[Closed] Getting out of the way of ambulances and car damage

LOL this thread is going to be hilarious.

Now where's the popcorn.

😀

What would Singletrackworld have done

I'd have done exactly what you did.

you did the right thing. You got out of the way as soon as it was safe for you to do so.

Don't think you can ask for more than that. I bet the person in the back of the van was thankful that you got out of the way rather than holding them up.

surely its all about moving out of the way safely, which is what you did. ALways amazes me how people often just stop, pulled over slightly when they see/hear emergency vehicles even if they are miles back. I often think it would be less disruptive to keep on driving to a wider bit of road and then pull in

I have accelerated when an ambulance was behind me, when I was in the fast lane, loads of cars on my left. It was best solution, the ambulance passanger gave me a thumbs up as I pulled over after overtaking all the cars.

most people, IMO, would have frozen, slammed on the brakes and tried to pull over.

What you did and joined back in behind the ambulance again 😉

serves you right for having a

low slung German penis extension

Hold on, driving a low-slung German penis extension _AND_ worried about what people think of you when pushing through traffic?

Where is the real RandomJeremy and what have you done with him?

I drive an ambulance and I wince at the way people bang their cars up kerbs.... no prob with what you did if cant get up kerb.

I'd have done what I felt was best and then turned up the music so I couldn't hear anyone complaining.

This works in marriage too.

Sounds like you did the right thing and wgas what the hand gesturers think?

It's funny how people think that stopping is the only way to get out of the way of emergency vehicles! Only this morning I was in the left lane of a 3 lane roundabout, waiting for the lights to change.
A fire engine came up behind, in the (empty) right hand land just as the lights went green - about 3 of the cars in front of me suddenly swerved and stopped, mounted the kerb and caused much confusion! The fire engine had by now, flown past 2 lanes away and disappeared!
Morons!

(Ah, in the time it took me to type that , I see others may have already mentioned something similar! 🙂 )

I see lots of people holding up ambulances etc. by immediately stopping on hearing the sirens, when continuing on as they were doing would be far more helpful. I've jumped a red light before now as it was the only practical way I could get out of the way of a fire engine.

What would Singletrackworld have done?

abuse from nobs in cars

you should have followed the ambulance through the lot

Failing that use the NOYE technique

wgas what the hand gesturers think?

Drivers of low slung German penis extensions ?

ALways amazes me how people often just stop, pulled over slightly when they see/hear emergency vehicles even if they are miles back. I often think it would be less disruptive to keep on driving to a wider bit of road and then pull in

+1

[i] turned up the music so I couldn't hear anyone complaining.

This works in marriage too. [/i]

Blimey you're brave.

I imagine myself riding my favourite bit of singletrack and let it all wash over me. Stealth loud music, really.

It is often hilarious watching people's reactions as soon as they hear and see blues'n'twos. I figure you probably did the best you could in the situation. You'll have forgotten it all in the morning.

Stop with your car blocking the lane, put hazard flashers on, this means you can stop or park where you like, walk slowly to the ambulance, and ask the driver in a very loud aggressive voice, "JUST WHAT ELSE DID YOU GET FOR CHRISTMAS, AND IM TRYING TO LISTEN TO THE RADIO." other amusing coments would relate to the parentage of the driver, whats the big rush,raising a single finger etc etc.

try it next time and let us know the outcome.

For the termianlly thicjk the abovbe is not recomennded but probably does happen.

Interesting post - my old beast is sufficiently not-given-a-f***-about that I probably could have done the kerb climb, but I'd have been with all the people giving you the fingers as you went past. But given your side of the story, I don't know what else you could have done.

I would have done what the OP had done.

I've jumped a red light before now as it was the only practical way I could get out of the way of a fire engine.

I've heard horror stories about people getting points for this and not being able to have them taken off despite the circumstance. Any idea what the law says?

What would Singletrackworld have done?

abused you from the comfort of their - kerb munching - fatbikes

Thanks all, you've helped put my mind at rest. If I'd have been in my knackered old vectra I would have been straight up the kerb no worries, but no chance in the cock-extension.

woudl've done the same.

UK also needs to implement the same "rettungsgasse" (emergency) lane thing that they just implemented in Austria, on the motorways.

Instead of cars in jam trying to pull in from outside lane to let emergency vehicles down the outside, ALL cars in outside lane pull towards centre, and all other cars pull to inside, thereby creating a free space and not a carnage of somecars going one way, others going the other and others effectively blocking those trying to move out of the way.

