Flashing red lights on emergency vehicles like CHP cruisers, police cars, enforcement motorcycles, fire trucks and ambulances deserve the lawful respect and right-of-way the law demands. Could someone please explain to me then why is it that I continue to see people driving down the road totally ignoring the flashing red lights on emergency vehicles.If an emergency vehicle is coming up on your rear and you don't pull over to the shoulder to let them pass, then you are in violation of the law. If you are on an un-divided road and the emergency vehicle is approaching you from the other direction and you don't pull over to the shoulder to let them pass, then you are again in violation of the law. It's really as simple as that.
Let's take a short quiz;
You are driving down the freeway and you see a CHP motorcycle officer gaining on your rear with his red lights flashing. Do you...
A: Slow down and maintain position in the flow of traffic.
B: Slowly pull to the right side of the road, stop, and allow the cruiser to pass.
C: Immediately stop in the lane you are traveling on and wait for the cruiser to pass.
I'll give you an obvious, common sense based hint; it's not A or C.
That's right, according to the State of California Vehicle Code, the answer is B, as in pull to the side, stop and let the emergency vehicle pass. Please never do what today's Highway A-hole did.
A CHP cruiser trying to get through traffic to attend a traffic accident ahead code 3. Traffic was bumper to bumper. People were trying to get to the side of the road so that the cruiser could pass on through... well most people anyway.
A lone black 2000-ish 4 door Mercedes with the license number 6151344 was just sitting still in the previously moving traffic dead in its tracks. The driver was a woman who looked to be somewhere in her early 30's with short black hair. She had come to a complete stop in the middle of lanes and turned on her emergency flashers. The CHP car was right behind her with red lights flashing and siren blowing. All she had to do was follow the merging traffic the right. Problem was she didn't want to move, she just sat there. The patrolman in the cruiser gave her instructions over his PA horn. "DRIVER PULL OVER TO THE RIGHT" blared out of his PA speaker. Nothing doing, she just continued to sit there.
Afger a few second. a break of cars to her right gave her a complete opportunity to get out of the way. Like a deer caught in headlights she just continued to sit there. The CHP cruiser was obviously fed up waiting for her to make the move, so he just passed her on her right side.
Lady, I hope that someday it's your kid up ahead in a traffic accident and some other Highway A-hole refuses to pull over for the rescue vehicle or ambulance trying to same you kid's life. Karma can be a bitch and everything.
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