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'll never get everyone moving together at the same time.
They don't move at the same time.

Asking a question isn't 'wrong'.

Synchronised parallel parking - maybe it could become a new Olympic sport?

Not synchronised. Sequential.

Either way, it'll be a sight to behold! I'm not convinced we'll find a decent GB team though sadly.

I think the most likely outcomes of this ill-concieved approach are either the car in front of the ambulance doesn't see it, stopping everyone, or a car reverses straight into the ambulance, delaying it even more ;)

Yes, that's bound to happen.

Leave space in front of you in a queue and you'll have space to shuffle out of the way if a blue light needs to get through.

Tyres to tarmac.

Ambulance drivers are trained to switch off sirens if conditions aee such that it's not safe for people to get out of the way. If sirens are sounding and blue lights flashing then the driver at least can see a safe maneuver you could theoretically do but it's still your responsibility to decide what you can do safely and legally to get out of their way and if you can't see a safe and legal option it's best not to move until you can. Yanbu not to move across a red signal, but yabu to expect a whole load of cars to correctly execute a reversal maneuver - there woukd definitely be bumps and scrapes if they tried.

Stop line expectations.

Nothing preventing you leaving more though, is there. As is taught in advanced drving :)

Question for you. How long do you think it would take a queue of 25 cars to reverse, one at a time, out of the way of an ambulance? And how long do you think the average traffic lights stays red for?

I believe the average on red is about a minute. Some busy junctions in a row near me are probably well over two minutes, as each direction has multiple lanes, filters and, for those without an underpass, additional pedestrian phases. The time for 25 reversers is probably about the latter. However those busier junctions would often have more than 25 queuing.

I've seen lots of paths successfully cleared by pulling forwards well before the lights changed, though hardly ever without the front drivers crossing the red light. Once the emergency vehicle passes, there's that awkward time where those drivers are stuck in no man's land, often out of sight of the lights. As I said, I won't be joining them.

I have followed blue lights over those junctions I mentioned above when all on red (presumably they are coordinated) - this adds several minutes to their response in only a mile or two.

I assume the beepers hope to improve this by encouraging people through the red light.

At an optimistic 10 seconds per car that's over 4 minutes for 25 cars to get out of the way, but the lights will have changed in 1 to 2 minutes. Or, if a few people leave a couple of metres or more, ideally including the one at the front (as is good practice), they could all have shimmied out of the way anyway in half the time so the ambulance is already at the front of the queue before the lights change and no one has to cross a red light except the ambulance:)

I think's its easier to educate everyone to leave a little more space than it is to educate 30 million drivers that now they need to reverse when their see blue lights. After all, when you see police, fire or amblaunces making their way through heavy traffic on busy roads that's generally what happens. Everyone moves forwards and to the left (in the UK) creating a lane down the middle of the traffic for them to carve their way through. If people left a bit of space between themselves and the car in front in queueing traffic (and teh car in front stops a few metres short of the lights) the same can be achieved :)