Siren means nothing

[Timmy]

All ambulance crew needs to understand that unless cop is around a siren on ambulance is there request permission to pass being that you can't issue a driver a ticket for refusing to get out of your way. As such it's the driver if he/she decides to let you through or not. Blasting your siren or using your pa is not going to get you around me as only thing it will do is get a middle finger from me. Writing my plate will not help you as an officer needs to witness the violation before he/she can issue a ticket being that an officer would need to pull me over to issue that ticket.

Initially I thought this thread was a joke until you posted the second time.

Obviously something has triggered your stand off antics, care to share?

I find your post very immature and quiet frankly you’re posing a risk to the community. While not every call is timed critical there are on the odd occasion patients who require urgent medical attention in which seconds do count (i.e serious bleeding, cardiac arrest, sever asthma and so on) so by every immature and idiotic behaviour you display towards an emergency vehicle your denying a human being the right to live.

We had a similar situation to what you describe a year or so ago, we reported this individual details to the police, this individual was issued with a fine and every time the police see this vehicle it is pulled over, the driver is given a license check, RBT and the vehicle is inspected for any faults – this still happens a year on.

It takes two to tango mate, you play the game and will play back even harder.

[firemedic64]

Big deal, an ambulance still can't issue me a ticket unless cop witness it and pulls me over.. So basically it still a request.

BIG DEAL!!!! Are you kidding you obviously dont know how important it is when a Ambulance is going lights and sirens to the hospital they are in life threating condition. It is disrespectful not to mention selfish to not pull over and waste 30 seconds of your trip. By putting this post up you have showed how ignorant and self centered you are.

[driver]

Initially I thought this thread was a joke until you posted the second time.

Obviously something has triggered your stand off antics, care to share?

I find your post very immature and quiet frankly you're posing a risk to the community. While not every call is timed critical there are on the odd occasion patients who require urgent medical attention in which seconds do count (i.e serious bleeding, cardiac arrest, sever asthma and so on) so by every immature and idiotic behaviour you display towards an emergency vehicle your denying a human being the right to live.

We had a similar situation to what you describe a year or so ago, we reported this individual details to the police, this individual was issued with a fine and every time the police see this vehicle it is pulled over, the driver is given a license check, RBT and the vehicle is inspected for any faults – this still happens a year on.

It takes two to tango mate, you play the game and will play back even harder.

If they pull me over every time I would sue the police for civil rights violation. Ever hear of probable cause? As for why i am saying what i am saying, it's because it's the fact about asking for permission. An ambulance crew and fire truck are asking(demanding) permission to pass. Unlike police officer they can not issue a ticket. Also a police can't just issue a ticket unless he/she witness the violation and knows who was driving. It do not work like parking ticket which is issued to the register owner.

BIG DEAL!!!! Are you kidding you obviously dont know how important it is when a Ambulance is going lights and sirens to the hospital they are in life threating condition. It is disrespectful not to mention selfish to not pull over and waste 30 seconds of your trip. By putting this post up you have showed how ignorant and self centered you are.

Yes i agree i am an SOB and also very selfish person. SOB is my middle name for you information

[JPINFV]

Hmm... Can we get an IP check? I have a feeling I know who the troll is...

[driver]

Hmm... Can we get an IP check? I have a feeling I know who the troll is...

Considering this is first time i ever posted on this board, it would be interesting if that is the case.

[Timmy]

Police dont need probable cause to pull you over, probable cause is not relevant in this situation because there isnt a warrant for your arrest, the police are merely doing a roadside check and if they find a fault with your vehicle you will be charged accordingly, the same as any road user, its all perfectly legal… If you fail to give an RBT then youll also be arrested.

In Australia, good luck trying to sue the police for such a petty cause… Its a state government authority, hope you have a mountain of money and some good lawyers.

Your cause is futile.

Australian Road Laws:

Giving way to police and emergency vehicles

(1) A driver must give way to a police or emergency vehicle that is displaying a flashing blue or red light (whether or not it is also displaying other lights) or sounding an alarm.

Penalty: 5 penalty units.

Note 1 Emergency vehicle and police vehicle are defined in the dictionary.

Note 2 For this rule, give way means

(a) if the driver is stoppedremain stationary until it is safe to proceed; or

( in any other caseslow down and, if necessary, stop to avoid a collision see the definition in the dictionary.

(2) This rule applies to the driver despite any other rule that would otherwise

require the driver of a police or emergency vehicle to give way to the driver.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Timmy

[driver]

Police don't need probable cause to pull you over, probable cause is not relevant in this situation because there isn't a warrant for your arrest, the police are merely doing a roadside check and if they find a fault with your vehicle you will be charged accordingly, the same as any road user, its all perfectly legal… If you fail to give an RBT then you'll also be arrested.

