Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Tuesday Tip - Move to the Right for Sirens and Lights

CVC 21806 requires drivers to yield to authorized emergency vehicles. Police, Fire, Medics, and Forestry are the most common in our City, but any authorized emergency vehicle displaying at least a solid red light and a siren as needed, shall be yielded to on the road. What does this mean? The CVC is specific in saying that drivers shall not only yield, or in other words "get out of the way", but shall pull toward the right side of the road and stop. Hence the saying, "Move to the Right for Sirens and Lights".

- Don't panic!
- Don't stop in the middle of the road!
- Do pull to the right safely!
- Do remain stopped until the emergency vehicle has passed!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What if you're in the middle of the intersection when the emergency vehicle approaches?

APD Sarge said...

That would all depend on the circumstances at the time. If it is safe, you should complete your turn and pull to the right. On the other hand, if the emergency vehicle is suddenly on top of you because you did not see or hear it, remain stopped until you see where the emergency vehicle is going. Many times the driver will give direction to you via the PA on the unit or pull behind you hitting the air horn. Follow their direction or pull out of the way safely. One of the biggest problems that we have is people simply stopping in a lane of traffic or pulling to the left (center) and stopping.