In over 14 years of driving it's not often that I see emergency vehicles wanting to come past with blue lights on. So what is the best practice to adopt?
The natural thing to do is slow down (not necessarily stop) and pull as far over to the left as possible indicating to let the driver of the emerency vehicle know that you have seen him. However, I vaguely remember watching something on TV with a police or fire service driver saying that we should continue as we are and let them pass in their own time as they are trained for such situations.
Any ideas?
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Depending on circumstances it wouldn't always be necessary to stop, but I will do so if it helps. Usually pulling over to the left when safe, and an indication (left indicator, brake lights) that you've seen them and are making way is helpful.
I think the example referred to might be people who just stop dead when they see an emergency vehicle coming from behind, not realising that they've stopped next to a traffic island, opposite a parked car or on a sharp bend, and are actually stopping the vehicle from passing safely.
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I heard that the major frustration for ambulance drivers was when everyone jammed their brakes on and pulled vaguely to the left thereby creating an instant traffic jam.
I try to pick up my speed (to the extent possible), look for a good passing place, and pull into it briskly at the first opportunity. If you spot the ambulance promptly then you can usually finish this by the time they reach you.
I don't always achieve perfection, though....
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BR people from Manchester may have shared my frustration in recent weeks as GMP choose the height of rush-hour to move some high risk prisoner from Strangeways with 6 motorbikes and two police vans in convoy. The bikes force people over, scream at you to go through red lights when they stop the traffic at junctions and generally make a massive fuss, when if they left 40 minutes earlier they'd sail through. If I was shifting someone they clearly believe is a danger to the public or who is at risk from being attacked by serious crims I don't think I'd choose to make the journey at precisely 8.45 every day and go via choked traffic on the same route day in day out. I've written to GMP to complain - guess what the response is....
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Are they taking him/her to Court? If they are, they will be dictated by the Court's opening hours and will not have a free choice of times.
If its just a routine transit then yes, idiot of the year award is well justified.
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My inside knowledge suggests they are taking him either to Liverpool or Preston so if they left at 8am they'd be at their destination long after the Courts are open. No-one at GMP seems to have grasped this simple fact!
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The worst thing you can do is just stop as soon as you see an EV Sometimes such as in a country lane it is better to speed up if afire engine is behind and slow down or stop when you reach a suitable passing place Itis no good stopping on a blind bend and people often do.
One of the biggest dangers that is getting worse is when aline of 3 or 4 cars are in front of you and the front ones slow down and pull over and the rear car just pulls out to overtake them completeley oblivious to the EV behind
Just as importantis to be aware if the EV is coming towards you as you dont want to be meeting it as it is about to overtake
Forward { and rear} vision and thinking is needed at all times
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Agree with all of the messages regarding allowing them to pass you but ...
How do other people deal with overtaking emergency vehicles on motorways ? No I'm not talking about plod cars (but that would be fun) but the fire engines and ambulances which seem to be stuck with top speeds of around 70.
Do you overtake them ? Do you stay behind - and if so what does that achieve ? I normally overtake and carry on my way but if they are heading to an m-way pileup then I'll just be one more car in their way over the next hill.
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To be safe you should not pass them Firstly as you rightly say what are they going to? It could be anything so what will you be running into. Secondly when the Fire App reaches the tailback all those cars that have overtaken are now obstructing its access to the incident possibly causing more suffering to the people waiting to be helped.
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Hit the brakes seems to be the common reaction.
Others sit stationary at the front of the queue at red traffic lights instead of gently creeping out of the way or slipping round the corner. Too complicated for them to wait until the blues arrive and then move to avoid matey behind filling the gap.
I find the biggest problem is sensing where they are coming from so that I can then decide my actions.
The problems are getting worse because of:
Many more "emergency" vehicles are car size and more difficult to see.
Many more people are taking the cheaper option and using Bluetooth headsets so loose directional awareness.
Many more people are used loud audio systems and are in their own world.
The results are that many are totally unaware until they almost loose their front wing.
I see more and more saloon/estate cars from the NHS and many unmarked police cars.
It might help if they were equiped with some form of extending mast for the blue beacon. Many of these clever unmarked cars have pathetic lights in the grill or at best a Kojack light on the roof.
Police and NHS bikes seem to have a fixed mast for the light but they rarely get delayed.
I agree with the concept of sometimes speeding up e.g. to get through a roundabout and give them the racing line.
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I find the biggest problem is sensing where they are coming from so that I can then decide my actions
There was an interesting story regarding just this subject on TV a while ago - I think it was on Tomorrow's World.
The sirens of emergency vehicles occupy a relatively narrow frequency range which isn't always ideal for Mr. Average Driver when it comes to sensing location. In a series of trials it was proved conclusively that sirens with a wider tonal range along with a burst of static at the end could be pinned to a given direction around eight times out of ten, rather than the five out of ten associated with conventional sirens.
