What's That Funny Noise?

When you hear sirens, pull over to the right, park and wait for the emergency vehicles to pass (in case there is more than one). It does not mean 'FREEZE WHERE YOU ARE'.

All too often when I hear sirens I see people in cars STOP right where they are in the road. When did they stop teaching the proper response to sirens in driving-school and how does stopping in place help anything? Should the firetruck, ambulance or police car now have to go around everyone who stopped in place? If enough people do this, there simply won't be a path for the emergent vehicle.

People need to think about why the siren is on in the first place. It's there to alert other motorists to the emergency vehicle, but also because the siren-blaring e-vehicle might need to run a light or go the wrong way on a given road...but the important thing is that they have a clear-path...imagine it's a cop responding to attempted murder, an ambulance with a cardiac patient or a firetruck racing toward a brush-fire. There's no time to be sloppy and distracted.

When enough people stop in place you have people effectively blocking the the siren-vehicle's path of travel or at least creating a slalom course, and stopping in place is just a giant roadblock when there's heavy traffic. Thankfully, some people still move over and actually clear-up road to make up for the numbnuts who stop in place.

If everyone makes an attempt to move to the right, the emergency vehicle would understand the maneuver and would take the clear path to your left...that is, until he runs into the next fucktard who's stopped in place.

The other day, I saw someone in a car with a cop behind her....full sirens and lights...what did she do? She STOPPED right in front of the cop. The cop, with nowhere else to go (and I watched the whole thing from the sidewalk) had to sit there until the lady eventually figured out her error and moved out of the way. Why is it that people pull to the right (or the left on occasion) when pulled over for a ticket, but some people have this crazy idea that it's good to just stop in place when hearing a siren meant for someone else? Sure, it can be startling or confusing, but if you pull to the right it will satisfy any emergency vehicle trying to get through and if it's a cop after you, it's going to be better than stopping in the middle of a busy road. No need to think too much about it, just clear a path.

The downside to stopping in place means the emergency vehicle has to go around you still, but if someone in other lanes pulled the same bonehead maneuver of stopping in place eventually the emergency vehicle will be trapped again. Other drivers, distracted by the emergency vehicle, might rear-end the stopped-driver. Nobody expects someone to be STOPPED in the middle of the road, but the distraction of the commotion combined with jackwipe being stopped in the lane sets that person up for a rear-ender. Congrats, if there's a rear-end collision there are now two emergencies.

When you hear sirens...pull over to the right, wait for the emergency vehicle to pass, and then you're on your way. You'll demonstrate proper behaviour during the commotion and you won't be blocking an emergency vehicle from its timely-arrival. Even just pulling into the right lane is better than stopping in place since it's a temporary path you're helping to clear.

After all, if the emergency was for our families we'd want others to clear a path ASAP, right? Right.

Spread the word.

-dB-