north shore news

2 AU

TO

Be aware of emergencies around you

. Shaun
Conlin

signals

THERE’S nothing like
a good couple of days
of foul weather to fuel
a traffic columnist. My,
i love the North Shore.

The most recent stretch

of rain, snow and general

oor driving conditions has

rought out the Bonchead in
many of us. There are 2
dozen little ideas to atrack,
but this column singles out
the Bonehead confronted by
an emergency velicle making
its way to an accident scen.

Since the presence of an
anibulance, fire truck and/or
police car with its lights a-
blazing and sirens a-wailing
is usually a bad omen, I can’t
say ’'m amused by some dri-
ver’s reactions — though
secretly, I’m terribly mirth-
ful.

Some panic stricken dri-
vers will simply stop in the
middle of the road when
confronted with an emer-
gency vehicle. Some drivers
will make a vague attempr at
moving aside yet still manage
ty block a large chunk of the
road — I’ve noticed that the
drivers who have a tough
time parallel parking also find
it difficult to judge the size
of their car and where the
curb actually is.

Azain, this would be
funny — you skould know
haw wide your car is the dav
you buy it — but for the
interference it causes for
emergency traffic. ve
noticed, too, that same peo-
ple seem reluctant to pull
over for fear of giving up
“their spot” on the road to
someone else, emergency
vehicle or otherwise, and will
instead just dawdle along
hoping the darn emergency
vehicle will go away and
become someone else’s prob-
lem. Come on, folks, give it
up. These guys are respond-
ing to an Emergeney!

The proper procedure a
driver is to follow when con-
fronted by an emergency
vehicle responding to an
emergency call is covered in

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Sestion 179 of the mighty
Motor Vehicle Act. [t's
almost too straight forward.

Generally, and regardless
of the direetion an emer-
genev vehicle is coming
trom, drivers are to move
their vehicles as close to the
nearest curb as possible (usu-
ally the right curb; the left
curb if you're driving in the
left- most lane on one-way
street) and stop, clear of an
intersection, proceeding only
when said emergency vehicle
has passed.

Simply stopping, though
sometimes eftective, is tech-
nically wrong because doing
so may well cause a blockage
of the quickest route for ai
emergency vehicle trying to
reach the emergency site.

Unfortunately, the mighty
Act does not mention any-
thing about using common
sense which, in this case (and
sooo many others), it should.

For example, the Act
requires one to “immediate-

ATTENTION!

Quality repairs
by factory trained
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Iv" move “as near as possi
ble™ to the nearest road
edge. When there are a
bunch of cars or a snow bank
already positioned to one’s
right, driving up the street a
few blocks to find a curbside
haven would be counter-pro-

“Giving way to
an emergency
vehicle ... isn’t
just a law —
it’s common
sense.”

ductive bur so would bashing
into one’s vehicular neigh-
bors in an attempt ro make
room.

Staying put in the middle
of the road wouldn’t help
cither. A combination of
these three options would
seem to be in order, except

for the bashing. Fin {the
Most open area within your
immediate Vicinity, Move into
it, stop.

Keep in mind the essence
of what vou are trying ta
accomplish by pulling over
and stopping for an emer-
geney vehicle: You are trying
to make as much room as
possible for the emergency
vehicle to pass you or get
around you easily. In other
words, to immediately yield
the right of way.

Moving to the side of the
road is your first priority;
stopping a close second (but
detinitely not the other way
around) and clearing, the
road to the best of your abil-
ity is the gist of the whole
procedure.

Again, section 179 does
not regulate the use of com-
mon sense, but it should. If
an emergency vehicle has
found it casier ta move along
on vour right, maybe driving
along the shoulder when all

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che isa jam, then one should
keep to the ‘eft despite law
that states otherw

goodness, [just advis

ple to break the Jaw in order
To exercise Common sense.
Who do I think Tam?)

On a related matter, I've
often heard people complain
about the fact that pelice
scem to break many traffic
laws. They don’r. You may
have noticed a police cruiser,
for example. exceeding the
speed limit or making bizarre
U-turns without sounding a
siren or flashing a red light,
which is pretty nich
required when an emergency
vehicle is doing its thing.
Not so when a police officer
decides that it’s essential to
use stealth — lights and
sirens tend to make bad guys
run and hide, after all.

More importantly, police
officers know that lights and
sirens cause some boncheads

to panic, which is something
they'll avoid if thes can.

Keep in mind, too, that
emergency vehicles usually
travel in packs. Hf vou see a
fire truck, expect an ambu-
lance to be nearby. If vou see
an ambulance, expect a
police car...

Giving way to an emer-
gency vehicle responding to
an emergency isn’t just a law,
it’s common sense. The fact
that we’re experiencing the
foul-weather season makes
their light-flashing, siren-
wailing presence all that
much more common. Be
ready for it. Clear the road.
If it’s you that’s crashed ?’m
sure you'll want the emer-
gency crews at your side as
soon as possible, not stuck
behind some Bonehead in a
tizzy who won't move over.

Please use common sense.
If you have none, get some.

Be safe.

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