This concept has already been put into place on many pedestrian crossings (the ones with a high pitched 'whoop' followed by a series of lower pitched beeps) but has yet to make it into the domain of the emergency services. I would imagine it would have something to do with training people to recognise a new type of siren, but I imagine that many drivers would struggle to tell the difference from memory between sirens belonging to the different services anyway..
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With more and more cameras on traffic lights, one is reluctant to "slip forward" and collect 3 points and a £60 quid fine!
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How do other people deal with overtaking emergency vehicles on motorways ? No I'm not talking about plod cars (but that would be fun) but the fire engines and ambulances which seem to be stuck with top speeds of around 70.
Which motorways allow a top speed in excess of 70?
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I am a serving wholetime firefighter and drive a range of fire appliances on blue lights. The best thing to do is read the road in front of you when approached from behind by a vehicle with blue lights, if the road is quiet then carry on driving until there is a safe place to pull in that gives enough room for the emergencey vehicle to pass without having to slow down, the worse thing to do is stop as the driver has to also slow down thus losing his momentum and having to build up speed again, fire engines are not that quick on the uptake. As driving conditions constantly change then it is impossible to say what is best for all, except when you do pull over then stop as if you keep moving and a car on the other side stops then the gap as you approach the stopped gets smaller and we have to either slow done or stop also. On motorways the best thing to do is stay behind the emergencey vehicle all the vehicles I drive are capable of 80mph, so to stay behind it is not an issue as this is 10mph over the speed limit, and as somebody else as said, you may end up part of the accident we are attending.
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this is a serious subject, the recently-mentioned Police Camera Action high-speed trip from Stansted to West London was slowed at one point because a German-reg Polo pulled to the right (following the driver's instinct that this was the nearside?)...
a tip for anyone driving on the two-lane autobahns is that if you come to a jam, stop towards the side of the road leaving a path for emergency vehicles down the centre.
Now I am aware of loud stereos but about:
"Many more people are taking the cheaper option and using Bluetooth headsets so lose directional awareness." (henry.k)
can someone enlighten me as to what a bluetooth headset is? it can't be related to these oral hygiene strips (unless you lose sense of direction on tasting minty freshness...) can it...
pat
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can someone enlighten me as to what a bluetooth headset is?
There are a few variants.
It is a small unit that fits over and in one ear with a small bar projecting alongside the cheek with a mic in it.
It has a wireless link to the phone.
It seems to be the norm for chauffeurs and you can often see them in use by road warriors.
It is better than having a wire dangling from your ear and you can keep your hands in your pockets when not driving.
If you have a newish phone that has Bluetooth, a headset although not cheap, is a simpler and less costly option than a fully installed car kit.
When using it of course you only have the other ear fully available for external sounds like emergency sirens and of course can no longer hear properly in stereo hence a reduced ability to identify the direction of the sound.
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www.logosunlimited.co.uk/images/nokia-bluetooth-he...g
As worn by all the "in" crowd..... and David Brent impersonators.
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FACT: David Brent is numero uno.
FACT: that looks good for showing off with.
Seriously though, thanks for the explanation and the picture, I've not heard of "bluetooth" before (I have heard of something called "blackberry" which sounds like it's what you get bluetooth off).
If that little microphone stick is used to talk with, I imagine the user looks like the Secret Service or La Femme Nikita...
not having a wire must be useful, but if people really are driving round with one ear with a speaker in it that sounds concerning. and with air conditioning the windows may be shut too.
Here in Germany they have just increased the penalties for using a non-hands-free mobile phone in a car. A typical conversation is apparently "hello I'm in the car"...
pat
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Very good bit of kit until it's battery runs down. Then you have to charge it, so you end up with a very expensive earpiece that still has a wire running from it.
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Blimey, how much do you talk in the car during the day? I can get a good 1.5 hours of talk time plus 4.5 hours on and connected all from a single charge, more than enough for a day on the road, assuming that the purpose of your trip is to actually stop at some stage....
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Used to travel from Dartford, Kent to Barrow-in-Furness and back once a month.
I've got a proper bluetooth hands-free kit now, much better and I don't look like a Sales rep type now.
Amusingly, wife and I were in a hotel bar one night when a group of lads came in, one of whom was very closely shaven and was wearing a bluetooth earpiece, which he wore all night. (he looked a bit like a Borg from Star Trek but in casual clothes)
He was too young to be so important as to need such constant communication potential, so I immediately regarded him as a bit of an onanist.
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efad & shoei are spot on. Also, if you're at traffic lights (on red) and an emergency vehicle needs to get through, don't spend so much time getting out of the way by pulling onto the footpath/central reservation that the lights have changed to green and the EV is still stuck in traffic behind. Above all demonstrate what you intend to do to the EV driver, either by indicators or road positioning. It's a bit of a half-crown/ sixpence job when someone brakes to let an EV past on a blind bend or blind brow. And please don't overtake on the motorway. Why do you think the EV is on the mway? Do you want to run into the back of an existing RTA?
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