For not driving through red light with ambulance behind me

If she lives in London Chat GPT is right because she will get fined. London has cameras everywhere. I would like to know where she lives because living in country is different to living in a city.

You were absolutely right you cannot ignore a red traffic light unless directed to do so by a police officer.. it helps no one if you pull forward and into collision with a correctly proceeding vehicle… that will cause more delays and potentially more injured people. The ambulance driver should not have tried to pressure you to ignore that red light and I would be tempted to report him or her because they are risking causing a collision

Well I don’t think they’re lightsabers, so I’ll give you that. 😊 I suspect some people, under pressure from an ambulance, might not make the best decisions.

To be fair, I have done it for ambulances and would again.

No he/she's dead right.

Genuinely, can you not envisage any circumstances where you would cross a red light?

There were temporary traffic lights put at the end of my street a few months ago. Faulty. Stuck on red all day. I would still have been sitting there eight hours later had I not gone through them.

What would you have done? Phoned the council?

What if you live near a hospital? On my school run we go through a roundabout with lights on it and there are two hospitals nearby and there are often emergency vehicles of one kind or another on it. And red light cameras. Pekoe would be paying £100, and the insurance increase on a regular basis. And losing their licences.

They probably didn't mean to beep you as pp said - the siren works off of the horn, so it's easy (and common) to accidentally beep while switching sirens.

I think you could probably try to contest going through a red if you did get a ticket. But if you are not comfortable to then don't, it's ok.

No, you had no defence of prosecuted/get fixed penalty you cannot ignore a red light unless directed by a police officer

Yes if on blue lights.

A car can pull into a bus lane to let an emergency vehicle through , providing they then exit it as soon as it has passed. You will not be prosecuted.

Good grief! Please take this post down!

This shows exactly what happens when a) you blindly "follow the rules" rather than thinking for yourself, or b) believe Chat GPT is an alternative to Google for search queries!

You most certainly shouldn't "pull right if possible" if you're in the UK!

I know someone who got a fine going into an empty bus lane at 1 am to let an ambulance through.

Well you crack on then, but don't tell others they shouldnt be driving if they follow the law, some people drive for a living and cannot afford points on their licence.

I work for the ambulance service and I can confirm that we are NOT allowed to bully anyone through a red light. It is dangerous and you can and will be prosecuted.

We are trained to hang back, sirens off and actually put on the hand brake until it is safe to proceed.

Any crew doing different is in the wrong.

This seems like a good thread to ask on but are emergency vehicles allowed in bus lanes? Cars here regularly move into the bus lane to let them through (luckily no cameras so no one gets fined) but the ambulances seem to frequently use the bus lane whereas the police cars don't.

The OP was not 'pissing about at the lights', they were obeying the law.

They are in no way, shape or form responsible for the person in the ambulance and I'm shocked that you have suggested they may have contributed to someone's death.

Well, yes. But it would be too late then, wouldn't it? I'm not claiming to be the arbiter of right and wrong, or legal and illegal (which are different things). I'm just saying that in that moment, I'd just be thinking "oh fuck I need to get out of the way if I can" and by "if I can", I would mean "is there space to do this without causing an accident". Millions of people every day pull out at junctions and entrances that are not regulated by a set of traffic lights, and manage not to collide with other vehicles. And the way a lot of people drive, I assume that there is not some all-seeing god of traffic clocking and fining 100% of traffic offenses, so I might not get fined.

I do know the law. The law says don't do it.

I am saying there are circumstances where you might find it a better option to disregard the law.

If I can see that is safe for me to cross a white line at a red light, that could be one of those situations.

it might be prudent and safe but I’m not risking a fine and points and the subsequent insurance rise and having to declare it to my job
its not being stubborn it’s that I need to follow the law and that involves not going through a red light

Accidentally voted YABU and it won’t let me change! You were correct and I hope it wasn’t the ambulance that beeped you! Even if no obvious danger pulling slightly forward etc you would still be prosecuted had there been a camera on the junction.

I’m not suggesting other people do what I do though. Just pointing out that the ‘you will get points/fine’ isn’t a deciding factor for me, and probably some others.

I did this exact thing and got fined and had to do a course. I just pulled in past the red light slightly, didn’t cross this junction completely or even block it.

Any driver who does not know the law definitely should not be driving... thats you by the way

You might, but some people might lose their livelihood if they drive for a living and encounter this frequently. It happens regularly to me as I cross a junction on an ambulance route. I would always do it when it was accepted without prosecution, but never would now.

I'm not arrogant. I am sensible and cautious.

It's ludicrous that you cannot imagine circumstances in which it would be prudent and safe to cross a red light.