Driver Training

Decision driving

BLUE LIGHTS and TWO TONE HORNS

It’s not unusual to be driving along, minding your own business when you’re ‘suddenly’ confronted with the appearance of an emergency vehicle – lights flashing, sirens blaring. So what do you do?

Of course, our first instinct is to get out of the way as quickly as possible to let the vehicle pass – and this is what most of us would try and do, almost without thinking about it and therein lies the problem. Some drivers, unfortunately, over-react when an emergency service vehicle approaches on blues ‘n’ twos. This over-reaction is often caused because they are taken by surprise, they do not hear or see the emergency vehicles approach until it’s very close, then they tend to take drastic action to get out of the way. Bump up kerbs stop their vehicle without thinking and block completely the emergency vehicles progress maybe even jump red lights or even crash or cause one.

So what is it the right thing to do, what is the correct Decision? Do you stay where you are? Do you move? Do you stop? Do you keep going?

First things first… There are many different types of emergency vehicles, not just the usual three that we tend to think of in relation to the emergency number ‘999’ or ‘112’.

‘Blues and Twos’ – the blue flashing lights and two-tone sirens that the Emergency Services in the UK use when responding to an incident are used by various emergency services including:           

• Fire
• Police
• Ambulance Services (Private & NHS)
• Mines Rescue Service
• Mountain Rescue Teams
• Coastguard Service
• Bomb Disposal Teams
• National Blood Service
• Vehicles transporting human tissue for transplant
• Vehicles used to launch Life Boats, RNLI

The Highway Code states that you should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police cars, and any other emergency vehicles, whenever you are using the road. There may be lights that flash red, blue or green, flashing headlights and loud sirens indicating emergency services, or in the case of Incident Support vehicles or Highways Agency Traffic officers, flashing amber lights.

If you are approaching a roundabout and you see an emergency vehicle approaching, you should wait for it to reach, navigate and leave the roundabout before you continue.

The important thing to remember at this point is not to panic.

When you have identified the vehicle and its location, then look around you, consider the route that the vehicle will try to take, and then take appropriate action to let it pass, without contravening any traffic signs or laws.

If you can pull over to the side of the road and safely stop, then this is what you should do, indicating your intention to the other road users around you as necessary. However you should avoid stopping on or near a hill, a bend, a section of the road that narrows or any other potentially dangerous area.

Most importantly, do not put yourself, passengers, other road users including pedestrians in danger - do not mount the kerb unless you absolutely have to, and even then, only if you are certain there are no pedestrians in the area.

If you 'slam on' your brakes, or stop suddenly on a junction or roundabout you may well end up in the middle of an incident yourself. Please don’t think that you need to get out of the way no matter what.

Emergency vehicle drivers are specially trained and have exemptions to the law that you don't have, so you should not go through red lights or speed to allow them to pass. To do so could be dangerous and if caught, it probably would not help your defence if you said that you broke the law to allow an emergency vehicle to get past. The best thing you can do is to try and remove yourself calmly and carefully from the path of the emergency vehicle, taking care to note what other drivers/road users around you are doing, and making sure that the path you are taking is a safe one.

Above all, remember that regardless of the presence of the emergency vehicle, you are ultimately responsible for your actions on the road – you should get out of the way when it is safe and appropriate for you to do so without contravening any road laws, or endangering yourself or anyone around you.

Regular mirror checks (side and rear) for example and keeping the audio system down slightly, so you can hear sirens approaching should alert you early to the presence of emergency vehicles.

Please don’t panic and just brake. It’s natural to want to react. But instinctively putting your brakes on immediately in front of an emergency vehicle doesn’t help: it slows the progress of the emergency vehicle and could jeopardise both yourself and other road users.

Think about where you are on the road. You should deal with the problem in the same way that you deal with any other potentially hazardous driving situation. Ask yourself… What is the safest option available to you?

Avoid crossing red traffic lights or speeding to get out of the way. Remember the emergency driver has training and legal exemptions that you don’t have. Bus lanes and box junctions can be problems too, but let them resolve the problem of breaking any rules – not you.

If you are moving it may well be that you can continue at a reasonable pace and the emergency vehicle can follow you out of a pocket of congestion such as a blocked one way system or when overtaking a bunch of vehicles on a motorway. In those scenarios, attempting to pull over too soon, or slowing down, might just cause a needless obstruction and so hamper the progress of the emergency vehicle. Whatever the situation Look, Assess and then Decide the best course of action.

Indicate your intentions clearly Please don’t pull in opposite other obstructions, such as centre bollards. If you are thinking about pulling over across an entrance to a school, office block or factory, you may be unwittingly preventing the emergency vehicle reaching its destination. And do think about where you are asking the emergency driver to overtake you – on the brow of a hill or a blind bend can be placing him or her in a very difficult position.

So to summarise:

·        Get out of the way as soon as you can do so safely.

·        Be aware. If you are playing music in your car, make sure you could still hear sirens. Watch your mirrors for signs of flashing blue lights.

·        Avoid panic – staying calm will be ultimately more helpful to all involved than panicking

·        Pull in as long as it is safe for you to do so. Look out of cyclists, pedestrians, other road users and use your signals where necessary to show the other drivers/road users what you intend to do.

·        Leave a gap large enough for the emergency vehicle to pass through

·        Check there are no more vehicles coming before you continue – there may be more than one going to the same incident. Fire & Police... Police & Ambulance... Fire, Police & Ambulance for instance 

·        Wait until it is safe to do so, then indicate as necessary and rejoin your route.

While using blue lights, emergency vehicle drivers are exempt  from a number of motoring regulations, they may:

• treat a red traffic light as a give way sign
• pass to the wrong side of a keep left bollard
• drive on a motorway hard shoulder (even against the direction of traffic)
• disobey the speed limit (police, fire and ambulance services only)

However, they are not allowed to

• ignore a 'no entry' sign
• ignore a 'stop' or 'give way' sign
• drive the wrong way down a one-way street
• ignore flashing signs at level crossings or fire stations
• cross a solid white line down the middle of the road*

*except in the same circumstances as everyone else (for instance to pass a stationary vehicle, slow moving cyclist or horse, or a road maintenance vehicle). This can cause problems for emergency drivers when other road users slow to let them pass where road markings indicate no crossing or straddling.

Sometimes emergency vehicles may need to disobey other signs and regulations. This will depend on the professional judgement of the driver.

The times when blue flashing lights are used:

•         at the scene of an emergency

•         responding to an emergency

•         wanting to let people know they are there

•         wanting to let people know that there is a hazard on the road

The times when amber flashing lights are used:

•         at the scene of an emergency

•         wanting to let people know they are there

•         at or near an accident or broken-down vehicle

•         towing a broken-down vehicle

•         escorting a very long or wide vehicle (below 25 mph, unless you are in an abnormal load escort vehicle)

•         have special authority

The times when green flashing lights are used:

•         use of vehicle for an emergency and a doctor is on board

Most importantly in all of this - keep your head, and try to be as little trouble to the emergency vehicle driver as possible, one day you may need their help yourself.