To think there shouldn’t be consequences for going through a red light - when it’s to let an emergency vehicle through?

That’s interesting, thanks.

Yes, we are supposed to silence the sirens (but don’t have to turn off the lights) if there’s no safe passage, though it’s controlled by double pressing the steering wheel and sometimes lots of the time you over or under press and all you do is change the tone 🙈.

If ambulance crew are leaving sirens blasting they’re either over enthusiastic newbies to emergency driving or nobs or both.

This happened to me, not at a red light but I was in the left lane and the one to the right was a merging lane, literally no one had any space to move it was totally bottlenecked, eventually when the traffic did move slightly the person next to me in the merging lane was able to nip in front which at least allowed the ambulance to move past me. They literally sat there the whole time with sirens blasting when anyone could see there was nowhere for any of us to go at that point. I was stupidly trying to drive on to a cobbled slope to get out of the way but it was too steep. It was a horrible experience, plus the incident they were trying to get to was literally yards down the road. If it was that urgent one of them could have got out and got to the incident on foot in less than 2 mins instead of causing so much angst for other drivers.

If the photos of the offence show an emergency vehicle at the time you were forced to go through the light on red the notice is usually cancelled

It’s illegal. By going through a red light you could be adding to the emergency (even if you think that it’s safe to do so).

They are supposed to turn off the sirens at red lights and I would be very shocked if they didn’t.

I recently heard someone (a bus driver) say that emergency vehicles do not blast sirens when traffic is being held back by a red light, as it’s considered dangerous to push traffic to go through the stop light. The sirens you hear are often on approach to junctions that are flowing. I never knew that. Does anyone know if that’s correct?

It’s in the high way code you don’t break the law for an ambulance. Someone local had a police car and ambulance behind them and drove at speed to ‘help them ‘ no - you don’t drive a red light.

I’ve seen cars going up pavements, going forward into red light zones and also not pulling over! My instinct is to let blue lights through. Often this can result in an illegal manoeuvre in built up areas but it’s not likely to kill anyone as everyone is travelling slowly. The ambulance not reaching someone worries me more to be honest.

It is a tricky one. One on hand, you don't want to obstruct an emergency service vehicle getting to a job, but on the other you are also causing a danger... and if given points could result in losing a license or your job.

From what I gather, no driver of an emergency vehicle should be pressurising someone to run a red light.

I’ve had times where I’ve been at the front of the line of traffic at a red light and an emergency vehicle is behind me flashing and blaring and the only way to get out of the way is to go through the red light into the intersection space and pull over to the side by driving in front of the car next to me.

you are not supposed to do this but yes, in an instance like this it’s a conundrum

Emergency Services drivers are taught to turn off lights and sirens if there is no safe route through. A red light is not safe or legal for a normal driver to cross. If an Emergency Services driver causes an accident when crossing a red light, they may be prosecuted.

Drivers must follow the rules of the road. Stop at red lights. If there is a safe way around the traffic, even if it involves going around a traffic island or on to the other side of the carriageway, they will find it. If there isn't, they will wait.

Everyone is safer, including the patient, when ambulances get to their destination without a RTC. If they are involved in an RTC, even as witnesses, they have to stop, then the patient has to wait for another crew to be dispatched.

I have. your at T junction up to the line. There is no space to reverse because there is a vehicle behind up your arse ( in my case a ambulance) so if your 1 foot from.the line it's impossible to pull to the side without going over the line. Unless it's a smart car then thats metres of car metres over the line. I went through/ over the line but didn't need to enter the road I pulled out on. But sometimes that's not feasible because you can not see the light then turn green if it's behind you. I didn't realise it was illegal until recently and I wouldn't do it again now I know. On balance it was safe as I never pulled into the road I was joining. But I'd not do it again.

I find it horrifying that people are supposed to obstruct a fire engine for perhaps a whole minute. It could have terrible consequences.

When there’s a big crossroads so I can move forward over the line but not actually in the path of any other traffic I would absolutely “jump” a red light (and come to an immediate stop). If that cost me a fine then so be it. I’d rather have the fine than be the reason an ambulance / police car / fire engine didn’t get somewhere in time.

I saw this happen the other day, not in London. Ambulance with blue siren up, stopped right behind a car waiting at a red light in the lane to my right. Car ended up pulling into the right turn only lane (on its right), driving straight over the junction and stopping in front of the traffic lights opposite while the ambulance went past. It then had to do a manoeuvre to rejoin traffic.

I did wonder what I would have done and if my instinct would have been wrong

"To think there shouldn’t be consequences for going through a red light - when it’s to let an emergency vehicle through?"

If a driver goes through a red light to let an emergency veichle through, they should ALWAYS face the same consequences as if they had done it for any other reason. Emergency veichles have flashing lights and sirens and their drivers are highly trained to drive safely at high speeds even on crowded roads.

The reason I think this are

• An ES driver is trained to do manoeuvrers that a normal driver couldn't do safely - it's far safer for everyone if we leave making those jugdements to those drivers.
• ES vehicles have those lights and sirens to warn people about what they are going to do. It's far safer that people with those warning beacons do the weird stuff.
• Thinking "If I don't move someone might die" is a huge pressure to move. For some drivers, that pressure would majorly cloud their judgement of what is safe. Not being allowed to do illegal moves at all, relieves some of this pressure, and makes it less likely people will do totally stupid things.
• As my paramedic cousin once said, if she is attending a legitimate 999 call and someone does an actually stupid move and causes an accident, she then has to stop and make sure everyone's ok and sort them out if they aren't. By the time she's got back up to go to the original incident, or sorted out the first mess and gone herself, the original patient is much more likely to be dead than if she'd just waited for 2 minutes at the lights or whatever!

Yesterday, I was waiting at a red traffic light, two lanes both had cars in.
Ambulance had shot up behind the car to my right.
There was plenty of room for the car to pull in front of me , which would have meant that he crossed the red light, but would still have been waiting to move across the road and he wouldn't have been obstructing it in any way.

the ambulance could have carried on to whichever emergency they needed to get to.

Now, as it happens, yesterday, the lights changed at that point and I was able to wait whilst the car to my right pulled in front of me and the ambulance was on their way, but, had the lights just changed to red, they could have been waiting quite a few minutes, which, of course could make a huge difference to the waiting patient.
Then imagine that happening at several sets of lights.

Of course YANBU OP.

I didn’t ask how this can happen, I asked how did it happen.

Don’t start AIBUs if you can’t answer basic questions.

Interesting to hear it’s illegal, I had to go forwards at a red light once to let a fire engine past but I never had a fine. I wondered if the cameras had caught the engine come speeding through after me and it was obvious why I’d done it.

Oh I have. Stopped at internal roundabout traffic lights, me and another car in the next lane. Two fire engines come behind with lights and sirens. Cars entering the roundabout (forward to my left) stop because they can see the fire engines. Me and the car next to me pull forward and apart so the fire engines can get through between us.

I guess there were no cameras at the lights, because nothing happened.

@Climbingrosexx Not sure London ambulance have read the memo then! I’ve seen cars pull over by going past the red light to let a police vehicle through too.

www.secamb.nhs.uk/be-blue-light-aware/

"You should take action to let the emergency vehicle pass, but you must do so safely and legally. If you jump a red light to make space or enter a bus lane or a yellow box junction, you’ll be breaking the law and could be prosecuted.

The best thing to do, if you can and the space allows, is to move to the side of the road and come to a controlled stop. This should be done without putting any other road users or pedestrians at risk or committing any motoring offences."