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Posted: July 13, 2006
It’s happened to nearly every motorist. You’re driving in the left lane on a congested roadway when you hear a siren in the distance. You check your mirror to see where the emergency vehicle might be – behind you? Approaching you? More often than not, as the siren draws nearer you get that little glimmer of a flashing light in your rear view mirror and realize that ambulance or fire engine is nearly on your bumper.
The cars around you begin to jostle around, some striving to pull over into the right hand lane, most just coming to a dead stop where they are. Suddenly, you’re in the hot seat with the sounds of a fire engine’s honking horn now added into the mix of sirens.
As drivers, we all share responsibility for knowing and practicing correct driving behaviors. And, as most drivers know, you must yield the right-of-way to police cars, fire engines, fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles sounding a siren and/or flashing lights.
Above all, remain calm. Do not panic. Move your vehicle appropriately, pulling to the right edge of the roadway. Watch for other traffic which may be pulling in behind you. Stop as soon as you can.
If you are in the left lane, pull over into the right lane as the traffic in the lane to your right moves over. Once to the right, stop.
What if you are trapped in the left lane or in a line of traffic, unable to pull over? Again, don’t panic. Just move as far to the right as you possibly can and stop. The emergency vehicle will either find a way to get around you or make it known that other motorists need to keep moving to allow you to get over and for it to pass.
Remain stopped until the emergency vehicle(s) has passed. Then, remain at least 500 feet behind that vehicle.
City of Plano emergency vehicles, by the way, are equipped with a special mechanism that will activate a change in traffic signals at major intersections to enable them to continue through on a green light. That is the reason you may often find yourself sitting at an intersection and suddenly have the lights revert to green or red as an emergency vehicle passes by.
By practicing correct driving behaviors, vital seconds may be dropped from the time it takes an emergency vehicle to reach its destination, often resulting in saving a life and property.
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