Is it just me that feels very uncomfortable when i see blue lights coming up behind?No not because i am guilty,because you know you got to get out the way which might not be that easy.I was driving a van through a village recently and a police car came up behind but i didnt know what to do,i couldnt go on to a pavement etc and i thought if i speed up i am going to get done,so i slowed down slowing the police down too,he could not overtake because of parked cars,i was panicking,i then managed to pull aside in a lay by to get the police slow down next to me and give me the most disgusting evil face I wanted to shout out the window,well dont sit on my arse then!If only i had a pair of balls that day.

 

You don't! It is not the law, I only learnt this about 2 weeks ago, think it was "tabetha" that pointed it out.

 

If you cant pull over, the best thing to do is keep going at a steady speed until you can.
Its people dithering about that annoys them most I would imagine

 

i carry on as normal and, if it is safe to do so, pull over

otherwise they have plenty of places where they can overtake and they should be judging when it is safe to do so

i'm not like a lot of peole who, when they see a set of blue lights in the background just stop in the middle of the road like usless cunts and gridlock the place

i won't try and get in the way deliberatly, nor will i try and obstruct their path, but soemtimes they do drive as if it's a matter of life and death when they really just want to get to their doughtnut

one other thing i have noticed is that, as of late, they put the lights on, but don't use as much siren u nles it's at a junction, where as abulmances and fire engiens have them on much more often, any reason why?

 

i think for them its just frustration, their trying to get to a call as quickly as possible (which they never seem to do when you call them funny that eh) when they get stuck in traffic their natrally going to get annoyed about it.

but the fact remains that you can't break the law to move out the way for them so you just have to do it when you feel you can do safely, if they have a problem with that then they'll have to take it up with the system their working for.

 

I think Dojj in my situation i didnt have time to think on what to do because the radio was on and the car just appeared on my bumper,i knew i had to let the police past but couldnt see how.

 

I think police will be different to other emergency services, as they are qualified to direct traffic - and are directing you out of the way.
I know people jumping red lights for fire trucks etc has gone to court, and they've been done (bang out of order obviously) but never seen it for police, should think this is different.

If there's no where to pull over keep going, don't slow down - sometimes I toe it to find somewhere suitable.

Once in a lorry was following a woman with ambulance coming other way behind traffic - all we had to do was keep going then ambulance could overtake.
Woman did an emergency stop, and nearly needed the ambulance herself!
Stupid cunt.

 

The IAM issued a Press Release about this subject today:

Deciding what to do when you hear an emergency vehicle approaching can be a dilemma. Do you stay where you are and potentially block the progress of an emergency vehicle? Or do you move into a position that may put you or other road users at risk?

Unfortunately, some drivers over-react to emergency service vehicles travelling on "blues and twos" (blue lights and two-tone horns). This is often because they don't hear or see the emergency vehicle until it's too close, and then take drastic action to get out of the way.

The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) says that good driving practice will alert you early to emergency vehicles: regular mirror checks (side and rear) for example, and keeping the windows slightly down around town, so you can hear sirens approaching.

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 jeopardises 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. What is the safest option available to you?

Don't cross red traffic lights or speed to get out of the way. 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 the 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). In that scenario, attempting to pull over too soon, or slow down, might just cause a needless obstruction and so hamper the progress of the emergency vehicle.

Indicate your intentions clearly Don't pull in opposite other obstructions, such as centre bollards. If you are thinking about pulling over across an entrance to a school 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.

Get out of the way as soon as you can do so in safety.

 

I always pull over at the safest spot mind you so does the police man and proceeds to read me the riot act lol

 

Thats what it all boils down to

 

i always pull over sharpish for the fire and ambulance but if its the old bill i just carry on as normal

 

if this is the case and it's "offical2 then jim can print this out and take it with him to cuort

especially if it's been dated as being publichsed by them today, makes things even ebtter

 

I always make that little extra effort to move for ambulances and fire engines.

I find it amusing when you see people panic and mount the kerb no matter what speed they are doing

 

I never slow down, or do anything to hinder them, if I cant pull over then I just drive normally until I can pull over safely.
although once in my old red nova turbo I had them behind me on an a road with no turnings off of it, not enough room to pull over and too many cars for them to overtake really, so I just booted it off to get out of their way, I figured if they are doing something important enough to have the blues on they are too busy to do me for speeding anyway

 

He crossed red lights to get out of way, that tells you not to, so where's that helping him?

 

he was not aware that there were any "official" guidelines as to what to do when an emergency vehicle was behind you wil the full works going off in your ears

now that there is a definitive guide stating that you are not allowed to break the ruels of the road when attempting to move aside he will not do so in the future as the one time he did has landed him in all this trouble and difficulty

 

Ignorance is not a defense.

Benni.

 

in which case i would say "he was of the onion that by moving out of the way of the ambulance, he was potentially helping in the saving of the life of the person the ambulance was rushing to save the life of, after all, they would not put their blues and tows on if they were going to macdonalds would they"?

