Dumbass driver and paramedics

[ADoyle90815]

This weekend, the S/O and I were driving when we saw some dumbass in an SUV who was completely oblivious to the paramedic vehicle with its sirens on, and was even unaware of the vehicle honking at them to get the fuck out of the left lane. I only hope some police officer saw this dumbass and was able to tell them to pull over with their loudspeaker. We were going the opposite direction, so we didn't see if a police officer managed to give Dumbass a ticket.

Our reaction was

[BlaqueKatt]

saw some dumbass in an SUV who was completely oblivious to the paramedic vehicle with its sirens on, and was even unaware of the vehicle honking at them to get the fuck out of the left lane.

sadly I've seen many people as of late (illegally) listening to music in their vehicles over headphones.....

[dragon_wings]

sadly I've seen many people as of late (illegally) listening to music in their vehicles over headphones.....

That was the one downside to driving when I visited my parents. I couldn't listen to my metal playlist on my iPhone. Because I'm don't have an adapter but I'm not stupid enough to do that.
I once saw a customer get into a *school bus* (after school was in session for the day) and put on headphones. All I could do was shake my head.

[kpzra]

Yup, used to have people ignore the big vehicle with flashing lights, siren, and air horn all the time. One chick even flipped us off after we managed to get around her. Hubby has wanted to spray people/cars with the bumper turret on his fire truck at times.

[Lovecats]

Yup, used to have people ignore the big vehicle with flashing lights, siren, and air horn all the time. One chick even flipped us off after we managed to get around her. Hubby has wanted to spray people/cars with the bumper turret on his fire truck at times.

OH, I'd pay to see that!

[sevendaysky]

I'll play devil's advocate for just a moment. I'm deaf. I can't hear sirens or horns honking, so I wouldn't respond to either of those. HOWEVER, since I know my own limitations, I constantly check all mirrors, whether I'm sitting still or moving. (And honestly, aren't you supposed to do that ANYWAY?) More than once I've only realized an ambulance was coming when the car behind me moved over and I caught sight of the flashing lights in my mirror. I didn't have much time to get over, but I did.

Could be that the people in that car were also deaf - but that doesn't excuse them from the responsibility of CHECKING YOUR MIRRORS. So maybe, hmm. 8.5 on the suck scale.

[kpzra]

In my case, the chick was on her cell phone in one hand and smoking with the other. She never did get over even when she had room, we had to take a turn lane to get past her.

[MadMike]

The building I work in is along a fairly busy four-lane street, two lanes in each direction. I witnessed this during a nice day when I decided to step outside and get some air.

There was a guy driving in the left lane, and an ambulance speeding along in the right lane, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Just as the ambulance starting coming alongside the guy, he decided to change lanes, completely cutting the ambulance off. The ambulance driver laid on the horn, and as soon as the guy realized what he had done, he stopped.

While what the guy in the car did was incredibly stupid, what the ambulance driver did next was also pretty bad. He pulled over, and both he and his assistant got out and started yelling at the guy, who swore up and down, "I didn't see you!" Yes, I can understand being upset at being cut off like that, but if they had their lights and sirens going, I'm assuming they were responding to some sort of emergency, and they shouldn't have been wasting time arguing with some other driver.

[PepperElf]

i once stopped but not to be mean... the ambulance was behind me and i pulled to the left to make room for it, thinking it was just going straight.

then a second later i realized it was turning to the left too. and they did the change-the-lights thing to get the advanced green on instantly. so i zoomed off on the turn and then pulled aside to get out of their way.

Could be that the people in that car were also deaf - but that doesn't excuse them from the responsibility of CHECKING YOUR MIRRORS. So maybe, hmm. 8.5 on the suck scale.

This. I am personally very sensitive to the sounds of sirens - i can usually hear them long before I see them. (i turn off my music, fans, and open the window when i think i hear even a hint of sirens and most times I'm correct... even a half mile out or so). but i still use my mirrors a lot.

save for the right mirror. i learned to drive in a car that didn't have one. so i'm not as use to using it. then again if i'm passing on the left i don't pull back to the right 'less i can clearly see the car in my rear-view mirror anyway.

[csquared]

Traveling down the interstate one time, watch for several miles as a guy in the left lane ignored the ambulance behind him.

Several years ago, I watch a new report on auto soundproofing and emergency sirens. They took the latest & greatest luxury car and parked in front of a fire engine. From inside the car, the siren was not that loud (I forget what the dB level was). Turned on the stereo, and you could not hear it. And (as already stated) that is why the emergency vehicles also have lights.

[Geek King]

Traveling down the interstate one time, watch for several miles as a guy in the left lane ignored the ambulance behind him.

Several years ago, I watch a new report on auto soundproofing and emergency sirens. They took the latest & greatest luxury car and parked in front of a fire engine. From inside the car, the siren was not that loud (I forget what the dB level was). Turned on the stereo, and you could not hear it. And (as already stated) that is why the emergency vehicles also have lights.

I almost got plowed by an EMS box at an intersection the other day because of this. It was coming from the cross street, and was partially concealed by a big conversion van. I was already in the intersection (I had the green), and swear I didn't hear the siren at all. Scared the piddle out of me, and I'm glad the driver was paying attention and being cautious. I did get out of the way as soon as I saw it, but I was already through the intersection before I realized it was there.

It particularly bothers me, since I'm normally very good at spotting them early, being as I live right up the road from a hospital, and they come down my road all the time.

[Kogarashi]

I always wondered how ambulances get around in any reasonable timeframe in cities like the one we moved from, which frequently had super-crowded, very narrow streets with no room to pull over (thanks to always-full street parking).

then again if i'm passing on the left i don't pull back to the right 'less i can clearly see the car in my rear-view mirror anyway.

As it should be, according to my Driver's Ed instructor. He taught my class that as long as you were driving with an unobstructed rearview mirror (the one on the windshield), you didn't merge back until you could see both headlights of the car you passed in the mirror.

[Pharm Girl]

I am very emphatic about pulling off for emergency vehicles. I wonder if those jerks ever consider the idea that the ambulance could be going to get their mom, or the fire truck could be responding to a fire at their house. But the that requiers having a thought, some people are just not capable of that.

[ShinyGreenApple]

How the hell do you miss the flashing lights in your mirrors though, even if you aren't looking on purpose? I erm, got pulled over a few weeks ago and you really can't ignore the lights.

[kpzra]

I always wondered how ambulances get around in any reasonable timeframe in cities like the one we moved from, which frequently had super-crowded, very narrow streets with no room to pull over (thanks to always-full street parking).

You get to know the streets really well, along with knowing EXACTLY how big your rig is and ALL it's clearances. We had map books of all the surface streets in the city, construction marked on them and X's through the roads we should avoid unless the call was there. New books were issued to each rig every year, so we could make marks in them as needed.

We would also sit "point", certain areas in the city to cover a sector. The ambulances were always out, never in the building unless out of service/end of shift. This cut down on response time as well.