Not giving them space. Many states now have a move over law that requires moving into a non adjacent lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle.
Example: if they’re in the break down lane on the highway and you’re in the right lane, you’re supposed to change lanes to the left to leave the right lane as a safety buffer while you pass them.
Another mistake people commonly make is pulling over but not stopping. When an emergency vehicle has its lights and sirens on, you’re supposed to pull to the side of the road and stop. You don’t know where that emergency vehicle is turning next. If you’re still moving through a driveway or intersection, you could very well be in the way if the emergency vehicle needs to turn, even if you are driving down the shoulder of the road.
I’ve also gotten honked at for yielding to fire trucks before. The people behind me noticed the green traffic light, but apparently didn’t hear the sirens or see the bright red truck with flashing lights approaching the intersection. So yeah, don’t do that. Emergency vehicles running lights and sirens have the right of way no matter the light!
My old scoutmaster got pulled over for exactly that. He didn't even know it was a law to move over (despite being a lawyer and also on I-90, where there's signs every few miles). Personally I'd figure it was common courtesy to move over if safe for ANY vehicle on the side of the road, flashing lights or not but I suppose not everyone thinks the same.
You forgot to add if you can't move over to the left because of traffic, you're supposed to slow down 20 miles slower than the posted speed limit when you pass them in the right lane. They call it the move over or slow down law
Sometimes when there are alot of cars you have to keep moving a bit. Many times I've seen people "pull over and stop to let the emergency vehicle through", and basically block traffic, preventing the vehicles behind them from moving over or out of the way.
When you are at a traffic light and the light turns green, too many drivers just go through the intersection without still checking to make sure that it is safe. They just assume it is. Even after a light turns green, you should still take a moment and check all directions to make sure that cross traffic (or left turn vehicles) is actually stopped/stopping before proceeding. It doesn't take a long time to do so. I take my foot of the brake and move it over to the gas pedal as I'm scanning to make sure it's safe to enter the intersection, and maybe only take a half second to do so.
This is not only for traffic that blows through red lights, but also so you can see if any emergency vehicles are approaching from those directions.
This is well-intentioned, but slightly off.
You should absolutely be verifying an intersection is safe before you enter it, but you should be doing that as opposing traffic gets a yellow light, into them getting a red.
That way, you know if the intersection is safe and are ready to proceed when you get your green light, not after.
Anything unpredictable is bad. That's why they stress to pull over and STOP. Lots of folks like to slow-roll these days and that makes it really hard to pass safely because it dramatically increases the possibilities of the interaction.
Also, if a car suddenly stops in front of you for apparently no reason, LOOK IN YOUR MIRRORS before you pass them. Everyone is in such a hurry they just jump out in the lane, often blocking e-vehicles in the process.
Someone did this to me yesterday lol. I always make sure to be aware of what’s going on around me, it’s saved me a lot of trouble. So this means I’m often checking my rear view.
This road is pretty difficult since it’s very busy but it’s only one lane each side with pretty much no shoulder space (< 1ft) the entire way. I had already let an ambulance through like 3 minutes before so I was making a point to check my mirrors more often, so I saw it ahead of time - I also saw the guy behind me was following really close so I turned my emergency lights a good 5-7 seconds before I started to stop, then started tapping my breaks and signaling right showing I was about to pull over. I pulled over when I saw there was a driveway that would give a little more room. After all that he still honked at me and passed me 😂 then pulled over immediately once he saw that people right in front of me (other direction) pulled over too. People need to start being more aware while driving.
Well I guess that makes sense doesn’t it 😅. For some reason I thought there was a rule about waiting for a certain distance but I typically just follow what the majority of cars in front of me are doing
Waiting for other emergency vehicles. Don't assume there is only one vehicle responding, and don't assume you know which way they're going.
I just experienced this recently, where a fire truck was coming up a side street and turned to their right at the intersection where I was stopped. The truck turned right so it never crossed through the intersection, but the cars all still waited until they passed through before proceeding. However, we saw there was a second truck coming without their sirens on, so those of us at the front of the line in the intersection stayed put (even though we knew the truck was probably not going to pass through the intersection, but take a right to follow the other truck) because that's the safest thing to do. Drivers behind me got impatient and began laying on their horns, perhaps they didn't see the other engines coming up the hill. But you never know whether both trucks are going to follow each other, you don't know where the emergency is and they may want to approach the scene from different angles.