In Australia, good luck trying to sue the police for such a petty cause… It's a state government authority, hope you have a mountain of money and some good lawyers.

Your cause is futile.

Australian Road Laws:

Giving way to police and emergency vehicles

(1) A driver must give way to a police or emergency vehicle that is displaying a flashing blue or red light (whether or not it is also displaying other lights) or sounding an alarm.

Penalty: 5 penalty units.

Note 1 Emergency vehicle and police vehicle are defined in the dictionary.

Note 2 For this rule, give way means—

(a) if the driver is stopped—remain stationary until it is safe to proceed; or

( in any other case—slow down and, if necessary, stop to avoid a collision— see the definition in the dictionary.

(2) This rule applies to the driver despite any other rule that would otherwise

require the driver of a police or emergency vehicle to give way to the driver.

Police don't need probable cause to pull you over, probable cause is not relevant in this situation because there isn't a warrant for your arrest, the police are merely doing a roadside check and if they find a fault with your vehicle you will be charged accordingly, the same as any road user, its all perfectly legal… If you fail to give an RBT then you'll also be arrested.

In Australia, good luck trying to sue the police for such a petty cause… It's a state government authority, hope you have a mountain of money and some good lawyers.

Your cause is futile.

Australian Road Laws:

Giving way to police and emergency vehicles

(1) A driver must give way to a police or emergency vehicle that is displaying a flashing blue or red light (whether or not it is also displaying other lights) or sounding an alarm.

Penalty: 5 penalty units.

Note 1 Emergency vehicle and police vehicle are defined in the dictionary.

Note 2 For this rule, give way means—

(a) if the driver is stopped—remain stationary until it is safe to proceed; or

( in any other case—slow down and, if necessary, stop to avoid a collision— see the definition in the dictionary.

(2) This rule applies to the driver despite any other rule that would otherwise

require the driver of a police or emergency vehicle to give way to the driver.

My bad ,i didn't notice the country you're from. I am from USA, it works totally different here. Police need legal reason to pull you over. Police can't just pull you over in USA.

[JPINFV]

My bad ,i didn't notice the country you're from. I am from USA, it works totally different here. Police need legal reason to pull you over. Police can't just pull you over in USA.

True, they need a reason. However they don't need a reason to follow you until you commit a traffic infraction.

[Richard B the EMT]

Regrettably, "Driver" is essentially correct.

Here in NY, the LEOs have to witness the transgression before a ticket can be issued. Even a dash cam shows the offending car, that isn't pulling over, from the rear, unlike the red light camera ticket, which IS issued to the owner of the vehicle.

A generalized thought I have often heard is, most drivers pull over when they see that big grill of an engine or truck company, as they are so big, they can put a hurting on the offending vehicle, and it's people. As stated, a cop car's crews can ticket an offending driver, but we in the ambulances do not seem to have any recourse.

I was planning on using the PA system to request drivers to pull to the right, saying, "we might be responding to your family", but another tech reminded me, "what if that driver is in a fight with the other family members, and (s)he wishes them ill?"

One beautiful moment was, a driver refused to get out of my ambulance's way, at a traffic light where the direction of both the car and ambulance was the same. She waited until the light changed, then pulled SLOWLY to the right. It was so satisfying to see the lights of a cop car start up behind her and pull her over. The cops normally sat, just out of obvious view of the street, to ticket the cars that pass the red light, and had witnessed the entire thing!

[driver]

Regrettably, "Driver" is essentially correct.

Here in NY, the LEOs have to witness the transgression before a ticket can be issued. Even a dash cam shows the offending car, that isn't pulling over, from the rear, unlike the red light camera ticket, which IS issued to the owner of the vehicle.

A generalized thought I have often heard is, most drivers pull over when they see that big grill of an engine or truck company, as they are so big, they can put a hurting on the offending vehicle, and it's people. As stated, a cop car's crews can ticket an offending driver, but we in the ambulances do not seem to have any recourse.

I was planning on using the PA system to request drivers to pull to the right, saying, "we might be responding to your family", but another tech reminded me, "what if that driver is in a fight with the other family members, and (s)he wishes them ill?"

One beautiful moment was, a driver refused to get out of my ambulance's way, at a traffic light where the direction of both the car and ambulance was the same. She waited until the light changed, then pulled SLOWLY to the right. It was so satisfying to see the lights of a cop car start up behind her and pull her over. The cops normally sat, just out of obvious view of the street, to ticket the cars that pass the red light, and had witnessed the entire thing!

The driver that got pulled over can actually win if she knows what she is doing. A siren can't force a driver to drive through red light unless they feel safe. So technically that driver did not violated the law if I understand your story correctly.