north shore news

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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-

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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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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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