Give Way to Emergency Vehicle

elf888 on 19/06/2018 - 11:01
Last edited 19/06/2018 - 11:48 by 1 other user

Haven't got booked, but am I able to defend it?

Driving across the intersection on green light, I've heard the sound from a emergency vehicle. (I am already on half way when I start to hear the sound) I searched and saw an ambulance on the other side of the road going straight. As I'm on the opposite lane, I continue to go ahead with reduced speed and completing my crossing.

All of a sudden, I heard a large horn on my left and I was blocking a fire truck on my left with the horn on and going to cross the intersection. I was shocked as I was concentrating on the ambulance on my opposite lane.

So I assume I have broken the road rule blocking an emergency vehicle.
But am I able to defend it, as at the same time the ambulance was attracting all my attention?

Automotive

Comments

  • Peter Enis on 19/06/2018 - 11:03
    +23

    Why not save the stress until you actually receive a ticket?

    • elf888 on 20/06/2018 - 10:33

      I didn't get any stress, but just want to know how good/bad it will be in defending this situation.
      As the first thing i saw after i heard the sirens is the ambulance, i was keep all attention on it if i need to do anything to give way to it instead keep looking around. (obviously this time is failed to do as such)

      • HighAndDry on 20/06/2018 - 10:37
        +1

        i was keep all attention on it if i need to do anything to give way to it

        "all attention"? What about if the traffic light turns red? Or you need to give way to another car (like the fire truck)?

        In any case, if you need to consider that, you should pull over to the left anyway. Pulling over only when you see that you definitely need to give way is already too late.

        • CMH on 20/06/2018 - 15:02
          +3

          The most dangerous thing to happen on the road is something out of the ordinary.

          Such as this.

          This is when your attention should be focused on double checking your surroundings for other dangers (ie drivers like OP that's drawn to pretty lights and loud noises), rather than the ambulance itself. It's called tunnel vision, and similar to drivers who just watch what's in front of their bonnet.

          This time it's a firetruck that saw you. Next time you might not be so lucky.

  • dcep on 19/06/2018 - 11:07

    so the fire truck reported you ?

  • altomic on 19/06/2018 - 11:08
    +7

    pack your bag son. you're going away for a loooooong time.

    nothing is going to happen. you moved. you get booked when you deliberately block an emergency vehicle.

    • bobbified on 19/06/2018 - 12:09
      +6

      pack your bag son. you're going away for a loooooong time

      …there's going to be a lot of "firehoses" in there!!

      • QW3RTY on 19/06/2018 - 13:01
        +1

        And trust me, they'll definitely get your attention.

  • Ocker on 19/06/2018 - 11:09
    -4

    Next time try turning your radio volume down and concentrate on your surroundings.

    • QW3RTY on 19/06/2018 - 11:56
      -4

      Don't know why this was negged.

      When you hear emergency sirens, you need to remove all distractions and ensure you pay full attention to your surroundings.
      OP's lack of attention caused them to block an emergency vehicle.
      They may have not been listening to the radio, but OP definitely not paying full attention to surroundings. Seems a valid point to make.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 19/06/2018 - 13:42
        +5

        Don't know why this was negged.

        Wanton speculation — the OP didn't mention anything about their radio being on.

  • Ryanek on 19/06/2018 - 11:14
    -4

    "I did not see it" is not a valid excuse. If you don't give way, you break the law.

  • HighAndDry on 19/06/2018 - 11:15
    -2

    Wait till you actually get a ticket - unlikely because it seems nothing and no one took down your plate number. But

    But am i able to defense it as the same time as the ambulance was attracted all my attention?

    No, this isn't a valid excuse at all. You'd have thousands of traffic accidents if people could only pay attention to one thing at a time on the road.

  • tsunamisurfer on 19/06/2018 - 11:17

    But am i able to defense it as the same time as the ambulance was attracted all my attention?

    Are humans only able to hear one sound at a time?

    • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2018 - 10:03
      +1

      No but the chances of there being 2 emergency vehicles on the same intersection at the same time is low.

      Also all those lights and sirens are built to draw attention so I don’t blame them from attending to them.

