ambulances

Femelade

ok, i was driving out the road earlier on, the main Cork- Killarney road, when i noticed an ambulance coming up behind the car behind me, that car pulled in to let it pass, even though it wasnt really going at any great speed, didnt seem too bothered about passing, it didnt have any sirens on either, so when it got behind me i was in two minds about pulling in. but i did and it passed me out, after a while, but like i said, didnt seem too bothered.
what i'm asking is, do you have to pull in? even if it doesnt have its sirens on? i'm assuming you dont.

spartacus93

No you don't have to

But if the sirens were on you should pull in.

If they weren't on they may have just been dropping someone home after a stay in hospital, and weren't in any great hurry.

connundrum

If the sirens are on and you don't pull in (in a safe manner) I think you can be done for obstruction. But if the sirens are off it should be treated in the same manner as any other vehicle.. except for mopeds - you can still hurl abuse at them

franksm

Was it two lanes in either directions ? I don't know that road so

If it was two lanes, you should only have been in lane#2 if you were overtaking someone in lane#1. But I have a feeling from what you wrote that it's one lane in either direction plus a hardshoulder to the left. In that case you don't have to pull over unless the ambulance is indicating that it wants past.

I know that here in the south it's common courtesy to pull onto the hardshoulder to let cars past if it is safe for YOU to do so, but don't know if that's an official rule as such. I learned to drive up north and in the highway code there, you are definitely not allowed to go onto the hardshoulder even to let someone behind you get past. It's up to that person to wait until the road ahead is clear, safe and legal to overtake on.

Ambulances (etc) are subject to the law too, so they're not supposed to break any speed limits or other rules unless they are in an emergency situation ie. lights and ding-dongs flashing and dinging

Femelade

franksm wrote:

I have a feeling from what you wrote that it's one lane in either direction plus a hardshoulder to the left

yeah, i just pulle din and drove on the hard shoulder

franksm wrote:

I know that here in the south it's common courtesy to pull onto the hardshoulder to let cars past if it is safe for YOU to do so, but don't know if that's an official rule as such.

i think that from the 1st of april, you can recieve penalty points for driving on the hard shoulder

rubadub

franksm wrote:

unless they are in an emergency situation ie. lights and ding-dongs flashing and dinging

bringing the mcdonalds home before it gets cold :v:

I have heard of somebody being done for pulling in for an ambulance, not sure if it was here or the UK. They were not doing anything dangerous in doing so and there was uproar. They are certainly not above the law, I remember my mate going mad when he heard about somebody in the paper who was claiming against them after one crashed into them, but what are you meant to do, write off €20,000 worth of damages because they were helping somebody?
I would not pull in if there were no lights, if they are in a bit of a hurry they blip the lights on for a second or so. Many are just transporting people. There is great money in it, a clapped out ambulance is useless as it is unreliable so they sell for next to nothing. People can buy them and just drive old folks to the hospital.

robinph

franksm wrote:

Ambulances (etc) are subject to the law too, so they're not supposed to break any speed limits or other rules unless they are in an emergency situation ie. lights and ding-dongs flashing and dinging

Even if they have their lights and sirens going the same rules still apply to any emergency vehicle as to all others on the road, they do not get an exemption from the traffic laws. All that the lights and sirens give them is that a blind eye will generally be turned by the powers that be and that the general public will tend to try and make way due to them wanting the same curtosey to be paied to an emergency vehicle answering a call on their behalf.

The one difference in the law though that I seem to remember, from when I had things to do with ambulances in the UK, was that fire engines can go the wrong way down a one way street but that was all. Probably slightly different in Ireland though but not by much I'd expect.

seamus

Some people don't seem to realise that an ambulance with no sirens on is just a vehicle. I've had people slam on in the middle of junctions to allow a right-turning ambulance to go (without any lights or sirens on). :rolleyes:

Sparky

if the lights and sirens are on its an ambulance, and like seamus says if it doesnt, its just a normal vehicle.

And on the matter of Ambulances having to run red lights in an emergency, someone mentioned that an ambulance can actually be fined for it as its a traffic offence, but you would want to be some hard neck guard to do that.

Is that true, can anyone clarify that?

neoB

Heh, lights and or just siren you're sure to pull over. other than that keep going. People in florida are just outright dumb. Either they dont pull over when they are suppose to, or they stop in the middle of the road when the trucks arent even running an emergency 8-). Both our trucks and ambulances can drive against traffic on the other side but still have to stop at a red light before going on like a brief stop to make sure its clear to go.

seamus

Sparky-s wrote:

if the lights and sirens are on its an ambulance, and like seamus says if it doesnt, its just a normal vehicle.

And on the matter of Ambulances having to run red lights in an emergency, someone mentioned that an ambulance can actually be fined for it as its a traffic offence, but you would want to be some hard neck guard to do that.

Is that true, can anyone clarify that?

A quick search would indicate so. While ambulances, fire brigades and Gardai are exempt from speed limits, parking restrictions, and can drive on the hard shoulder, there doesn't seem to be any specific legislation that says that they can break red lights, or that other traffic is obliged to yield to them.

If you hit an ambulance at a junction, and you had right-of-way, it would appear that you are in the right (assuming you don't get done for careless driving for failing to see/hear the ambulance).

paraletic

spartacus93 wrote: »

No you don't have to

But if the sirens were on you should pull in.

If they weren't on they may have just been dropping someone home after a stay in hospital, and weren't in any great hurry.

I assume the OP is refering to an ambulance with blue lights but no siren.

the ambulance service don't use emergency lights (blue lights) to drop people home!!!!

lots of paramedics turn off the siren on big national roads as most drivers don't hear them.

the paramedic was, more than likely in a hurry, with a sick patient, but probably did not feel safe forcing drivers to do anything unsafe. or maybe he did not feel safe passing at that point, espesially since an ambulance is just a small truck, with rubbish exeleration.

you don't have to pull in for any emergency vehicle ever if you don't want to, but equally: a paramedic does not have to drive dangerously.

Pal

Let them pass.

Because there are no 'lights' (ambulance speak), doesn't mean anything.
The person inside might be just as ill.
The ambulance also needs to be immediately available so do the right thing and get out of its way.

'Lights' are a last resort and use is restricted.

Canis Lupus

I have been waiting 5 years for some clarification on this topic.....

Caoimhín

seamus wrote: »

Some people don't seem to realise that an ambulance with no sirens on is just a vehicle. I've had people slam on in the middle of junctions to allow a right-turning ambulance to go (without any lights or sirens on). :rolleyes:

Life is awful hard Seamus.

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