Lesson in common sense: Emergency Vehicles

Burnsy2023 · 22 May 2011 at 19:43

I say this on another forum and thought it may be useful for some people to know what the official line on what they should do is.

http://www.bluelightaware.org.uk/

Antipasti · 22 May 2011 at 19:53

Didn't realise you guys aren't allowed to overtake on solid white lines?

alexisonfire · 22 May 2011 at 19:55

Roads look familiar, looks like just outside chichester...

All pretty simple stuff, quite frightening they felt the need to make this though, are people really that dumb? I'll be honest though, i wasn't aware they can't overtake on solid whites!

Burnsy2023 · 22 May 2011 at 19:56

reevsy said:
Didn't realise you guys aren't allowed to overtake on solid white lines?

We're not supposed to. You can overtake certain vehicles which are doing less than 15mph, like milk floats or cyclists, but everyone can do that.

Gaygle · 22 May 2011 at 19:58

alexisonfire said:
are people really that dumb?

I assume that was a rhetorical question?

I've seen people go through red lights, people stop on a brow of a hill to let an ambulance pass, people overtaking an ambulance on single carriageway NSL roads, people mount curbs that would have destroyed their wheel. When people get an emergency vehicle behind them, they just seem to react like a deer in the headlights.

I've heard the worst thing for emergency services is when people don't realise there may be more than one vehicle coming past and pull out straight away. You must have your wits about you if you are the lead vehicle - doubley so if you are the one following!

Meridian · 22 May 2011 at 20:01

alexisonfire said:
Roads look familiar, looks like just outside chichester...

All pretty simple stuff, quite frightening they felt the need to make this though, are people really that dumb?

Yes. Many are good, but there's not a world shortage of idiots. I remember one TV doc where a bus driver pulled over for a police car - just below the brow of a hill. But I suspect the biggest problem is people just being oblivious and not seeing the vehicle at all.

M

sovietspybob · 22 May 2011 at 21:02

When my step father was on response he followed some old cotton head for about 2 miles trying to pull him over, lights and sirens going and it was only when the guy stopped to join a roundabout that he noticed... you can never underestimate how unaware other people can be!

I've also had people stop on the brow of a hill to let me get past :rolleyes:

i've had it several times on the Evo Triangle when i'm 'making progress' people seem to pull over/stop in the most random places to let a 'fast car' through

[TW]Fox · 22 May 2011 at 21:04

Burnsy2023 said:
We're not supposed to.

We?

Are you a police driver trained for blue light work? I thought you worked in IT but volunteered as a special?

NathanE · 22 May 2011 at 21:24

If it's not a cop car, the standard SR-71 operating procedure of setting throttles to maximum works too

sigma · 22 May 2011 at 21:33

I don't understand why people just panic, slam on the brakes and stop wherever they are when they see an emergency vehicle coming.

Case in point last week, was approaching a roundabout in town (so fairly busy) and saw an emergency vehicle quite far behind, of course idiots on the road just stopped wherever they were and became more of a hindrance than an aid where as I carried on around the roundabout, waited for the vehicle to be a reasonable behind distance before pulling to the side and waiting for it to go past, it really was hassle-free!

Sin_Chase · 22 May 2011 at 21:40

Burnsy2023 said:
We're not supposed to. You can overtake certain vehicles which are doing less than 15mph, like milk floats or cyclists, but everyone can do that.

'Supposed' ?

I thought on a red call emergency services were allowed to break the rules of the road assuming it was safe to do so AND in the knowledge it would be on their head should something happen - IE you are liable and not exempt from prosecution.

You can go through reds on this premise, if it's safe to do so why do solid white lines present more of an issue? Drivers in general ignore solid white lines more than they do red lights for example.

Draeger · 22 May 2011 at 21:54

Dealing with road hazards such as solid white lines comes down to two things en route to a call. The drivers common sense/skill/experience and the nature of the incident they are responding to.

asim18 · 22 May 2011 at 22:58

Wouldn't this reach a wider audience in GD?

Tbh, If I ever saw blues in my rear view on solid white lines, I'd keep going until it wasn't solid.

nas · 22 May 2011 at 23:05

I always move when safe and reasonable to do so.

Burnsy2023 · 22 May 2011 at 23:10

[TW]Fox;19199634 said:
We?

Are you a police driver trained for blue light work? I thought you worked in IT but volunteered as a special?

'We' as in the Police. You're also assuming Specials can't be driver trained - which is incorrect.

DRZ · 22 May 2011 at 23:17

Burnsy2023 said:
'We' as in the Police. You're also assuming Specials can't be driver trained - which is incorrect.

You are a civilian though? An IT technician?

hurfdurf · 22 May 2011 at 23:21

Burnsy2023 said:
'We' as in the Police. You're also assuming Specials can't be driver trained - which is incorrect.

Are you driver trained? I was under the impression that it was very expensive to train someone and not worth it for someone only volunteering doing 10 hours a month.

I would love to volunteer but they said not to bother unless I could guarantee 2 years and I need to be flexible.

Do you get to stand and bang on a regular basis? I can't imagine anything more fun than being given a uniform on a Friday/Saturday night and given the job of sorting out the trouble.

Burnsy2023 · 22 May 2011 at 23:32

DRZ said:
You are a civilian though? An IT technician?

No, I'm a Special.

hurfdurf said:
Are you driver trained? I was under the impression that it was very expensive to train someone and not worth it for someone only volunteering doing 10 hours a month.

I would love to volunteer but they said not to bother unless I could guarantee 2 years and I need to be flexible.

Do you get to stand and bang on a regular basis? I can't imagine anything more fun than being given a uniform on a Friday/Saturday night and given the job of sorting out the trouble.

I'm not trained at the moment, but I hope to be in the coming months when course become available.

asim18 · 22 May 2011 at 23:46

Burnsy2023 said:
No, I'm a Special.

So do you just volunteer for a living? How does that work? Do you get paid bountys or a salary? Genuinely interested.

hurfdurf · 22 May 2011 at 23:53

asim18 said:
Do you get paid bountys or a salary? Genuinely interested.

OMFG this would be the best thing ever.

No they do not get paid, they have to guarantee I think around 10-16 hours a month or so and they get trained up to actual Police level as they go along on the job after the initial training to be a special. You cannot tell the difference between a special and a normal officer on the street iirc.