Saw it on that cop programme on telly last night. complete chaos.

Chaos, I've heard/seen several stories in that vein. Just searched the BBC website, but can't find them yet. The bloke I remember did get stuck with the points though.

I've heard horror stories about people getting points for this and not being able to have them taken off despite the circumstance. Any idea what the law says?

The law is still the same whether or not an ambulance is behind you. You can get done for running a red light and some people have been, despite moving over fir emergency vehicles.

OP say you rammed it up the kerb then later on a suspension/link failed on that wheel in the motorway?

I've jumped a red light before now as it was the only practical way I could get out of the way of a fire engine.

I've heard horror stories about people getting points for this and not being able to have them taken off despite the circumstance. Any idea what the law says?

3 points on an otherwise 100% clean driving record for going through a red light for an ambulance in London, wouldn't do it again but couldn't be arsed arguing about it as prob deserved the points from other times anyway 😉

The law is still the same whether or not an ambulance is behind you. You can get done for running a red light and some people have been, despite moving over fir emergency vehicles.

I'm calling borrox on that.

my 3pts trump your borrox

Reckon I would have done the same.

The annoying part is when some wally decides to tailgate the emergency service vehicle through the path thats been cleared, meaning that everyone who has had to pull over to a safe place has to wait for them to come though as well.

my 3pts trump your borrox

You didn't tell them though did you (?), and they aren't psychic.

Given your choice of car, I suggest popular opinion isn't something that bothers you unduly.

The wife did this a few years back, except instead of mounting a curb, it was actually a divider between the main roadway and a side road / layby thing, with the side road being somewhat lower height than the roadway.

As a result, she ended up straddled across the two balanced on the underside of the car.

I had a 40 minute drive to get to her, then once I'd worked out what had happened (her description was less than factually useful, and punctuated by crying anyway, as she'd miscarried a few days earlier - was not a good time), I had to find a diy shop, buy some bricks, so I could jack the car up, put the bricks under the suspended side's wheels, drive it forward 6", move the back brick to the front..... and eventually get it off. It took hours from me leaving the house to us both being back home.

We both now pull over 'when safe to do so'

Sounds like you need to get a Chelsea tractor, they mount curbs as if they aren't even there!

So a TT or an R8, I can't think of any others?

My wife drove into a traffic island when turning right the other day, without any help from an Ambulance she a) acted shocked despite turning in stupidly early and b) acted offended when I was pissed off about it - I pay for the car, and the maintenance of said car and I love it too so as you can imagine i wasn't best pleased. She's normally a very good driver too so it's a bit unusual for her really.

hora - whats your car made of cheese.

I'd have done exactly as the OP did.

Most people have no idea what's coming up behind them, only the other day I was going along with a car really close behind as I was doing to biggest crime ever of keeping to the speed limit and behind the car behind me was a Ambulance On blues and twos.

This clown behind hadn't got a clue the ambo was approaching and I decided to indicate left in the Hope that she would check her mirrors, she then tried coming round me then must have spotted the ambo and swerved in like they do abandoning a car at the end of a police chase.

As we moved off, she started adjusting her interior mirror.....

I had a low car once and there was a fire and the hose was running across the road so had to drive over them ramp things and drop down.

As I approached the hose, the front bumper of my car wouldn't clear and I pushed the hose down the road 😯 the fire chief guy was not happy and a police man was upset as well because I was on a one way street with about 40 vehicles behind me.

Ended up getting the fire men to lift the hose whilst I drove under 😳

I hate hearing emergency vehicles when I'm cycling. Not cos of the them but because of other drivers reactions. Most haven't got a clue until the ambulance is right up their arse but drivers just panic - swerving left and right, trying to outrun it, trying to tuck in behind it and get a bit of a clear run, mounting kerbs, you name it.

They never bother looking for cyclists, pedestrians etc before they do any of this random swerving.

I hate hearing emergency vehicles when I'm cycling.

On a bike, you generally hear them ages before car drivers too.

I've had people start to pull over as I pull up behind a queue of cars with my flashing front bike light 🙂

OP you did right don't bump on the pavement/kerb just move over when safe.

I'm calling borrox on that.

Why? You can't go through a red light even ambulances and fire engines don't have a right to go through them.

[i]I've had people start to pull over as I pull up behind a queue of cars with my flashing front bike light[/i]

Had that too - only used my L&M Stella, with it's blue tinged LED, once because of it!

