What would you do? Ambulance coming..

[NecessaryCatharsis]

Today I'm in the left turn lane, waiting to turn left, at a red light. There are cars in the two lanes to my right, also waiting at the light. An ambulance with the lights and alarms on comes up behind us. The cars in the two lanes to my right inch up and over, and leave most of the middle lane clear that the ambulance can fit through. I can't really go anywhere without getting into the intersection, so I just sit tight. As the ambulance gets really close the streetlight turns green. I'm supposed to move up and get in the furthest right lane that I can, but I think I will just cut off the ambulance if I try. I could turn left and get out of the way, but to the left is also the hospital, so chances are good the ambulance is headed that way, and then I would be in the way. I wasn't sure what to do.

So I put on my 4-ways and stayed put. The ambulance maintained it's speed, turned left at the intersection, and headed towards the hospital.

It all worked, so good enough, but I'm just curious if anyone knows what I was actually supposed to do?

[Sapphire Silk]

You did the only thing you could do. Sometimes sitting tight is actually the best course of action.

[drjonah]

Here's what Ohio says to do

https://www.ohiobar.org/ForPublic/Re...anUse-531.aspx

Doing some other reading I pretty much see the same advice, if you cannot safely move to the right, stay put and the ambulance will go around you.

[Food Lady]

Without looking it up, the sitting where you are thing does seem right to me. That way, the driver doesn't have to guess at what you're going to do. You did well.

[raudf]

If you were in the intersection, clear it and pull over. If you are stopped, you aren't going to be able to move fast enough for the emergency vehicle, so stay put. Let them go around you. And if you see one coming head on (as in you see them from the opposite side of the intersection from you) stay put. Cops don't care if you have a green light, stop and stay put. One the emergency vehicle is clear of the intersection, you may begin moving again.

Yeah, I asked the cop giving the driving test about that, because the manual wasn't clear...

[Jetfire]

Generally, the rule for emergency vehicles is you pull over for them as long as it is safe to do so. Otherwise use your judgement as to what is safest. Your situational awareness (realizing the ambulance might be going the same way you were turning) was probably appreciated by the driver.

In my city, one of the two bridges across the river is too narrow (barely 2 lanes wide, and it's the former TransCanada Highway bridge). It also has more direct access to the hospital than the other bridge has. Emergency vehicles are supposed to turn off their sirens and lights as they go across the bridge because it is just too narrow to have cars pulling over to stop on. Logically people should realize that the bridge is too narrow to stop on and keep going, but because some people are not that aware while driving, the emergency vehicles just turn off the lights, cross with traffic and turn them on again after. Thankfully that bridge isn't as trafficed as it used to be now that the new highway takes a different route.

[eltf177]

I do know that in my state if you make a right turn to clear the intersection for an emergency vehicle and no turn on red is allowed at that intersection you can be ticketed. So I'd stay put unless it was 100% obvious I need to move...

[NecessaryCatharsis]

Jetfire - if that is the bridge I'm thinking of I think that 'barely 2 lanes wide' is a very generous description of something I would classify as 'almost 1 1/2 lanes wide'. Didn't do too bad on it but it was a bit heart pounding when the big truck came in at me. I also haven't been there since June 1997, so maybe it's been made wider (I was there when another bridge opened up).

[Kaylyn]

You did exactly what I would have done, and what is common practice here, anyway. If you hear/see an ambulance approaching the intersection and your light turns green, you stay put if you're not in the way. The ambulance driver has already assessed where everyone is in the intersection and has already plotted his course through the traffic. If you try to move, you could mess that up. Of course, if you ARE in the way, do your best to get OUT of the way. When the light turns green and the intersection is jammed with an ambulance behind you, get through the intersection and pulled over as soon as you can.

I'm not sure what the procedure is when the intersection is completely jammed and the lights are red, though. I don't know if it's considered legal to move through a red light to clear the way for an ambulance if you can do so safely.

[Argus]

Of course, if you ARE in the way, do your best to get OUT of the way.

This. Yes, "pull over and stop" works most of the time. But there have been a couple times when the only way I could let an ambulance past was to pull into the intersection despite the red light (all the lanes in my direction had cars waiting for the light, the median strip was long enough to keep the ambulance from crossing into the "oncoming" lanes cleanly, and my lane was empty aside from me). And one time pulling through a green light seemed best, because the ambulance appeared likely to take the right turn toward the emergency room (and then did exactly that).

[Seanette]

I was once in a dilemma like this. Picture a two-lane one-way street in the downtown area of a good-size city. I am in the left travel lane. There are parked cars on my left. I am the second car in line in my lane at a red light. Police car comes up behind me with lights and siren running. I have no way to move right due to presence of other cars.

The driver in front of me solved this by cautiously proceeding forward through the red and making room for me to do likewise, which I did. The police car zipped right through the new hole and went on his way.

I've since been told by drivers of emergency vehicles that that WAS the correct decision, since giving way to an emergency vehicle running with lights and siren apparently does get traffic law priority over obeying a light.

[Chromatix]

I'm not sure what the procedure is when the intersection is completely jammed and the lights are red, though. I don't know if it's considered legal to move through a red light to clear the way for an ambulance if you can do so safely.

In most places, it is. Key point is "safely". The preferred technique is to use the middle of the junction as a space to move aside in.

The Liver Run is a famous documented example of emergency driving in an urban environment, and there are several examples of civilian drivers' reactions which help or hinder the operation.

[Seshat]

My father (a driving instructor and former ambulance driver) said that yes, IF the best way to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle is to enter an intersection, you can legally do so. (In Qld, Australia.) You should then clear the intersection once the emergency vehicle has passed.

However, NC's solution was correct. If you cannot figure out a good way to safely clear the path for an emergency vehicle, stay put. Emergency vehicle drivers are (should be?) trained to figure out good paths around traffic.

Rule 1: Safety. There is no sense in adding another emergency.
Rule 2: Make a clear path, if rule 1 can be followed.
Rule 3: Once the emergency vehicle has passed, carefully resume normal traffic laws.

Putting the hazard lights on to increase your visibility was a good idea, NC.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I`m glad people seem to think mine was a reasonable response. The whole `pull over to the right and stop` idea is so ingrained I really wasn`t sure what to do when that seemed like it would get me in the way of the ambulance.

That liver delivery video was great too, and certainly showed that, while most people respect the emergency vehicle right of way, the emergency drivers are well aware of the ones that don`t, and on the alert for that possibility.

[raudf]

*sigh* Thought of this thread as I was in town Friday, an ambulance was coming from the downtown area and I was head into the downtown area. The light for my side turned green, but everyone actually stayed put until the emergency vehicle passed through. One person almost moved.. fortunately didn't because he was in the lane that could have hit the ambulance when passed around the turn lane.