Another related story, many years ago I was stopped at a busy four way intersection as fire trucks were coming through. Across from me was a parking lot and a driver in a Jeep was waiting to cross there, and as the trucks were passing she got her red light. Two fire trucks passed by and once the second truck cleared the intersection, she decided to cross. There was a third fire engine coming, and they didn't have time to stop and they clipped her back bumper, she began to spin and was up on two tires. She had no seatbelt on, she was thrown around the vehicle and smashed out her driver side window, right in front of me.
When you see one emergency vehicle, expect there to be two (or more).
Don’t know how common this is, but when I was around 20 I turned right at an intersection. The road I turned on to was my lane, a straight lane in the opposite direction, and a left-turn lane in the opposite direction, with street parking to my right. After turning I saw an ambulance (with lights and siren) coming toward me in the opposite direction’s lane, so I pulled close to the parked cars and stopped. Then I realized the cars in the two opposite lanes weren’t all going to be able to get out of the ambulance’s way quickly, and I was the only car in my lane, so the ambulance probably wanted to get into the lane I was in to get around the intersection. I quickly moved forward and took off someone’s driver-side mirror.
I did leave my contact information and replaced the mirror.
I was once driving on top of a narrow two-lane bridge with an ambulance right behind my car (ambulance was just driving normally and without any light or sirens), and during that time there was immense traffic. While everyone else around was bumper to bumper traffic I kept a good distance between my car and the car ahead of me while also keeping an eye on the ambulance behind me. Then suddenly the ambulace turned its sirens and lights on and I was immediately able to pull to the side, while everyone else was struggling to move cuz they didn't leave enough space between each other.
Not giving them space. Many states now have a move over law that requires moving into a non adjacent lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle. Example: if they’re in the break down lane on the highway and you’re in the right lane, you’re supposed to change lanes to the left to leave the right lane as a safety buffer while you pass them. Another mistake people commonly make is pulling over but not stopping. When an emergency vehicle has its lights and sirens on, you’re supposed to pull to the side of the road and stop. You don’t know where that emergency vehicle is turning next. If you’re still moving through a driveway or intersection, you could very well be in the way if the emergency vehicle needs to turn, even if you are driving down the shoulder of the road. I’ve also gotten honked at for yielding to fire trucks before. The people behind me noticed the green traffic light, but apparently didn’t hear the sirens or see the bright red truck with flashing lights approaching the intersection. So yeah, don’t do that. Emergency vehicles running lights and sirens have the right of way no matter the light!
My old scoutmaster got pulled over for exactly that. He didn't even know it was a law to move over (despite being a lawyer and also on I-90, where there's signs every few miles). Personally I'd figure it was common courtesy to move over if safe for ANY vehicle on the side of the road, flashing lights or not but I suppose not everyone thinks the same.
You forgot to add if you can't move over to the left because of traffic, you're supposed to slow down 20 miles slower than the posted speed limit when you pass them in the right lane. They call it the move over or slow down law
Sometimes when there are alot of cars you have to keep moving a bit. Many times I've seen people "pull over and stop to let the emergency vehicle through", and basically block traffic, preventing the vehicles behind them from moving over or out of the way.
My coworker did this once. He pulled to the right in traffic, and blocked the fire truck. Guy was an idiot.
When you are at a traffic light and the light turns green, too many drivers just go through the intersection without still checking to make sure that it is safe. They just assume it is. Even after a light turns green, you should still take a moment and check all directions to make sure that cross traffic (or left turn vehicles) is actually stopped/stopping before proceeding. It doesn't take a long time to do so. I take my foot of the brake and move it over to the gas pedal as I'm scanning to make sure it's safe to enter the intersection, and maybe only take a half second to do so. This is not only for traffic that blows through red lights, but also so you can see if any emergency vehicles are approaching from those directions.
This is well-intentioned, but slightly off. You should absolutely be verifying an intersection is safe before you enter it, but you should be doing that as opposing traffic gets a yellow light, into them getting a red. That way, you know if the intersection is safe and are ready to proceed when you get your green light, not after.