I don't hear anything when riding though, just bass 😉

I too see nothing wrong with the OPs actions.

I drive an ambulance and I wince at the way people bang their cars up kerbsquote

OP did the right thing. I certainly wouldn't risk damaging my car getting out of the way.

I overtook a fire engine on blues and twos on its way to an RTC last week. Fire engines aren't that quick.

TGA Did it have to get past you again when you stopped at the RTC?

No, they just parked up behind me.

RRV?

Police car

I'd have done the same thing. Though I'd have tried to find some way to let people past me afterwards, otherwise my politeness gland would explode.

thegreatape - Member
I overtook a fire engine on blues and twos on its way to an RTC last week. Fire engines aren't that quick.

This is sadly true - ours starts to complain at about 65. Its a bit like a supertanker though. I wouldn't want to get in the way of it.

edlong - Member
I see lots of people holding up ambulances etc. by immediately stopping on hearing the sirens, when continuing on as they were doing would be far more helpful. I've jumped a red light before now as it was the only practical way I could get out of the way of a fire engine.

Also true. Where we are we get a choice of two reactions - people apparently completely oblivous of the big red truck looming in their rear view mirrors or slamming on the anchors as soon as they hear a siren - generally in the narrowest bit of lane they can find.

We've been recently told it's a no no to get into a position where we're forcing another vehicle over red lights.

Sounds like the OP did the best he could in the circumstances.

LOL @ tga I find they are usually quite keen to let me overtake too 😉

EDIT
A few of ny daily encountered favourite 'manoeuvres' are (in no particular order0 :-
Emergency stops
Cars stopping adjacent to each other (especially fun when combined with above)
Overtaking the car(s) that have just slowed/pulled in to let you past
Stopping just below the brow of a hill
Boy racers when they realise its not a Police car
Horses 'trotter racing' two abreast (might be just Durham on that one)

I'd do the same as RJ, pull out fast and safe into a space, no way I'd damage my car nor others.
I was told provided you get out of the way safely and in reasonable time theres not a lot else you can do.

Woody - Member
LOL I find they are usually quite keen to let me overtake too

So are we!

I wouldn't worry about other peoples' ignorance. Seems to me you did the right thing.
There seems to be a trend of getting stroppy and getting offended at the tiniest thing on the roads at the moment.

I'd have done what the OP did.

In Oregon if an emergency vehicle is coming towards you on the opposite carriageway, even on a dual carriageway, you have to pull over to the right and stop.

Mind you, in Oregon they wont even allow you to pump your own petrol.

randomjeremy - Member

I feel pretty bad about what happened but I don't really know what else I could have done. If I had mounted the kerb I could have saved the ambulance probably 10 seconds; enough to make a difference in an emergency for sure, but would have been left facing a potentially large bill for damage to my car, which I am certain I could not have claimed back from the ambulance service / NHS / council.

What would Singletrackworld have done?

FFS! Save the car ... 🙄

There seems to be a trend of getting stroppy and getting offended at the tiniest thing [s]on the roads [/s]at the moment.

3 too many words.

you did the right thing, i along with a few already posted on here drive emergency vehicles and so far including me, when asked NONE of us would throw our car up a kerb.

re: red lights, emergency vehicles SHOULD turn off sirens as it can account to bullying and harassing and some people take undue risks and consequently drive through red lights..... the sirens go off with lights still on and if a driver chooses to drive through, its their decision and fault if something happens.

the unfortunate reality is from personal experience, most ambulance personnel would indeed be embarrassed to tell you what we end up going out to in an "emergency" and you can tend to tell, from my locale anyway when its a REAL emergency as the ambulances tend to be pretty blatant if they are in a hurry! you do get some dickheads driving them but generally we are going to nan downs and drunks down 3/4 of the time, and when its a proper poorly youll know! lol

i digress, you did the right thing, screw the abuse!

ed lights, emergency vehicles SHOULD turn off sirens as it can account to bullying and harassing and some people take undue risks and consequently drive through red lights..... the sirens go off with lights still on and if a driver chooses to drive through, its their decision and fault if something happens.

