Responding to emergency vehicles

Whether you're driving to work, to the shops or to visit a friend, the reality is, we often come into contact with the emergency services in one way shape or form. You're familiar with the scenario, when you're driving along a residential road or a dual carriageway. And you'll suddenly hear the faint sounds of sirens and spot the flashing lights out of the corner of your eye. In your rear view mirror you can see an emergency services vehicle approaching. What do you do next?

 

In our latest survey, thirty-five per cent of respondents admit that they don't know the rules on how to deal with an approaching emergency service vehicle. Here's some advice on how to avoid making any mistakes.

 

Do you panic? Do you follow the actions of the cars in front of you? It's easy to be startled a bit by the blearing sounds of the ambulance service vehicle but the key is tackling the situation calmly.

 

The first thing to do is use your mirrors to look at the space you have around your vehicle. This will help to you to work out the best action to take. Pull over to your left as soon as you can safely do so to give the services vehicle(s) enough room to pass with ease. Use your indicators to warn the road users around you as long it won't confuse them.

 

In the rush of the emergency services, we can often overlook that pulling into a bus lane, a yellow box or over a stop line at a red light could mean a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) so don't risk it. The emergency services vehicle drivers are all specially trained for dealing with emergencies. They'll know how to best to overcome a situation to get to their emergency as quickly as possible.

 

Don't pull over on kerbs, verges and pavements. You could put pedestrians or other road users at risk.

 

If there's one emergency service vehicle approaching, it is likely that there will be more to follow – so take your time to check before moving off.

 

Remember, emergency service vehicles need to get to the emergency as quickly and as safely as possible. Don't take any risks to help them progress to their destination.