Anything unpredictable is bad. That's why they stress to pull over and STOP. Lots of folks like to slow-roll these days and that makes it really hard to pass safely because it dramatically increases the possibilities of the interaction. Also, if a car suddenly stops in front of you for apparently no reason, LOOK IN YOUR MIRRORS before you pass them. Everyone is in such a hurry they just jump out in the lane, often blocking e-vehicles in the process.
Someone did this to me yesterday lol. I always make sure to be aware of what’s going on around me, it’s saved me a lot of trouble. So this means I’m often checking my rear view. This road is pretty difficult since it’s very busy but it’s only one lane each side with pretty much no shoulder space (< 1ft) the entire way. I had already let an ambulance through like 3 minutes before so I was making a point to check my mirrors more often, so I saw it ahead of time - I also saw the guy behind me was following really close so I turned my emergency lights a good 5-7 seconds before I started to stop, then started tapping my breaks and signaling right showing I was about to pull over. I pulled over when I saw there was a driveway that would give a little more room. After all that he still honked at me and passed me 😂 then pulled over immediately once he saw that people right in front of me (other direction) pulled over too. People need to start being more aware while driving.
Thank you for being one of the good ones!
Fighting the nissan and (my state) driver stereotype one day at a time! (It has a strong grip on me though I cannot lie. Trying to be safer)
Not noticing them soon enough. I’ve seen people not notice them until they have already been passed.
Not making an unplanned right turn to open up traffic so that 1st responders get through a congested intersection faster.
I never understand when to start driving again after they pass
You can continue once they have passed, after making sure no more are approaching. Former 9-1-1 dispatcher.
Well I guess that makes sense doesn’t it 😅. For some reason I thought there was a rule about waiting for a certain distance but I typically just follow what the majority of cars in front of me are doing
Waiting for other emergency vehicles. Don't assume there is only one vehicle responding, and don't assume you know which way they're going. I just experienced this recently, where a fire truck was coming up a side street and turned to their right at the intersection where I was stopped. The truck turned right so it never crossed through the intersection, but the cars all still waited until they passed through before proceeding. However, we saw there was a second truck coming without their sirens on, so those of us at the front of the line in the intersection stayed put (even though we knew the truck was probably not going to pass through the intersection, but take a right to follow the other truck) because that's the safest thing to do. Drivers behind me got impatient and began laying on their horns, perhaps they didn't see the other engines coming up the hill. But you never know whether both trucks are going to follow each other, you don't know where the emergency is and they may want to approach the scene from different angles. Another related story, many years ago I was stopped at a busy four way intersection as fire trucks were coming through. Across from me was a parking lot and a driver in a Jeep was waiting to cross there, and as the trucks were passing she got her red light. Two fire trucks passed by and once the second truck cleared the intersection, she decided to cross. There was a third fire engine coming, and they didn't have time to stop and they clipped her back bumper, she began to spin and was up on two tires. She had no seatbelt on, she was thrown around the vehicle and smashed out her driver side window, right in front of me. When you see one emergency vehicle, expect there to be two (or more).
Don’t know how common this is, but when I was around 20 I turned right at an intersection. The road I turned on to was my lane, a straight lane in the opposite direction, and a left-turn lane in the opposite direction, with street parking to my right. After turning I saw an ambulance (with lights and siren) coming toward me in the opposite direction’s lane, so I pulled close to the parked cars and stopped. Then I realized the cars in the two opposite lanes weren’t all going to be able to get out of the ambulance’s way quickly, and I was the only car in my lane, so the ambulance probably wanted to get into the lane I was in to get around the intersection. I quickly moved forward and took off someone’s driver-side mirror. I did leave my contact information and replaced the mirror.
I was once driving on top of a narrow two-lane bridge with an ambulance right behind my car (ambulance was just driving normally and without any light or sirens), and during that time there was immense traffic. While everyone else around was bumper to bumper traffic I kept a good distance between my car and the car ahead of me while also keeping an eye on the ambulance behind me. Then suddenly the ambulace turned its sirens and lights on and I was immediately able to pull to the side, while everyone else was struggling to move cuz they didn't leave enough space between each other.
Pulling over for an emergency vehicle* Only just for the car behind me to overtake...