In the U.S., what exactly are we supposed to do when an ambulance, with its sirens on, approaches from behind?
In the U.S., what exactly are we supposed to do when an ambulance, with its sirens on, approaches from behind?
Let's assume we're not stopped at a traffic signal.
This is only anecdotal, but I heard once that you're not supposed to stop altogether, rather drive at a slower pace so as to let it pass quickly. The person said what was more important is that drivers don't make sudden changes to their behavior. An EMT driver can more safely maneuver if they don't have to predict what any one knucklehead will do the moment they get close.
If this is wrong or needs clarification, please enlighten me!
You're required to pull over to allow an emergency vehicle to pass.
You are supposed to get out of the way. Stop if you can, if you can't because you're in an intersection, go through and pull over at the nearest available curb. If you are at a red light and the emergency vehicle is behind you, slowly pull out into the intersection as soon as it is safe to do so and drive through and pull over when you leave the intersection to allow the emergency vehicle through. This is the only time you may legally run a red light, but you cannot just blow through the intersection. Basically try not to wait for the emergency vehicle to tell you to go through, but also don't drive like a BMW driver.
Blocking an emergency vehicle, or refusing to let it pass, is a crime in basically every state.
Typically, do not keep driving. Pull to the right, stop, and wait until the emergency vehicle has passed you. This is supposed to be done even if the emergency vehicle is on the other side of the road. The exception to this is if there is a divider in the middle of the road, for example a curb or island. However, if there is no physical divider in the road, you must pull over in case the emergency vehicle needs to make a u-turn or enter oncoming traffic lanes for any reason.
The exception to this is if there is a divider in the middle of the road, for example a curb or island.
A couple times I've seen firetrucks drive over the median to the other side of the road if traffic is backed up so you should still be cautious if you are on the opposite side of the median.
Yeah but that is HIGHLY unusual, so while you do still habe to yield to the firetruck once its intentions are made clear, they still must make sure that everyone is aware of what they're doing and out of the way. If it just whips it over a median and hits someone it's their fault.
The laws are set by each state. My state says:
the driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of the highway clear of any intersection and shall, if necessary to permit the safe passage of the emergency vehicle, stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, unless otherwise directed by a police officer
I didn't even think that it would vary by state (of course it does), and I should have checked my state's law, but this community was made for a reason after all 🤷♂️
Anyway, my state says something very similar. Thanks for indirectly nudging me to do my own research!
True, but there's the Uniform Vehicle Code which as far as I know most US states have adopted (and then modified) some version of it. I imagine most countries do something similar with their driving laws but I'm no expert.
In Australia some states say you can run a red light, others say you can't.
That said, in many cases it's possible to "encroach" into the intersection to allow the vehicle to pass without crossing traffic.
Also note that in the vast majority of cases the emergency vehicle can just go around queued traffic.
Here’s an important life tip. Stop listening to random shit people say. If you want to be informed look into your local laws.
Pull right and stop when safe.
On a highway, pay attention to what's happening behind you. Many times we'll split lanes. Left lane cars will pull left, middle or right lane will pull right.
The bare minimum is stop dead. The preferred is pull to the right, same as you would for a cop. And yes, be predictable. Nothing sudden or unexpected.
So according to the Emergency Vehicle Orientation Course (EVOC, which I haven’t retaken in too long):
If it’s open lanes, pull right and slow to a stop on both sides. The idea is to let us have the center or median to pass as needed.
If there is a median, pull right if we are on your side. If we contraflow (drive on the wrong side of the road), pull right and stop.
At a light, if traffic is blocked off, we may kill the sirens except for a few squirts, and leave our lights on. We are still controlling traffic, but just don’t want to deafen everyone. If we were all adults we wouldn’t do the squirts of siren but there’s always that asshole who thinks they need to sneak one car ahead.
On the freeway, you’re supposed to do the same thing, but I’ve always felt that is stupid. If you just merge right and maintain speed, that’s best for us and you.
If you are in a brown 1970’s Caddy, you need to pass the ambulance at about 110mph at 2am. This has happens twice in my career and it’s weird that I have 2 nickels.
I've had some training in driving an emergency vehicle and I've been in the passenger's seat a few times, so I know that the one thing the ambulance driver wants is predictability. Do whatever you can to safely get out of their way. Usually that means moving over to the side of the road and slowing down, but if it's really slow traffic you might have to stop. Whatever you do, don't stop while you're in their way.
Tldr: stay calm and use your common sense.
The exact laws vary by state, but it's always "get the fuck out the way, as quickly as you can while being as predictable as possible."
I've never heard that you're supposed to not stop (if that's what you meant), but as far as I know, you're not required to stop if you're out of the way and not preventing anyone else from getting out if the way.
I’ve never heard that you’re supposed to not stop
If memory serves, that's what the person said. Then again, it was on reddit, so I should have immediately looked to confirm it myself instead of filing it away in the "pretty sure" drawer. Let's not mention that I started driving maybe 17 years ago, hah. Well, lesson learned!
My practice has been move to the right and come to a stop assuming doing so doesnt prevent the other vehicles around you to also move out of the way to the right. I feel like it is also going to depend on the environment, country road with flat dirt shoulders are different than narrow freeway junctions.
"Supposed to do" is kind of vague, but many people have answered the "legally required to do" already.
If you or someone you love dearly were in an ambulance heading to the hospital to deal with an emergency medical condition (or waiting for one to arrive & provide transport to the hospital), what would you want everyone in the path to do? Whatever the answer to that is, do that. For me, the answer is, "as quickly and safely as possible make a path for the ambulance."
Is that pulling over? Stopping? Pulling into a parking lot? Continuing to drive until one of those options is available? Depends. Are you on a crowded road with no way to pull over? Then stopping will impede the ambulance. Don't impede the ambulance. Are you the only car on the road? Then slow down and move to the right (in the US).
I mean if it’s right behind you and suddenly turns on it’s signal don’t slam to a stop. But otherwise you should have enough time to hear/see it coming, move to the right and come to a stop slowly.
slam on the brakes when it is behind you forcing it to also brake, thus delaying it. /S
Try to move out of the way. The safest option is to either change lanes or find a safe spot to get out of the way.