Advice on how to safely and legally make room for blue light vehicles as experts warn of ‘substantial fines’
Drivers are being warned not to put themselves at risk when making way for emergency vehicles.
As councils in England get more powers to fine drivers for moving traffic offences, including jumping red lights, a leading motoring organisation has urged drivers not to risk a substantial fine for breaking the law when confronted with an emergency vehicle trying to get past.
Emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines and police cars are permitted to do certain things that regular drivers are not, such as go through red lights or drive in bus lanes. Even when getting out of the way of a “blue light” vehicle, motorists are subject to the law so risk a fine of up to £105 if they do any of these things.
Driving group GEM Motoring Assist is urging drivers to be “blue light aware” and understand the best course of action to stay safe and on the right side of the law.
GEM chief executive Neil Worth commented: “We all want to help emergency service drivers, and most of the time it’s just a simple case of pulling over to let them past.
“But we need to ensure that anything we do as drivers is safe and legal. That’s because we must all follow the rules of the road, even when giving way to an emergency vehicle.
“Blue light drivers have certain privileges, but the rest of us do not. So if we drive through a red traffic light or into a bus lane to make space for an ambulance, we risk a substantial fine, even if we were simply trying to help.”
Mr Worth emphasised that while emergency drivers appreciate drivers moving out of the way when it’s safe and legal, they do not expect anyone to put themselves or others in danger – or on the wrong side of the law.
To help drivers understand the best course of action, GEM has created a series of videos explaining what to do in a number of common situations and issued the following advice on how to help emergency crews while staying within the law.
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