Ambulance behind, red light, what's your move?

cormie

Caught this the other day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnMv0ZaYhgA

Pretty shocking in my own view, if that was me, I'd be slowly pulling into the oncoming traffic (even though there was absolutely no need and the small car could have just pulled a little left). I know it would technically be breaking the law and breaking a red light, but I think it's worth it in the case where somebodies life could be in danger due to vital seconds.

christmas2012

still risky move if the guards were around i dunno..

clappyhappy

Should have moved, bit irresponsible in my view. The other car really pulled out of the way.

corktina

Id have broken the lights without hesitation...no Gard would do you for it.

Alanstrainor

Silly driving is what that is, I would have broken the lights.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

christmas2012 wrote: »

still risky move if the guards were around i dunno..

true. the garda can do you for running a red light even though your doing something good

but I'd hate to think of what's in the back of the ambulance.

I've being in the situation before like that on a three way junction but I pulled out and over to th left against the herb to let it by but had to keep going once it passed me to not block the junction much.

I guess it could depend on the garda but I reckon most would probably appreciate you getting out if the way even if it us illegal.

CiniO

It's really shocking.

qz

Other driver to the right of the ambulance (from the ambulance's point of view) had it right - get the fcuk out of the way.

stoneill

Is that Newlands Cross? - plenty of room at the lights there to pull out of the way without being in the flow of cross traffic.

OldmanMondeo

The Ka (i think) should have pulled in front of the jeep, then the ambulance would have got through. I had a similar instance a few weeks ago, I was on the right had side waiting for lights to let me proceed straight, traffic on left was for turning left, I pulled in front of the first car on left and let ambulance continue. Soon as light changed I was able to get back into the correct lane no problem.

Some people just don't think.

It certainly looks from the angle that there was plenty of room for the car to get out of the way without putting itself in the path of traffic coming from its left.

Regardless, I would have broken the red light. For some reason I have hearing very sensitive to sirens, I hear them for ages so I usually look in my mirrors and have anticipated what move I need to make before the vehicle is on top of me. I've seen some awful gobshytes panicking and actually hindering instead of helping ambulances.

eringobragh

Common sense really should prevail here :mad:

Big Nasty

Where do ya get them curved wipers from cormie?

dr.fuzzenstein

corktina wrote: »

Id have broken the lights without hesitation...no Gard would do you for it.

Absolutely. The question is, do I obey the exact letter of the law, or do I move out of the way in any way I can to let the ambulance through.
The law was created to serve the people, not the other way round. As soon as the law becomes more important than people, you have a farce, like the lifeguard who was sacked for saving a drowning man.
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/lifeguard-sacked-after-saving-drowning-man-outside-his-beach-patrol-3159866.html
That should remind us that in the end people have to be more important than the letter of the law.
Anyone would have to ask themselves the question "would I break the law to save a life?". If people started answering "no", we are in big trouble.

Of course there's always the possibility that the driver just froze with terror, I have seen it, a traffic jam in Germany with an ambulance trying to get through and an elderly driver had to be pushed out of the way by other drivers, because he was completely frozen stiff behind the wheel and unable to do anything.

cormie

Custom designed to be shaped like the V in VanTasks :P or maybe it's the fish eye playing tricks again

Stinicker

The driver should have just turned right out of the ambulances way, surely the traffic approaching from his left would have seen it and left him go, even if there was a guard nearby and he was thick enough to summons the driver for it, No judge would ever convict him for doing the morally right thing.

Nissan doctor

There is not reason that the car couldn't have moved forward enough to clear space for the ambulance and there is no intelligent cop who will do you for moving a cars length over the line to allow an ambulance through.


A few years back I did just that in front of a Garda car. they were beside me and had a couple of cars behind them, I had none behind me so the ambulance came into my lane. I just pulled across the line in front of the Garda car. In that situation I was never worried that they would pull me.

Pulling away and going through the junction, as mentioned above, would be daft as you are putting yourself and others in danger. There is no danger in just moving forward or across to let the ambulance past.

Mycroft H

That driver needs a good smacking. There is plenty of room to nudge a bit forward and let the ambulance thorough. Trying to rush to Tallaght Hosp by the looks of things. There needs to be a law to make it an offence to obstruct an emergency vehicle.

cormie

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Pulling away and going through the junction, as mentioned above, would be daft as you are putting yourself and others in danger. There is no danger in just moving forward or across to let the ambulance past.

