The other day, I happened to be stopped at a red light when I heard sirens approaching from somewhere behind me. Normally, I would use my turn signal and get over to the far right side of the road, but I used my better judgment and simply stayed put as did most of the other people around me. I say “most” because at the very last minute as the ambulance was passing us cautiously on the right hand side, the light also happened to turn green. One woman in a small car who was sitting first in line at the light decided that she was going to go through the light despite the fact that there was an ambulance (literally) to her right hand side.

She quickly realized her mistake and tried to correct herself by GETTING OVER TO THE RIGHT…which is where the ambulance was. I shook my head in disbelief. Finally, after some herky-jerky steering maneuvers and an audience watching her in silence, she stopped moving and the ambulance was able to get by.

It still baffles me how people seem to be clueless when it comes to knowing what to do when there are emergency vehicles on the road. That’s why I’ve posted the following tips below:

What to Do:

On a multi-lane highway: Slow down, signal and move to the right. Pull as close as you can to the right hand side of the roadway and slow down to a complete STOP.

On a two-lane road: Use your turn signal and move to the right as quickly and as safely as possible. Do not stop in an intersection.

On a one-way street: Use your turn signal and pull either to the right or to the left of the street, keeping clear of any intersections. Come to a complete stop.

At intersections: Do not make any turns at the intersection. Rather, proceed through the intersection and pull over immediately to the right before stopping. If you are at an intersection and are about to proceed through when you suddenly hear emergency sirens, STOP. Never block an intersection. If someone is honking at you, ignore them and wait until the emergency vehicle has passed through the intersection before proceeding.

Remember, you are required by law to yield to emergency vehicles. If you don’t, you can actually be arrested for interfering with an emergency situation.

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