What do you do when an emergency vehicle comes up behind you?
 

What do you do when an emergency vehicle on a call comes up behind you while driving?
The reason why i asked is i was watching a programme following an ambulance team who were impeded by a car with foreign plates, the voice-over explained that in the country the car was from they are meant to keep in lane and let the emergecy car weave through the traffic while in the UK we get out of their way (which can be quite amusing as we only have quite thin roads and its not unusual to see a whole row of cars mounting the curbs to let the emergency car pass). Whats the rule in your country?

US it's pull to the side of the road.

Race them

I live my life one quarter-mile at a time. Deal with it

In Scotland we pull over and let it pass, same in Canada but it can be hectic at times, especially since people here are bad drivers and all stop together leaving people in the outside lane nowhere to go or stop.

I get out of the way.
While most people in the US say "pull to the right", and many people stop on the right shoulder one ambulance driver told me that annoys the heck out of him. Just get put of the way, he said. If you stop, that stops the person behind you and the one behind them, which is the ambulance. Don't create a traffic jam trying to move immediately to the right and stop when you could speed up slightly and get out of the way, the driver said.

Most people at least slow down because its not exactly safe running 70mph on the shoulder of the road.

Pull over automatically.could be me in the future and respect them

I pull off to the side :thumbsup

I can't pull over any farther!!!!!

Certainly you don't want to be hauling ass down the shoulder. You also normally don't want to stop in the right lane, because as cars pile up behind you that leaves no room for drivers in the left lane to move over. Similarly if you are alone in the left lane, move to the right to get out of the way, including if you have to speed up in order to get over. Stopping in the left lane only blocks the way, but you see people do it all the time.

Get out of the way. Its even ok to speed up if that is what it takes. A cop won't ticket you if you're doing it to yield to the ambulance.

True story: I was brought to the hospital by ambulance tonight. Second time ever.

Btw I just checked a couple of state laws out of curiousity. Oklahoma, for example, says don't stop on an interstate and if you're stopped at a red light you can run the light to get out of the way (if it's safe to do so). Otherwise, get out of the way by pulling to the right and stopping. Also watch for additional emergency vehicles - it's likely there's another one behind the first.

don't mess with an ambulance or fire truck. get out of the way and don't make it worse for anyone else around you either.

I passed a firetruck before in france on my way to andorra... they are pretty slow driving in the mountains... no reason to stay behind them just because its an emergency vehicle

Indicate to let them know i am pulling over

Pull over and let them by was common when I was down in FL, but I've noticed up here in MA/CT that sometimes the drivers aren't so accommodating.

The system in the UK seems to have mutated into just stop. Exactly where you are even if by doing so you cause grid lock and no one, least of all the ambulance can get through. Don't think, don't pull to the side, don't even look around to see where the siren is coming from, just stop dead as soon as you hear the sound.

I've seen ambulances with driver and para-medic both waving frantically at some fucktard who's stopped just in front of them - with miles of open road on front of his car - but the car has stopped EXACTLY on a pedestrian crossing so the bollards and street lights mean they can't drive around.

London has become even more tricky as pulling into a bus lane to let the cops past isn't an excuse - you still get the fine - so most smart Londoners now no longer pull over even if they could.

The other night, I watched a car stop dead in a single lane, on a bend, with traffic coming in the other direction because an ambulance was behind her. The ambulance had to wait until the traffic on the other side of the road had passed.

Some people either panic or just don't have a clue when it comes to dealing with emergency vehicles.

Bus lane cameras seem to mean nobody will pull into a bus lane out of the way here - and also that people end up so frightened of bus lanes they don't even use them when they are within the time of day the sign says you can. Traffic light cameras seem to be the biggest obstacle to ambulances locally.

we get out of their way.,

As you know, we in the UK are just supposed to move out the way. When I first started driving in LA, I didnt know you were supposed to stop!


The girl in the car with me was freaking out and yelling Stop ! Stop ! and I'm like... Nahhh... Its cool, they can get by... Plus as all these other people appear to have stopped, I can get a jump on the journey :)

slow down and pull over safely, there's no reason to slam on the breaks and cause a pile up just because there's an ambulance behind you

You speed up or slow down to help them

Remove her head from my lap and zip up fast.

Get the fuck out of the way and slow/stop until they pass

Here in the mountains we locals pull over and try to get off the road. When I am in Florida it is a free for all.

It is expected to let people merge in as well, not tailgate etc. I love driving here.

I pull onto the shoulder and let them pass.

I did have a situation a couple of weeks ago where both my car and the ambulance were on a narrow one lane exit. I punched it on the exit and pulled over onto the shoulder when it was safe to do so.

same here.

doing the same.