterday for our first job, as the night crew hadn't come back with the ambulance, and doing a typical run, people don't see the car half as much as a big 5 ton ambulance comming up behind them, definatly harder....

Yeah, used to be at Workington for 5 years. I agree though the transit was so much better for getting traffic although the pandas are faster.

The amount of idiots who don't do anything when they see a emergency vehicle coming is frightening and then the ones that don't even see them is worse

I allways get out of the way move over and I gave even gone through red lights (safely) to let them past

If it is safe to do so get out of the way lol