I think as long as the oncoming drivers realise what's going on this is the best action to take in a situation where there's a number of cars behind you and no other option but to go straight on along with a few more cars with each pulling in to let the ambulance pass, then going through the junction so you're not all causing an obstruction for the other cars. Again, I'd have no problem nudging forward to let other oncoming cars realise what's intended...

Ghost Train

Looks like car could have pulled out and to the left a bit safely enough, even moving a few feet forward would have done it. Can understand somebody freezing a bit but not for so long with the ambulance right behind

Stheno

That's madness altogether, like another poster I hear sirens ages before they appear, so I'm always looking to see if they are coming up near me.

No reason that car couldn't have safely moved.

Stoolbend

As harsh as it sounds, the driver did the right thing.

That's a busy junction and you can't just drive into the path of oncoming traffic in the hope that they can react to you and the ambulance.

I'm all for getting out of the way when its safe to do so.

Blue lights alert traffic to the ambulance, but they do not give them the right to put other drivers in danger.
Legally they're not allowed to speed or break red lights.

Edit. There was only two cars in the right lane when the ambulance came to a stop. Nothing stopping them safely reversing to make room for the ambulance without putting anyone else in danger.

Alanstrainor

Stoolbend wrote: »

As harsh as it sounds, the driver did the right thing.

That's a busy junction and you can't just drive into the path of oncoming traffic in the hope that they can react to you and the ambulance.

I'm all for getting out of the way when its safe to do so.

Blue lights alert traffic to the ambulance, but they do not give them the right to put other drivers in danger.
Legally they're not allowed to speed or break red lights.

Come on, no one was expecting them to pull out into the middle of traffic, there is plenty of space to manoeuvre forward and to the side to allow the ambulance space to pass.

Bruthal

Stoolbend wrote: »

As harsh as it sounds, the driver did the right thing.

Only incompetent driver`s would think that. No shortage of them on our roads.

That's a busy junction and you can't just drive into the path of oncoming traffic in the hope that they can react to you and the ambulance.

You dont take off through the lights as if they are green, and hope the other traffic reacts. You ease you`re way forward to assist the ambulance through, and maybe the other traffic may see whats going on. You obviously dont see that as possible, so will think its not.

I'm all for getting out of the way when its safe to do so.

Blue lights alert traffic to the ambulance, but they do not give them the right to put other drivers in danger.
Legally they're not allowed to speed or break red lights.

Common sense was mentioned earlier in the thread. Its a pity its so rare.

fasttalkerchat

Same thing happened me before. I put on the hazards and hit the horn a few times and drove on. Once I got through the junction I pulled up onto the kerb to let the ambulance pass.

dr.fuzzenstein

Stoolbend wrote: »

As harsh as it sounds, the driver did the right thing.

Disagree, he did obey the letter of the law, but morally speaking it was wrong.
The person in the back of the ambulance could have internal haemorrhaging and every second to get him to hospital counts.
As I said before, there's following the letter of the law (As Ivor Callely did) and doing the right thing.
The law cannot ever be more important than the people, because the law serves the people, not the other way around.

Stoolbend

Give way if its safe to do so. Driving into a busy junction isn't safe.

If the corsa nudged forward and got clipped by someone, everyone would be saying how crazy they were.

fasttalkerchat

Stoolbend wrote: »

Give way if its safe to do so. Driving into a busy junction isn't safe.

If the corsa nudged forward and got clipped by someone, everyone would be saying how crazy they were.

If you sound the horn a few times and wait until traffic stops you will be relatively safe. The person in the back of the ambulance is clearly not safe if they need you to drive into traffic.

Stoolbend

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Same thing happened me before. I put on the hazards and hit the horn a few times and drove on. Once I got through the junction I pulled up onto the kerb to let the ambulance pass.

So putting everybody else in the junction in danger is more important than the person in the ambulance?

bmstuff

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Disagree, he did obey the letter of the law, but morally speaking it was wrong.
.

It is not even a moral issue, it is the law to give way to emergency vehicles. End of.
It would have been the Garda behind the guy would have moved or would have been moved.
This driver should not be on the road period.

bmstuff

Stoolbend wrote: »

So putting everybody else in the junction in danger is more important than the person in the ambulance?

Nobody asked him to drive in the middle of the junction, just to give way to the emergency vehicle. Once the ambulance would have moved forward, everybody would have given way...well in theory