 

on the other hand, if he knows he's going to get fucked, i'd be tempted to say that there was an ice cream van behind him which he thought was an ambulance so he moved out of the way and the ice cream van man should be prosecuted for imporonasting an emergency vehicle

 

ROFL!

 

the ambulances play different music than mr softy don't they ?
it's 999 for emergency services
it's 99 for emergency icecream

 

if i came up behind you and starting twangling away, you'd think it was an ambulance as well if all you see is white in the rear view mirror

 

Dojj - Doesn't matter what you plead or say, can't go through red lights - end of, that simple.
Shit I know, but no getting away from it.

When I trained to be a driving instructor I brought this up with one of the trainers, he said you could go through as you were being directed to do so - blues and twos etc, so shows how fucked up it all is if a highly trained trainer thinks that, joe public has no chance.

 

dojj, good idea, maybe i just "thought" it was an ambulance and by the time i realised it wasn't it was too late to brake?

GENIOUS THAT MAN

 

directed to do so is when you have a copper standing there stopping traffic one way and waving you through

same with a bus and not being allowed legally to reverse on a public highway without a london transport official or a policeman as a banksman to guide you back

different people interpret the rules depending on what they think applies to them

 

the feeling generated by an emergency vehicle blasting you with the sirens is alarming and, given the suddeness you were left with but a split second to make a decision, brake and cause an accident, continue and allow the emergency vehicle to pass by safely

all be it it actually turned out to be an ice cream van

 

So if their in the car behind, blues and twos going, and gesturing you out of the way, what's the difference?

 

why do thickies who are going the opposite direction to an emergency vehicle, feel the need to pull over!

i saw a copper on the TV on about this and he said the way everyone pulls over in both directions causes them no end of trouble because it blocks the road and means they cant overtake. in most cases they can easily get past if people just keep on moving as they are.

 

if it is safe for you to prooceed then you can do so, if there is another car blockig your way or the ligths are red, you now know that it is illegal to cross the white line so you will have to wait there until they change

it's not you being an arsehole baout it, but the copper gesticulating at you isn't going to pay your fine or take your points if you should get caught on camera or reported

and if you are taken to court and reported for being a hindrance to a police officer in the enactment of his duties you can cite this as the case and no court in the land will prosecute you for this

can you imaguine the uproar it would cause if one law states you must allow the policeman through and yet, at the same time, you have to break another law to allow him to do so?

the justice system would be turned on it's head and you'd be walking away a millionaire when you took it to the highest courts in the land and europe

 

But the police are directing you.

 

they are behind you, and not stopping the traffic coming in the other direction allowing you to procced safely, but with caution, on your way through the junction

 

Directing is directing, is it not?

 

i wont mount a kerb for any coont at any speed.they are my fooking rims that will get bent.i'd rather speed and get done.

 

I was once on M1 near Sheffield in lane 3 due to medium/heavy traffic etc...i could see the wig wag flashers a decent distance behind me so i sped up to 110 for a short burst as i'd seen a gap in Lane2 i could pull over too, the cop gave me a little wave as though to say cheers for not causing him to brake.

 

I must say it was about 8 years ago, today he would probably have me on ANPR and id be banned

 

Signals to be given by authorised persons, as stated in the Highway Code.

It DOESN'T say you MUST obey these signals if given by someone in the car behind you.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...&Rendition=Web



.

 

im a fire brigade driver in london and we are taught when in heavy traffic to turn the sirens off if coming up to traffic lights so not to cause pannic and push people through the red lights.. some idiots do the most stupid things .. the worst is bikes trying to follow through heavy traffic.. some of our trucks are not worth pulling over for as they struggle to get to 30mph flat out and even slower up a hill.. people move out of the way far more for the police than they do for us...

 

ive done that before too

what REALLY fucks me off tho, is like what happened on wednesday somewhere in wales.

i was going accross a roundabout when a T5 volvo, fully marked came fucking carreering around the roundabout, looked like it was understeering too lol, tyre almost off the rim etc, but no lights on, infact, the cunt wasnt even indicating...

i was already in the process of pulling out, so i did. i then move over to the left as far as poss as it was quite a wide exit and he over takes me.

and then drives down the solid white lines int he middle of the road with his right indicator on, over taking another 3 cars with opposing traffic passing.

he then pulls in and sits on the arse of a mg zr for about a mile, touching the brakes every 5 seconds etc. and then turns right at the next roundabout...

no, if that was me, id have been stopped, finded £20 million, and sent to jail for 10 years.

but as it was a copper who is clearly above the law, he gets away with driving like a complete cunt....


rant over.

 

ps, whats the case with overtaking an ambulance that is flat out with the blues ant twos on, on the motorway?

one was doing approx 80 the other week and i passed at about a ton

if they had caught back up id have moved out the way etc, but they didnt

 

Same as passing anything else at that speed, illegal.
Can overtake what you like as long as it's SLN - safe, legal, and necessary.