For not driving through red light with ambulance behind me

Are you sure they didn’t beep to turn OFF the horn? The sirens are controlled by the horn.

As far as I’m aware you are told to never cross red lights for any emergency vehicle - therefore YANBU

i thought in circumstances as you described emergency vehicles are meant to silence there sirens until the light goes green as to not pressure other drivers. If they are the ones that beeped they are totally in the wrong

Very wise. Never get into a discussion with Masterbeth 🤣 life is too short!

You cannot and should not do ANYTHING dangerous when driving, your own life is absolutely just as important as that of anyone in the ambulance or waiting for an ambulance.

It sounds as though you did what was right and safe OP. Ignore the people yakking on about common sense. You might use your common sense to drive onto a verge or pull into a bus lane or some such scenario, but not to drive through a red light. Some of these clowns shouldn’t be on the road.

You know… I’m saying the same thing, essentially.

I’ve just spotted your username and realised that in prior discussions you kind of fought to the death, so I’m backing out now like Homer Simpson into a hedge 😊

You were legally right. I have been caught out by this and went over the line. I never heard anything from the police or received a fine. In future, I would try and edge over as much as possible to help create space without actually fully crossing into the box.

She wasnt 'pissing about', she was following the highway code and the law. Jesus, what you said was unnecessarily unkind and wrong

You did the correct thing.
I wonder if the ambulance chose your lane as turning right can wait in the box junction once the lights were green, unlike the other 2 lanes which shouldn't cross the junction, unless they can clear it. So possibly that's why they weren't in the left lane? Not sure I'm explaining myself well 😅

It can meet that criterion.

Legally, no. And what’s interesting about the OP is that she thinks it might have been a normal driver beeping. So then you get somebody that thinks an ambulance is beeping and gets pressured to make a bad decision.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t / haven’t made a potentially ‘illegal’ move to let an ambulance past, but making aggressive pronouncements about what every driver should do is irresponsible and shortsighted.

You’re not supposed to go through red no but I, and anyone who has ever needed a Cat 1 ambulance, would creep out of its way.

You sound a bit self important tbh.

And a lot of us have known permanent lights that would allow you to safely pass through to let am ambulance through. That's the point. It's not black or white.

I had previously wondered this and had checked to make sure I knew what to do. You’re right - the Highway Code says you don’t pass through the red light even if it’s only a short way to make way for a blue light vehicle. It does feel weird sitting there with the emergency services behind and desperate to pass, I know. My instinct before checking was to move through the red light carefully assuming the blue lights would warn others to be careful but it would break the law and if I then get hit it would be on me.

You get out of the way of an emergency vehicle IF it is safe to do so.

Running a red light does not meet that criterion. If you were to do it, and something went wrong as a consequence, you'd be held legally responsible.

Everyone on Mumsnet, no, but according to this thread, quite a lot of people are not prepared to engage their brain when driving.

Ironically, Chat GPT is literally a robot with no common sense and it is quite concerning that you are expecting it to give you correct answers that you merrily cut, paste and share, without caring whether they are right or wrong.

I believe it’s called conversation 🙂

Legally yes. But I think a lot of us have known temporary lights that have broken or been incorrectly set, hence perhaps treating the situation a little differently.

On my walk to and from my job at a hospital I regularly see ambulances go through traffic lights on the wrong side of the road when they're on red and there's too much traffic to get past on the correct side of the road. It seems to be a standard manœuvre and much faster than waiting for the lights to change.

No you shouldn't move forward and could have received a fine. Like people who move to bus lanes to let emergency vehicles pass - it's illegal. You can only do this if indicated by a police officer. There was a big fuss in the UK media a few years ago about bus lane fines. Emergency vehicles are supposed to turn off the siren when stuck behind a vehicle.

What sort of beep was it? Police vehicles make a horn beep when the driver presses the button to turn on and change the siren tones and to turn them off again not sure if same with ambulances-could it have been that?

except not this
if you pull forward you are going through a red light!
jeez. If you want to do it and take the fine and points then it’s up to you but other people can’t and won’t and you aren’t expected to

I don't understand why you are asking Mumsnet this when you already seem to know the answer? You say you've already been told by people in the ambulance service not to go through a red light so why ask LESS knowledgeable people for their views??

I read that the police CAN ask you to move and you should but not an ambulance.