Moving out of the way for emergency vehicles

[conned tractor]

Pull over and ruin my chances of slotting in behind the ambulance for a high speed dash through the traffic? - you must be joking. I'm there revving hard and ready to drop the clutch as soon as it passes me.

Well there is that.

[NotAllThere]

Greater Manchester Casualty Reduction Partnership said: "If the lights are red you are putting yourself in danger if you go through them."

Not necessarily. It depends on the road layout and positioning of the lights.

Who was it on Top Gear who was pulled over by the police on a blind corner of the slip road of a motorway for overtaking on the inside, and told he was driving dangerously. And was similarly put in a dangerous position and told he was driving dangerously in the US for doing something perfectly permissible in the UK.

Sometimes the law is an ass.

[VectraMan]

I was once stopped on a motorbike by a police motorbike. At first I just pulled over to let him past thinking he was off to an emergency call, but then he pulled alongside and pointed at the side of the road in no uncertain terms. So I stopped as quick as possible, and he said "do you have a licence for this vehicle?". I replied yes, and he said "so why would you stop in such a dangerous place?".

There's no pleasing some people.

If it was me I definitely would go through a red light if it was the only way to let an emergency vehicle through. I'd do it as carefully as possible, but I think potentially causing somebody's death just to obey the rules of the road to the letter is something that would weigh on my conscience.

[Addanc]

If, for example, I was sitting at a red light and an emergency vehicle came up behind at full blues and twos, do I get out of the way?

No, people have been nicked in the past for going through the red light to allow the emergency vehicle through.

[TimberWolf]

Anyone noticed some noisy vehicles have ecnalubma written on them? Is it Polish?

I'm not pulling over unless they have ran, ran or rac ecilop written on them

[NotAllThere]

On their way to Nodnol, presumably.

[conned tractor]

Here is a bit more legislation from the Emergency wokers (Obstruction) act 2006. Although not as cut dried as the prosecution for going over a red light, it 'can' be read that refusing to move is a prosecutable offence resulting in a 'fine' (every bloody crimanal act results in bloody fine lately) of a maximum of £5000.

Homeoffice circular link

Obstructing or hindering
23. The new offence will cover those who without reasonable excuse obstruct or hinder an emergency worker responding to emergency situations. The terms 'emergency worker' and 'emergency circumstances' are described above. Examples of obstruction might include parking where an emergency vehicle cannot get by and refusing to move, or damaging an emergency vehicle or equipment. Obstruction could include giving false information at the scene of an emergency, which would delay or mislead emergency workers. But it would not cover deliberate hoax calls, which are dealt with in other legislation.


Reasonable Excuse
26. It is important that the offence will not apply where the obstruction was inadvertent or unavoidable. The term 'reasonable excuse' will offer a defence to, for example, a person who is in a traffic jam, and causes an obstruction because he cannot get out of the way. Or the necessary road works which may delay an emergency vehicle. It will allow the court to take all the relevant circumstances into account in deciding what is 'reasonable.'

If someone died as a direct result of me holding up an ambulance at the lights would the court still see reasonable reason not to get out of the way as being held up by a red light - even if there is room before crossing the perpendicular traffic flow?

So, if I didn't get out of he way by refusing to disobey the traffic laws, would it be possible to then get convicted under this legislation?

Help, I'm possibly a criminal, whatever I do. Although this does seem the more ambigous of the two, but does carry more serious penalty.

[Amiga500]

On their way to Nodnol, presumably.

.etarucca erom eb dluow stihs gninihw spahrep rO .stiw gninihs eurt era uoy ,yllaer on ,ytiralih reehs ,ti tuoba ekoj a edam neht dna yaw taht txet eht desrever syug uoy yaw eht ,suoiralih yllaer s'tahT

[Spacecadet]

With regards to the red light cameras, if you move forward slightly, i.e. 1 and a bit car lengths at a slowish speed the radar probably won't detect it.

[NotAllThere]

.etarucca erom eb dluow stihs gninihw spahrep rO .stiw gninihs eurt era uoy ,yllaer on ,ytiralih reehs ,ti tuoba ekoj a edam neht dna yaw taht txet eht desrever syug uoy yaw eht ,suoiralih yllaer s'tahT

Go watch re-runs of Red Dwarf on Dave.