AIBU to think drivers should reverse rather than cross red lights?

[BrickBiscuit]

Drivers queuing at red lights are now beeping when a blue-light vehicle comes up behind, even with sirens off. This is to alert those at the front to cross the line. However, I will never cross a red light for an emergency vehicle (unless instructed by a police officer). Wouldn't it be better for the whole queue to reverse to the roadside and create a clear lane? This is the same manoeuvre as moving forwards to do so, which is extremely common but can leave those at the front nowhere to go except through the red light. This would need everyone to reverse, each to make room for the one in front. Nobody need cross the line.

YABU: no, keep pulling over forwards. Those at the front cross the red light.
YANBU: yes, start pulling over backwards and leave the red light clear.

You’re still wronger than a wrong thing winning a being wrong competition.

I actually got a round of applause from bystanders once when I reversed into a parking space with only inches to spare at each end. Most people can routinely pull off that manoeuvre with average spacing.

A decent driving teacher should tell you to stop far enough back from the line that you can still see it

Well, I always stop a few metres back as that was what I was taught, so I can always move to the side :)

Nobody teaches you to stop with a space between you and the stop line. The car at the red light has nowhere to go.

No, but if everyone in the queue leaves a small gap they can all move slightly to the side so an emergency vehicle can get through. The emergency vehicle may not be able to get past the front car but they'll be further up for when the green light goes on.

Completely agree that the idea of everyone reversing is incredibly dangerous and unnecessary.

Neither of your options, so can't vote.

Red lights are only for a very short time. Trained blue light drivers will know to turn off their sirens and wait. Drivers are likely to get fined for crossing the line at red lights, rightly so. And several cars reversing sounds like an accident waiting to happen, and the lights will have changed by the time they do it. Very few "emergencies" are life and death to a minute or two.

It's like railway level crossings - even when the signal box is manned (very rare these days but used to be the "norm") there was never any question of the barriers being raised for an emergency vehicle, who would just wait patiently for the train(s) to pass.

It's people doing stupid, dangerous things when they think they're doing the "right" thing that causes more accidents. If crossing the red light or reversing causes an accident, the emergency vehicle will be delayed further as they're duty bound to stop, assess the incident, radio for further resources as necessary etc., so it WILL delay their progress in respect of their emergency.

The majority of lights tend to serve dual carriageways or very busy junctions, don’t they? As a result it is illegal to reverse, per the highway code. Reversing is only actually permitted anywhere for parking when the road is clear and it is safe to do so - so in a queue of traffic with an oncoming ambulance (even if it has its siren deployed) is still illegal/dangerous driving. The protocol is to pull over, by moving forward, as far as you can to make a gap wide enough for the ambulance to get through. This does not permit ignoring a red light either.

However urgent the call is of the ambulance, the objective is to get there without causing further incident or risking the lives of other motorists. Illegal manoeuvres in congested traffic doesn’t aid them in this at all.

Definite not! DH was a response sergeant for 20 years. You sit still and wait for the light to change. Reversing up a main road is absolutely crazy!

You move to the side IF you can and signal to let them know what you are doing.

Also saying that crossing the red light has been covered on previous threads is hilarious.

As a driver you shouldn’t need number threads to tell you this. It has been in the Highway code for decades and if you’d read it which you should have done and continue to do (as it changes annually) you would know this.

As an ADI the Highway code is pretty much a bible to me.

Nope that’s not a thing we teach pupils when they’re learning to drive

I live in an area with a lot of single track roads with passing places. The number of people who can't or won't reverse is quite something.

Your faith in UK drivers being able to self-organise to that degree, while reversing, is adorable.

Well I learned many years ago. 1988 to be precise :) I was also taught that in a queue I should stop far enough behind the car in front so that I could see the tyres of the car in front and some tarmac. Mind you, subsequent driving courses have said to leave a bigger gap than that. But regardless of what’s taught, it’s just common sense surely?

Yep true! And a bus lane. I got a ticket for pulling over in a bus lane to give way to an ambulance. Utterly stupid!

If you’re at a red light with a long queue of traffic behind you, it would take about 5 minutes for everyone to reverse so the emergency vehicle can pass. It would be much quicker just to wait for the green light, even if the ambulance/fire engine is stuck.

It would take far too long and be far too chaotic. No emergency vehicle is going to want to wait whilst a line of traffic self orchestrates into the optimum position. Emergency vehicle drivers are trained and highly adept at going round those sort of situations. It would also most likely cause another accident with drivers feeling under pressure and others not fully understanding what's happening.

How would this happen? At red lights there may be no space to back into. At most a couple feet. And people seem to struggle driving forward let alone a coordinated reverse!

'As each person (starting at the back) reverses to the roadside, they create space for the car in front to do so, and so on. It would all happen at similar speed to the way people currently pull in forwards to create a lane for the emergency vehicle.'

Neither. One is downright stupid, the other is illegal and enforced even if it might make sense sometimes.

I pity the emergency vehicle drivers, if many of the cars in front of them are full of morons thinking they must immediately choose one of two options: either drive through the red light, or start reversing.

No need for the snide anti cyclist comment. Cyclists know they are at risk in any blue light situation because motorists are even less likely to take proper observation than usual. So most cyclists just get out of the way as far as possible. The idea that cyclists would be pissed off to not be able to cycle up the inside of a stationary traffic queue in this situation is just ridiculous.

Hilarious that you think that can happen. Just look at motorways and the effect of one car braking that can cause a tailback for miles because of the "thinking time". Look at where you have huge groups of people entering/leaving, say, a stadium where it can take a long time for the people at the back to start moving forward after the people at the front have started to move. You'll never get everyone moving together at the same time. The only way that could ever happen is if the vehicles were all automatic and linked to eachother via satellite/bluetooth etc and all moved in synch at exactly the same time/speed.

This is what I was taught, stop so you can see the vehicle in fronts tyres where they touch the road

How would space be made for the additional emergency vehicles called to the smash ups created by this co-ordinated reversing manoeuvre?

I didn’t vote because neither option is safe. You don’t cross a red light and it’s definitely dangerous for everyone to start reversing. You stay put until the red light changes to green, go through it and pull over safely to allow the emergency services to pass. There is a reason the ambulance didn’t have their sirens on at the red light.

The reversing idea would be quite funny to see (assuming it wasn't actually holding up an ambulance)- given how useless some people are at parallel parking I imagine it would take about an hour. Shit parking but in formation, endless fun.

The emergency services make it very clear that they don't want you to do anything out of the ordinary to 'help'. If there is space to pull over on a non-hazardous part of the road, do so. Otherwise, keep going until there is an opportunity to pull over. If you're at traffic lights with a red light, stay in position. They will find a safe path around you if they can.