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AIBU?

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Original poster

For not driving through red light with ambulance behind me

311 replies

User34445566677 · 07/12/2025 21:13

Stuck at red lights in 3 lanes of traffic. I was in right hand lane to turn right, at the front of white line and railings to my right so couldn't pull to the side. Middle lane for straight on. Left hand lane (towards hospital) is always allowed to filter through first via green light to the left, then after a while, the forward and right turn green lights come on. Ambulance comes up my lane whilst red traffic lights on. Blue lights and sirens on, all while the ambulance is indicating left (I am the only car in this lane, other lanes have several cars in). Ambulance leaves sirens on, and even beeps while lights are on red ( though i am not 100% sure this was the ambulance, but don't know who else it would have been?). From what I have read, you should not cross during a red light even for an emergency vehicle, I would have been entering a box junction? Was I BU to not cross the red light? And I think the Ambulance would have been quicker going in the left lane which filtered through first? Very confused. TIA

OP posts:
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6
Blueuggboots · 07/12/2025 23:33

@MyrtleLionso you’d ignore the bit that you put in bold about complying with light signals?

Climbingrosexx · 07/12/2025 23:35

MasterBeth · 07/12/2025 23:21

I am not wrong about the ambulance. You don't even know what I've written about the ambulance!

I have never said crossing a red light is not against the law. I have said crossing a red light is not always dangerous. You are making my point for me.

Show quote history

I didn't say it was always dangerous I said there are rules which you think you can pick and choose (highway code rule 219 regarding ambulances and red lights and rule 176 regarding broken traffic lights). You said anyone who doesn't break the rules under some situations shouldn't be driving. Unfortunately for some, points on the licence and fines can have a pretty damaging impact

SaverMaeva · 07/12/2025 23:36

I agree with the first few posts op as that’s all I’ve seen. It’s obviously awful however the public can’t (and aren’t) expected to put themselves in danger to accommodate an ambulance and thso defeats the objective!

MyrtleLion · 07/12/2025 23:36

bodyofproof · 07/12/2025 23:33

Which is fine if you’re happy to accept the fine and points. Some people can’t/aren’t if they need a clean license or points totting up would be a ban etc

Show quote history

I would go to court and argue my case and get the ambulance crew to testify on my behalf and potentially appeal a fine to clarify the law.

What if there was no red light camera?
What if there were no police to see?
These are judgment calls and sometimes sticking strictly to the law isn't the most effective thing to do.

MyrtleLion · 07/12/2025 23:37

Blueuggboots · 07/12/2025 23:33

@MyrtleLionso you’d ignore the bit that you put in bold about complying with light signals?

I would assess the situation and make way for the emergency vehicle if it was safe to do so.

Talltreesbythelake · 07/12/2025 23:38

MyrtleLion · 07/12/2025 23:36

I would go to court and argue my case and get the ambulance crew to testify on my behalf and potentially appeal a fine to clarify the law.

What if there was no red light camera?
What if there were no police to see?
These are judgment calls and sometimes sticking strictly to the law isn't the most effective thing to do.

Show quote history

Yeah, but realistically, you would just get told to pay the fine. The magistrate wouldn't be bothered by your grandstanding, just guilty, pay the clerk, next please.

MasterBeth · 07/12/2025 23:40

Climbingrosexx · 07/12/2025 23:35

I didn't say it was always dangerous I said there are rules which you think you can pick and choose (highway code rule 219 regarding ambulances and red lights and rule 176 regarding broken traffic lights). You said anyone who doesn't break the rules under some situations shouldn't be driving. Unfortunately for some, points on the licence and fines can have a pretty damaging impact

Show quote history

No, I did not say anyone who doesn't break the rules under some situations shouldn't be driving.

I said "any driver who is not able to see that, in certain circumstances, it is safe to move forward through a red light shouldn't be driving."

It entirely their prerogative whether they choose to break the law to carry out a safe manoeuvre in order to let am ambulance through. I know I would.

Climbingrosexx · 07/12/2025 23:41

Daisymae55 · 07/12/2025 23:21

Just showed this to DH who is police. You absolutely did the right thing. People should absolutely not do dangerous manoeuvres to allow emergency vehicles through. In his exact words “the onus is on the driver of the emergency vehicle to find a route. The onus is not on other drivers to do dangerous manoeuvres to allow an emergency vehicle through”.

So you did the right thing. People suggesting otherwise need to brush up on their high way code.

I showed it to my dh who is an ADI and a damn good one at that (according to his reviews) its mad how many people don't know the highway code yet will spend hours on here arguing the toss

MasterBeth · 07/12/2025 23:43

Who is arguing about what it says in the Highway Code?

bodyofproof · 07/12/2025 23:47

MyrtleLion · 07/12/2025 23:36

I would go to court and argue my case and get the ambulance crew to testify on my behalf and potentially appeal a fine to clarify the law.

What if there was no red light camera?
What if there were no police to see?
These are judgment calls and sometimes sticking strictly to the law isn't the most effective thing to do.

Show quote history

They’ll just tell you to pay the fine. It’s happened before
I am not risking points for it

JifNtGif · 07/12/2025 23:48

travailtotravel · 07/12/2025 21:16

Omg you pull forward enough to let them through .... everyone can see the ambulance and gets pit of its/your way in letting it pass. When the blue lights are on get out of the way.

Incorrect, thanks for playing though!

ClareBlue · 07/12/2025 23:49

You did the right thing. Numerous people are fined every year for moving into bus lanes to let ambulances past and a camera issues the notice. It's no defence that you were letting an emergency vehicle past.