Don't switch your sirens off when if you choose to go through a red light that's just foolish.

the unfortunate reality is from personal experience, most ambulance personnel would indeed be embarrassed to tell you what we end up going out to in an "emergency"

I bet we wouldn't.

i didnt mean turn sirens off when going through, i meant when stuck behind cars at red lights, and yeah your prob right, we wouldnt as most ppl need to know the S*** we get called for tbh

i didnt mean turn sirens off when going through, i meant when stuck behind cars at red lights,

Ah champion. Sorry.

i always find it funny that the ppl with off road cars refuse to bump up kerbs and little old ladies in rickety old minis choose to!lol

I seem to attract emergency vehicles coming past with sirens going every time I drive anywhere. And I always seem to be somewhere complicated, like negotiating a double roundabout or heading for a junction on a 6-lane road!
I did a survey once: out of 1 week's driving, I had 9 separate instances of emergency vehicles! And I don't live in a city!

nan down

Never heard this before, but like it.

How do you know the abuse has anything to do with you trying to get out of the way of the ambulance?

What would Singletrackworld have done?

We would all have pulled over to the kerb, dismounted and lifted the bike onto the pavement to allow the ambulance sufficient room to pass. 😀

How do you know the abuse has anything to do with you trying to get out of the way of the ambulance?

Fire engines aren't that quick.

Its a bit like a supertanker though. I wouldn't want to get in the way of it.

Some dumb blonde ambled on to pedestrian crossing in Innsbruck, in winter, slightly slushy road. So engrossed in fondling smartphone or something that she didn't notice 2 fire engines in a city, blues+twos going.

Top driving skills though. Stopped 2m short of impact.

My rule for getting out of the way off blues and twos is do what is necessary to make them room unless that act in itself unreasonably endangers another road user. What anyone thinks of that choice who is NOT the driver of said emergency vehicle is of no consequence at all. I would chance 3 points for an ambulance to make a space to possibly save a life. £60 and a small insurance hike for a human life. It's a decent compromise.

Thankfully I have never been put to the test on the latter point because I have normally managed to create the space long before the vehicle has got to me because I use my mirrors and ears. Of course if more people used their mirrors properly these drivers jobs would be easier. Drivers on the m27 this morning being a prime example of not moving over until the ambulance was slowing down even though the traffic flow allowed them heaps of space to get over before that.

I'm with the consensus on here and would have done the same as the OP - though given I don't drive an emergency vehicle my opinion probably doesn't count!

I've accelerated before now to get out of the way of an ambulance - unlike most dimwits I'll look for the best place to pull over, not the first (and given I tend to notice them coming earlier than most seem to - often before the car between me and it has - that doesn't mean it's sitting on my backside waiting). Our walk to school takes us along a main road so I regularly get to see the antics of other drivers - a few times I've seen them so oblivious that they've held up an ambulance whilst overtaking the car in front who's pulled over.

He he he, they saw a cock-mobile going slowly and grabbed the opportunity to abuse the driver while they had the chance.

Been thinking of getting an "It's OK, I'm gay" sticker for the car to stop the poor darlings from feeling inadequate and threatened by the "pussy wetter" as one of my female friends so delightfully calls it 😉

I've heard horror stories about people getting points for this and not being able to have them taken off despite the circumstance

I havent read any more than the OP and I also have a low slung German penis extension and would have done the same thing.

I was on a longish winding country lane near where I live when I saw an Ambulance behind the car behind me. He immediately braked and tried to pull over to let it past. The Ambulance then had to brake, lost a few seconds as he negotiated the almost stationary car! Ambulances are relatively slow given all the important life saving kit they have on board so I simply accelerated keeping ahead of him (I only had to drive at around 45mph) and when the road widened and he sped up and I moved out of the way.
Simples!

Police response driver here. I'd have no issue with your actions. Training now is that whilst the blues give you ability to go through lights etc, it's made clear that you are not meant to drive in a manner which would force another road user to commit an offence to allow your passage (such as running a red light) . The correct approach being to hang back from the traffic and let it sort itself out to create gaps. Racing up th chuff of cars makes for a less progressive drive often as people panic

When riding my motorbike I am able to hear the sirens much earlier. Getting back into the flow after its gone past can be interesting. People are such competitive knobs behind the wheel, they MUST get to he front.

When I am cycling, I slow down and get onto the Pavement simply because I know that I will have been aware of the Sirens well before any Driver does and they will then panic and not expect a cyclist to be there.....

I will stop and wait or go slowly on the Pavement if no Pedestrians.

Another thing to bear in mind when driving and being stationary in traffic is to leave enough space between yourself and the vehicle in front so that space is available to move over.

" tyres and Tarmac " is a phrase used meaning you can still see the vehicle in fronts tyres and a bit of Tarmac

Go on TJ enlighten us with the make and model of the so called "pussy wetter"?

RJ is not TJ