  • ronnknee on 19/06/2018 - 11:47
    +1

    You might have better luck if you have someone else to write the appeal, but considering there is no actual ticket or report of the offence, you shouldn't worry too much about it.

  • bobbified on 19/06/2018 - 11:49
    +4

    At a sudden, i heard a large horn on my left and i was blocking a fire truck on my left

    A loud horn is frightening and, because of the way it's often used on our roads, we've come to associate it with anger. But, using the horn doesn't necessarily mean that they are angry - it is simply a warning from the driver of the other vehicle. It's unlikely you'll be "reported" as such by the ambulance or fire truck driver since they could probably see it wasn't an intentional thing. The drivers of the emergency vehicles are generally very aware of the impact their lights and sirens can have on other drivers. It's actually quite common for other drivers to panic so they've seen it all before and are quite forgiving. Besides, if they were to report everyone that got in their way, they'd have no time to do anything else!

    It's unlikely you'll receive a ticket, but I would try and learn from this incident anyway - ie, constantly check all mirrors and always try to be aware of your surroundings - even if you're just driving straight!

  • Gronk on 19/06/2018 - 11:57
    +2

    The distracted defense won't work, it's your responsibility to make sure you're aware of everything that's going on around you.

    Doubt you'll receive a fine though, if you were deliberately blocking their path it might be a different story but I'm sure they just shook their fists at you and moved on with their day.

  • Krankite on 19/06/2018 - 12:20
    +3

    Don't claim distraction as that is worth its own fine. If anything happens, not that it will, just claim that you felt proceeding through the intersection at reduced speed was the safest option since you were already partially across the intersection when the sirens sounded and other road conditions. Don't bother going into details just that you felt at the time it was the safest thing to do, as long as the situation wasn't foreseeable then safety trumps road rules.

  • Randxyz123 on 19/06/2018 - 13:10

    No saying you were distracted isn’t an excuse. You still should’ve been looking around and not staring at a ambulance…

  • Sofie519 on 19/06/2018 - 13:51

    You'll be fine … Firstly the emergency officers need to file a report to issue you with a fine (they would only do that if you deliberately obstructed them, with intention to cause delay. If you didnt get an on the spot fine, the likelihood is they wont be bothered with the paperwork. I see obstructions of emergency vehicles all the time, including by myself. Truth is when u hear the siren, it does take time to identify where the emergency vehicle is relative to yourself, it would be especially confusing if there are 2 emergency vehicles travelling in opposite directions.

    A friend of mine, did get a red light ticket once when moving aside to give way to the emergency vehicle, obviously got it voided when they wrote in to explain. So the law is not without some level of reason.

  • TheBilly on 19/06/2018 - 15:24

    Its good that you have already started to think about this potential problem. I would start contacting solicitors to prepare your potential legal defence and compiling evidence and tracking down some eye witnesses for when you may take this to court.

  • CMH on 19/06/2018 - 17:51
    +5

    You won't get a fine but not noticing something as big as a firetruck WITH lights and sirens on is something I would sit and ponder about whether I should continue driving in the future.

    Or just realise you may not be paying as much attention on the road as you think.

    • Mike88 on 19/06/2018 - 20:49

      I dunno, they’re pretty inconspicuous with all that red camouflage

      • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2018 - 08:24
        -2

        Red is not as conspicuous a colour for vehicles as you might think.
        A difficult colour for drivers to pick out , hence the use of yellow on newer fire fighting vehicles.

        Had an ambulance sneak up on me once with lights after a stereo install,
        Oblivious.

  • TheProcess on 20/06/2018 - 15:45

    Brb, using imagination since no pics

  • pegaxs on 20/06/2018 - 19:57

    Way down the page and don’t know if it will get read, but for anyone who wants to know the laws…

    Road Rules 2014, Division 4; Keeping clear of and giving way to particular vehicles

    Rule 78: Keeping clear of police and emergency vehicles

    Rule 79: Giving way to police and emergency vehicles

  • HeWhoKnows on 20/06/2018 - 20:48

    That is so funny LOL
    Hypothetical of course
    You can only do what you can do and it was always be safety first!

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