FenceBooksCycle · 07/12/2025 23:49

Ideally what happens in this situation is that the 3 cars waiting in the middle lane have all stopped with a sensible gap between each vehicle (so are not already bumper-to-bumper) can carefully each reverse to reduce each gap by a metre or so, leaving a car-sized gap in the middle lane that you can pull into. My driving instructor taught me to always leave enough space between me and the car in front when stopped at a red light to allow for emergency maneuvers. Not just this but also if the car in front breaks down or something.

Everyone should do everything they safely and reasonably can to get out of the way of a blue-lighter but if getting out of the way wouldn't be safe then it's ok to keep safe. I would choose safe-but rule-breaky though - if getting out of the way is safe but would incur a fine, and if doing so would get the ambulance to the hospital a minute earlier, I would do the manuever and take the fine. But that's because my dad is only alive today because of an amazingly quick ambulance journey that saved him at a critical moment and I would feel that the fine would be a small price to pay for keeping someone's dad or someone's child alive, if it could be done safely.

SaverMaeva · 07/12/2025 23:52

rwalker · 07/12/2025 21:21

There’s no need to to go all the way through you creep forward the bare minimum and manoeuvre so it can get past

fingers crossed it wasn’t someone in cardiac arrest arrest who ended up dying or brain damaged because you were pissing about at the lights
every single second counts

Same could be said for having two kids in the back of your car. Pull out when it’s a red light to ‘help’ is all well and good if there is no risk, but driving through a
red light is always a risk. Why would someone risk their kids being involved in a crash in order for an ambulance to get to the scene of an 88 year old…..??! No one would put their kids in danger for that scenario and quite right!

Of course no one knows the situation but equally no one knows what will happen if they drive through are light so I don’t blame those for saying they wouldn’t go through it

Climbingrosexx · 07/12/2025 23:52

MasterBeth · 07/12/2025 23:40

No, I did not say anyone who doesn't break the rules under some situations shouldn't be driving.

I said "any driver who is not able to see that, in certain circumstances, it is safe to move forward through a red light shouldn't be driving."

It entirely their prerogative whether they choose to break the law to carry out a safe manoeuvre in order to let am ambulance through. I know I would.

Show quote history

Now you are splitting hairs you know full well what you meant. Anyway I have seen from a couple of other posters you will continue your nonsense to the death. I will follow their lead and bow out of this. You got the last word so you can be proud of that much if nothing else

J060 · 07/12/2025 23:53

That sounds really stressful!
There is a lot of confusion in the comments about what to do with ambulances etc so I just thought i'd share a resource my driving instructor shared with me about how to respond, it's got a short video covering most of the main points. https://www.bluelightaware.org.uk/#watch

UK emergency services awareness resource | Blue Light Aware

Explaining the needs of UK emergency services when on a blue light journey and how you can help.

https://www.bluelightaware.org.uk/#watch

MasterBeth · 07/12/2025 23:57

Climbingrosexx · 07/12/2025 23:52

Now you are splitting hairs you know full well what you meant. Anyway I have seen from a couple of other posters you will continue your nonsense to the death. I will follow their lead and bow out of this. You got the last word so you can be proud of that much if nothing else

Show quote history

I do indeed know full well what I meant, and it's not what you thought it was. That's why I wrote what I wrote and not what you said I had written.

It's really not my fault if you can't be bothered to read the thread properly.

MyrtleLion · 07/12/2025 23:58

bodyofproof · 07/12/2025 23:47

They’ll just tell you to pay the fine. It’s happened before
I am not risking points for it

Show quote history

And that's your perogative.

The OP did nothing wrong.

I wasn't there, but from the description of the incident from the OP I probably would have driven slowly over the line if it was safe to do so.

And that is my perogative.

WeNeedToTalkAboutIT · 08/12/2025 00:02

Honestly, I'd take the risk of the fine and move out of the way if it was safe to do so. I've been a family member travelling in an ambulance with my mum who I was convinced was dying - I'd rather give the patient inside every little bit of extra chance I can.

I don't blame other people for not doing so, but that's what I'd have done.

OneFunBrickNewt · 08/12/2025 00:06

This has been explained lots of times by traffic police etc- you never go through a red light for an emergency vehicule, even if they are bullying you to do so.

Isitvintage · 08/12/2025 00:07

You were right. I was at an awareness course for going through red lights. And they said that it doesn’t matter if the police or ambulance or emergency are behind you. Legally you must not cross the red lights or break any rules or else you will be in trouble.

Apparently the emergency services are trained to drive around these kind of circumstances. And sadly if they get stuck then they must wait. Then you can obviously legally edge forward to let them pass.

Mothership4two · 08/12/2025 00:08

@MyrtleLion

I wasn't there, but from the description of the incident from the OP I probably would have driven slowly over the line if it was safe to do so.

And that is my perogative.

It is, but you would be breaking the Law, ignoring The Highway Code and the advice from the Police & Emergency Services. Then you would have to face the consequences of your prerogative

minipie · 08/12/2025 00:26

So where did the ambulance go when the lights changed and the traffic moved?

Did it go right, behind you, or left?

I presume there were other vehicles in the left and middle lane so it couldn’t just use those to get through the red?

RealOliveTraybake · 08/12/2025 00:46

OneFunBrickNewt · 08/12/2025 00:06

This has been explained lots of times by traffic police etc- you never go through a red light for an emergency vehicule, even if they are bullying you to do so.

The police can and do order people to move through red lights in emergencies. You've got to wait for them to ask though, they're usually quite irate by that point too.

Walkden · 08/12/2025 00:48

"Omg you pull forward enough to let them through .... everyone can see the ambulance and gets pit of its/your way in letting it pass. When the blue lights are on get out of the way."

Omg you don't get to throw the highway code out of the window when you somehow pass your test!

You can only legally go through a red if specifically told to do so by a police officer....