> An emergency vehicle with lights on has the right of way through an intersection even if the lights don’t match.
US fire truck driver here. Above is not really true, or even if it is true it's irrelevant.
Our training requires us to slow down and even stop at intersections when we have a red light, and to use extreme caution before proceeding. And this is while our lights and siren are on. If I just breeze through a red light and cause an accident, I'll probably be held liable.
> It seems this is one of the situations where just focusing on the immediate area around you is faulty.
I got to see two Cruises interact with emergency vehicles last week! It was fascinating.
The ambulance was on a serious mission. Lights, loud sirens, very fast speeds[1].
The first Cruise was about to turn left onto the street where the ambulance was coming. As the ambulance zoomed by, the Cruise stopped and put on its blinkers. Looked like an “Oh shit I give up” reaction.
The second Cruise was about to go straight through a green light coming the opposite way of the ambulance. But it didn’t! When the ambulance was a block and a half away, the Cruise just stopped (at the green light) turned on its blinkers and froze still until the ambulance was gone.
Pretty cool to see. This was around 7pm in Nob Hill. Both cars were empty.
[1] emergency vehicles in SF often just flash lights for intersections, or only use their horn instead of the full siren. Helps with noise pollution in lesser emergencies.
> An emergency vehicle with lights on has the right of way through an intersection even if the lights don’t match.
Is this true in the US?
It sounds surprising to me. Here in the UK they don't get "right of way" by my understanding of the highway code. When approaching a junction they intend to pass through on red, you'll see vehicles slow to a crawl, quadruple check everyone is "giving way" (not the same as having right of way) before crossing.
Edit: "Rule 219" is the most I know about, and it explicitly warns:
> Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.
Nobody ever "has" the right-of-way. You can only yield it, and, paradoxically, the person to whom the right was yielded also does not "have" it. Read the California Vehicle Code if you do not believe me. It never says "right-of-way" except when preceded by "shall yield the"
That's interesting thank you and matches my understanding in the UK. It's exactly the pointer detail I was looking for when asking my question, thank you.
> The provisions of Section 21806 shall not operate to relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons and property.
They have the right of way and they still exercise caution because it would be insane not to. Being in the right doesn't mean the universe gives you a do-over if something goes wrong.
Do you not look both ways at traffic before using a crosswalk, regardless of what the light says? When a car ignores the light and splatters your brains on the pavement, do you think the right of way will put you back together again?
> The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident.
Of course we should give way to emergency vehicles, and take care of ourselves. I was simply challenging the op about emergency vehicles having right of way. I don't believe that's the case in my country (UK) and I was politely asking if it was true in theirs.
A source for having the right of way meaning that you shouldn't exercise caution?
I don't care what the right of way rules in the UK are, I'm taking exception to your argument that exercising caution implies lacking a right of way, suggesting that having the right of way means you don't have to exercise caution. The right of way is only relevant if you survive to hash things out in court, it won't bring you back from the dead. Even if you have the right of way, you'd be suicidally stupid to not still exercise caution, particularly when doing something usual and obviously dangerous.
The original comment suggested that in their country (assuming US?), emergency vehicles have "the right of way".
I asked if this was true, and gave my understanding of my own country's laws, where emergency vehicles do not have a right of way.
I'm not arguing that exercising caution implies a lack of a right of way. I'm stating that in the UK although you should give way to emergency vehicles, they do not have a right of way and so exercise caution.
I understand other countries might be different, we're all surprising and different. That's why I asked my original question.
Just realised you missunderstood what I was asking for a source for.
I was asking for a source to your statement that "They have the right of way". I'm interested, because if so it would be a difference between countries that surprises me.
> The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident.
The point here is just because you think you're in the right, you still have to do your best to avoid conflict. If that means you should give way to someone that should have given way to you, then you should give way.
I think this is really sensible. It puts the emphasis on everyone to avoid accidents and conflict. Nobody has "the right".
They have the right. What those vehicles don't always have is the means.
Just because the law dictates something, it doesn't mean it's safe to act as if it's happening. In a similar way, pedestrians also look both ways before crossing a street.
Also good to keep in mind as a driver is that fire trucks are often also tankers. They are big and heavy to begin with but very well might also be carrying a couple of thousand gallons of water. They cannot stop quickly. That's why they are always blasting their horns in addition to the screaming sirens. So get out of their way.
This isn't totally accurate at least in NY, though I'd be surprised in other states. Emergency vehicles when approaching a red light are supposed to treat it like a stop sign and slow to "stop", blaring their alarms/horn to alert everyone, and turn assuming the intersection is clear. Can't help anyone if you get into a car accident after all.
Additionally, I think some improvement could be made to surrounding mics in the car to clue it in that there's an emergency vehicle around.
An emergency vehicle with lights on has the right of way through an intersection even if the lights don’t match.
However, you would probably need longer range cameras and object detection to identify an emergency vehicle with lights approaching the intersection.