Revealed, how motorists could be fined for paving way for emergency ambulance

How surprising it is for one to find him/herself found wanting for trying to pave the way for an emergency.

Rule 219 says: ”You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens, or flashing headlights, or traffic officer and incident support vehicles using flashing amber lights."

“When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs.

“If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road.

“Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb.

“Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.”

The traffic rule also instructs motorists not to ignore street signs and pay attention to road around them.

Entering a bus lane or running a red light to get out of the way of an ambulance or emergency service vehicle could land you a fee.

This has been confirmed by Blue Light Aware, the public could be fined if they use the wrong way to let 999 vehicles pass. Stating that drivers of police cars, fire engines, and ambulances have been trained to avoid situations that could lead to such occuring.

Its website said: “That’s why, on most occasions, an emergency vehicle needing to make progress across a traffic light junction would not put itself behind another vehicle in the traffic light queue, but would, where the road layout and traffic conditions permit, move out to present itself and its intention to cross the junction.

“Of course, there will be times when there simply is no room for an emergency service vehicle to get past, or perhaps its crew are activated by their control room to respond to an emergency while they are waiting with everyone else at the traffic lights.

“On these occasions, they know that other motorists are not allowed to ‘jump’ the red light, and the emergency vehicle would ideally not activate its sirens and lights until it was safe for the vehicle in front to cross the solid white line at the junction.

“On the (hopefully) rare occasions that a blue light vehicle, in ’emergency mode’, is sitting behind another vehicle at a red traffic light, it’s important to appreciate that it would be both very dangerous and illegal for the other vehicle to move across the solid white line.

“The exception to this is that a uniformed police officer can direct a motorist through a red traffic signal.”