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Is it me?...
It seems like there are a lot of people on the road today who do not know what to do when a vehicle with red lights and siren approaches.
Not long ago I was responding to a MVA (lights, siren) on a four-lane highway, passing a car on the left (who did NOT pull over) when a car coming the other way did the same thing and just about hit me head on!
Also this summer, I was driving an ambulance with CPR going on in the back, long trip to the ER, etc. Two morons in pickups towing trailers thought it was OK to slow down and pull halfway off the road. Now, on a two lane highway with blind curves and hills, this was just about the same as not pulling over at all.
How about it - is it just me or is there an epidemic out there?
Not long ago I was responding to a MVA (lights, siren) on a four-lane highway, passing a car on the left (who did NOT pull over) when a car coming the other way did the same thing and just about hit me head on!
Also this summer, I was driving an ambulance with CPR going on in the back, long trip to the ER, etc. Two morons in pickups towing trailers thought it was OK to slow down and pull halfway off the road. Now, on a two lane highway with blind curves and hills, this was just about the same as not pulling over at all.
How about it - is it just me or is there an epidemic out there?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Terry Lambert on
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No, it is not just you. I have run into the same problem. I have even had the individual with the windows up, and the musice blasting to where I could hear it, not pull over.
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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Its a common problem for some, but thankfully not all. the worst is when you have cars that wait until the corner to pull over, both at the same time. Or when you have 2 cars and the front car pulls over and the back car guns it and drives around the first one.
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Permalink Reply by Huw Jones on
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We have the same problem, but it is not only cars and pick ups but gravel trucks, both dump and tandem. I had the distinct pleasure of having to try to turn one who hadn't let us past around at the scene of the MVC. The driver barely spoke English, couldn't drive on any other route but the one that he knew as he couldn't read the road signs so he was intent on driving his rig through the scene, Until that is I sicked the cops on him. Told the cops how helpfull the driver was pulling out of our way, Guy was still there when we left. Hope he got nailed.
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Permalink Reply by firefighter444 on
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no its not just you we have that same problem day after day
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Permalink Reply by Dan Horton on
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We were working a minor injury accident alongside the 4-lane last night, some were hauling through the scene while others were slowing down to rubberneck. Just about had a rear-ender at one point. People are stupid and when you put lights and sirens out there..thier IQ's drop.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Well tonight I had a cross-county run. I used my new secret weapon: headlight flashers. EVERYONE pulled over.
Someone told me that the more your vehicle looks like a police car, the more people will pull over. Maybe there is something to that after all.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin King on
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Those kind are everywhere mate
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Permalink Reply by turk182 on
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I think they should make it a law that you have to pull over for fire,ems,police or you can get a fine. All we should have to do is call in their plate number and they get a suprise in the mail.
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Thats the law here if you dont yield for emergency vehicles you are subject to fines and loss of points
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Permalink Reply by SMOKEnPipesJim on
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1) people are morons.. 2) with stereos powerfull enough to remove paint, youdont actually think theyhear you do you? 3) even though we have had a LAW in place for a couple years about the use of Cell phones without handsfree devices I see at least 3 or 4 MORONs breaking "some Motor vehicle law in my state a Day because they have a cell phone in they're hand... much less seatbelt laws etc, etc... I used to drive truck, and have seen people commuting in bumper to bumper traffic (moving but slow, READING the Morning paper while driving....Think about that one eh? Used to see State police posted in various places along the highway these days ITs as If we have No state police force at all..youcan drive back and forth across the state and never see a single "speed trap" much less one doing "safety slow down/ Tactical parking" IN todays world IF YOU are driving the apparatus with redi or other color legal in your state and audible devices operating, YOU'd Better OBEY your traffic laws or you will get castrated in court when those MORONS cause youto kill someone .
recentlly, One of our ladders was responding 3rd rig out of the same station which is located along a river the street bridge is closed so effectively its a dead end off the ramp right to a traffic light , up a hill, With a traffic device operating to change the light, the truck proceeded to the light , stopped and looked both ways as the green operated for them, two lanes right were stopped and two lanes left stopped, no oncomming traffic at all, theybegan to preceed Up the hill were about 20 feet into the intersectionwhen a mini van operating southbound made its way AROUND stopped cars, and was struck on the officers side front corner , the officer was not injured however the woman driving was pinned and died enroute to the hospital Given the Apparatus was starting from a dead stop, going uphill, how "fast" was the first question, but lets be realistic in any case its the force... even though traffic signal devices, warning lights and audible (Q2) were all being utilized this woman chose to ignore all common sense by passing stopped traffic lanes using a sidewalk to go around vehicles , which is fairly common practicesIn a couple areas of my City.... People DONT CARE, this means you Have to work 4 times harder.... Making a LAW is useless there are LAWS in place... People regularly are found operating after multiple suspensions the Legal system needs to actually DO something, but they dont....
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in my area the lights and sirens are called curtousy devices because no one has to pull over for you and we have to stop at all stop signs and lights and wait for them to turn green. and your right the radios thye have now adays and the quit interiors make it harder for drivers to hear you coming anyway. and as i stated in another post my department was responding to a structure fire lights and siren going we had just stopped at a stop signand started to pull out from it and got about 20 feet and a high school kid was speeding crossed the center line and we swerved to the right to try to get off the road to avoid him but he hit us head on. he had a five gallon gas can in the rear of his car for a gas tank, no licsense, and no insurance. five fire fighters injured and he died on impact and they were trying to make the fire department out to be the bad guys in the paper.
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Well in New York the V&T law clearly specifies what to do on the approach to authorized emergency vehicles. These include police cars, fire chiefs, fire apparatus, ambulances and others displaying red light and operating a siren. You must pull over and stop regardless of direction of travel. I don't know what the penalty is for not, but probably at least a ticket.
Another recent experience I had, I was trying to get a moron to pull over on a 2-lane stretch with traffic both directions. There was no radio, stereo, cell phone or anything distracting him. There was more than enough shoulder to pull over. He repeatedly looked in the mirrors at me. I had rooftop beacon, grill lights and the siren playing every tune it could, but he would not pull over.
It was either: "Gee, I wonder what that noise is, and that car behind me has those pretty flashing lights". Or: "%&^* him, he's just one of those &^%&% volunteer fireman wanting to get some place in a hurry. I'M DRIVING HERE and I ain't gonna pull over for anyone unless it's a cop".
I vote for the second case given the driver's body language. It ties in with the woman who unfortunately learned the hard way that you need to yield the right of way. The attitude seems to be "what I'm doing is more important than what anyone else is doing anywhere, so I don't have to obey the rules".
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