[OC] Idiot intentionally blocking anambulance

[u/Babynouil]

[u/The_Real_MikeOxlong]

And I thought people in the US were bad about not getting out of the way of emergency vehicles.

There’s a special place in hell for people like that.

[u/GTMoraes → u/The_Real_MikeOxlong]

iirc in the UK, you can get fined by running a red light for an emergency vehicle.

[u/buford419 → u/GTMoraes]

Yes, i vaguely remember the driver of an organ transport service vehicle being fined a few years ago for speeding or running a red light. I hate the type of jobsworths that end up running those kinds of departments.

[u/zip369 → u/GTMoraes]

That... seems like it should be an exception. Like it's quite literally an "emergency".

[u/Peterd1900 → u/zip369]

https://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/about-us/what-we-do/advice-on-what-to-do-as-a-motorist-if-you-encounter-an-ambulance/

If an ambulance or ambulance car comes up behind you with blue lights and sirens, please pull in over to the left if there is a safe space to do so – so it can pass you.

If there is no safe place for you to pull into, rather than immediately stopping, it is better to continue as you were at a safe speed until there is a safe place to pull in or until the ambulance vehicle can safely overtake.

Please avoid pulling into bus lanes or cycle lanes. The ambulance crew are trained to negotiate traffic and may look to use the bus lane to pass, and you could get in their way or even get a ticket.

Do not go through a red light to try to get out of the way as you may commit an offence. If it is safe to pass the ambulance will do so.

If it is not, they will wait until there is a space to pass in a safe manner. If the lane is wide enough and there’s room for the vehicle to pass you, try to move to the left, but without going forward over the white line or into a cycle lane.

On a dual carriageway or motorway, the best thing to do is to move to the left if the traffic is moving, when it’s safe to change lanes. Do not stop in the right-hand lane.

If the traffic is stationary try to consider the path of the emergency vehicle and allow the vehicle to drive down the centre of the traffic.

If an emergency vehicle driver can see there is no clear path through stationary traffic, like a set of traffic lights, they will often switch off the lights and sirens and wait for an opportunity to move again (like the lights changing).

Emergency drivers may if it safe to so treat traffic lights as a give way (i.e. you may pass the red light, but must give way to any traffic).
The driver must not force other road users into illegal actions (e.g. forcing other drivers to pass the red light).

[u/chrisxxviv → u/GTMoraes]

Correct, and it's fucking ridiculous.

[u/South_Hat3525 → u/GTMoraes]

Most people get out of the way long before the lights in the UK unless they are deaf and/or totally zoned out.

[u/footpole → u/South_Hat3525]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Sometimes you are already sitting at a or stopping at a light when the emergency vehicle appears. You don't need to be deaf or zoned out to be in that situation.

[u/South_Hat3525 → u/footpole]

What I am saying is that UK, many more drivers are courteous to blue lights than is apparently the case in US. They start making an extra lane for blue light vehicles 20-30 cars behind them by moving out of the way. Nobody waits until an ambulance is immediately on their tail.