Driving through red lights for emergency vehicles

[liketheredsea]

I work near a hospital and a police station, so probably see more of this than most people.

There is a junction that connects the main roads, and it’s probably a daily occurrence now that I see people driving through the lights to let emergency vehicles with their sirens on through.

AIBU to think this is incredibly stupid?! I remember that one of the first things my driving instructor taught me was that you don’t do anything illegal to let an emergency vehicle through. But I see it every day!

Highway code 219? Allow them to pass safely.

And emergency vehicles can only run red lights when its safe to do so. Its not an automatic right. But youd like to think in this day and age, a tracked vehicle with lights and siren, the lights would give them a clear run.

I don’t think even emergency vehicles are supposed to go through red lights- they can if they’re absolutely sure it’s safe (like temporary ones for roadworks and they can see nothing’s coming for example), but definitely not at busy junctions.

In this situation the best thing to do is pull to the side if you can so that they can pass you when the lights turn green.

The problem is if that if someone drives through a red light and runs someone else over, they then need an ambulance too... it's not worth the risk. It's all very well and good rushing someone to the hospital but you can't leave a trail of destruction in your wake

If an officer in uniform directs you, then you are permitted to disregard traffic regulations. However your obligations as a driver (i.e look where you are going etc) still exist.

Bloody hell i hope I’m never stuck behind you if I’m having a stroke 😂 I’ll risk appealing a fine or points if it means I’ve potentially helped save someone’s life

Because the ambulance has to turn into the hospital.

sorry - I was reinforcing / agreeing with what you said :)

You won’t get anywhere with an appeal, it’s not a legal reason to escape it.

Nope. You’ll get points on your licence if you’re spotted. They should never have sirens sounding at a red light either.

I’ll risk appealing a fine or points

or the accident caused by the fact you are not a trained emergency driver, whilst the driver of the emergency vehicle behind you is ?

This has been examined in close detail and the answer has always been that parliament believes there are no situations in which an untrained driver can be considered exempt from road traffic legislation. And (as previously stated) even the direction of a police officer (for example at the scene an accident) does not change the onus on the driver to take due care and attention.

I would check for pedestrians and other cars and then move forward just enough to let the ambulance through, I’m obviously not going to drive full speed into fast flowing traffic.

It’s extremely unlikely I would get a fine, but if I did I would deal with it. In any case, I would rather pay a fine than know I sat like a dummy blocking the road while someone died of a cardiac arrest.

Don't be ridiculous. You are definitely supposed to be move out of their way. Are you one of those drivers?

I believe that is correct, not going through red light or pulling over so emergency vehicle has to cross double white lines.

Not this again. Done to death.

You can get fined for it, it's not safe! The last thing an ambulance would need is an accident to impede its way. "Common sense" isn't necessarily rational or correct.

This is why sirens Are NOT used at red traffic light's only the blue lights on ambulances, so drivers don't feel they have to move over or go through a red light. Ever noticed that ? I did over time . You will get a ticket and or points .
They will navigate a way through or not for a minute

You definitely aren't supposed to go through a red traffic light to let an emergency vehicle through. If you are the only car in the way and there's two lanes, it's ok for a car's wheels to cross the white line to manuever a gap but not to actually cross the junction. Car drivers doing this are in the wrong and will be held liable for dangerous driving if they cause an accident by crossing the junction on a red light.

Why do some people think they know better in their five minute assessment than those who have examined all the risks and made the law accordingly?

Depends whether its safe to do so if its 100% safe im not going to block an emergency vehicle just because off a red light. Have you ever had to wait for an ambulance why someone is having a cardiac arrest or your being assaulted seconds feel like hours. Ive gone through red light multiple times for emergency vehicles never got a ticket.

This exact scenario happened to me yesterday. I could hear the sirens and see an ambulance in my mirror and the cars trying to move out the way in lanes of traffic and the ambulance is changing its sirens and trying to squeeze it’s way through.

The car in front of me was a a red light and the traffic was clear so he went through it in order to get the traffic moving and help the ambulance. I thought am I going to be the ‘rule follower’ and stay put even though it’s clear? I mean who cares if someone’s child has been hit by car and every second counts?! I thought fuck it, I don’t want to be the person that “followed the rules” and someone’s child died because the ambulance was stuck in traffic.

If I get a fine or points or the like, it will be worth it if the alternative was someone died! To reiterate it was absolutely clear as day and safe to go as the traffic comes from right and you could see about 50 meters up the road and not a single car.

If you leave the bus lane free they are free to move without you breaking the law.

This has been asked on here before, and I think there should be common sense used.

Obviously it would be unsafe to
'drive through a red light and cross to the other side of the intersection'
BUT
most of the traffic lights round here have space in between the light you are stopped at, and the road you are crossing at the junction, so, if you are 1st at the lights, you could very safely pull in front of the car next to you, and tuck yourself in there, nowhere near the traffic on the other road, and the emergency vehicle driver can then use their training, skill, and experience to decide if it is a good idea to cross the junction or not.

Unfortunately, people have been fined for doing this (automatic cameras) even though it is obviously the most sensible way to proceed. Same as people having been fined for pulling over into a bus lane.

As with so many things - it is the 'trying to apply same rule to every situation' rather than 'being able to use common sense' that is the issue.

Because when you are there, in the situation, you can assess the risk for that individual junction rather than some completely different junction / situation the lawmaker might have been thinking of.

They really don't.
I live not too far from an ambulance hub and daily see them approaching the main junction with our High Street.
They use sirens and blue lights 9 times out of 10, and people stop and let them through.

Sometimes the bus lanes are busy with multiple buses stopped at lights. We have an industrial estate and a huge shopping centre and several schools here so traffic is always busy. People do their best when the ambulances sirens are flashing. It’s an utter shit show here with traffic