Penalties exist for failing to give way to an emergency vehicle. Photo: James Coleman.
Canberra’s police, fire and ambulance services are reminding drivers of how to behave around emergency vehicles after a recent spate of dangerous manoeuvres have put lives at risk – and potentially delayed crucial care.
It comes after a driver suddenly stopped in front of three emergency vehicles – an ambulance and two police vehicles – which were transporting a critically ill patient to hospital.
ACT Policing and ACT Emergency Services Agency say these cases are becoming increasingly common.
“Over the last couple of weeks we’ve had a number of incidents where emergency vehicles have been responding to critical, time-sensitive incidents and vehicles have either failed to give way or have deliberately moved into our way because they haven’t been paying attention,” says Detective Sergeant Sean Evans from ACT Road Policing.
Detective Sergeant Sean Evans from ACT Policing says some drivers are deliberately moving into the way of emergency vehicles. Photo: James Coleman.
“As recently as last night, I was responding to a major collision, and probably one in three drivers were actually moving out of my way – the rest were simply just driving along listening to their podcasts or their music.”
On the other extreme, Det Sgt Evans says some motorists are breaking the law by going through red lights “when we’re nowhere near them”.
“They think we may be going in that direction, but we’re actually either turning beforehand or going.”
The agencies are reminding the community of the dos and don’ts before critical care is delayed – or worse, someone is killed or injured.
“If your vehicle is stationary and there is nowhere safe to go, stay where you are. If your car is moving, move to the left using your indicator to show you are aware and moving out of the way,” Det Sgt Evans says.
“Remain in the left-hand lane of a multi-lane road, allowing emergency vehicles to use the right-hand lane when required. It is also important for drivers to use their mirrors and be aware of their surroundings at all times.”
He says it’s important motorists be aware of the surroundings at all times by regularly checking mirrors, not having music blaring, and keeping conversations at “reasonable levels”.
“The overwhelming majority we’re seeing at the moment [not responding to us] are actually just failing to pay attention to their surroundings.”
These lights mean ‘move’. Photo: James Coleman.
In the ACT, failing to give way to an emergency vehicle carries a $384 fine and three demerit points. In NSW, drivers face a $464 fine and three demerit points.
“We generally only run an emergency or an incident response when it is time critical, and in some of these cases, seconds quite literally do count,” Det Sgt Evans says. “So what’s at stake could be your loved one sitting at home awaiting a police, ambulance or fire response, which has been delayed.”
ACT Ambulance Service operations manager John Berry says it’s important for motorists to slow down to 40 km/h when passing stationary emergency vehicles displaying red or blue lights.
“When paramedics respond to an emergency, they don’t get to choose where they stop or who they are helping, but you can choose how safely you drive,” he says.
“When you see emergency services working roadside, slow down to 40 km/h, move over and help keep us safe.”
ACT Fire & Rescue’s Bruce Chancellor, ACT Ambulance’s John Berry and ACT Policing’s Sean Evans echo the same commonsense driver safety message. Photo: James Coleman.
ACT Fire & Rescue superintendent of capability support Bruce Chancellor says “fire trucks are big, heavy and often have more than one appliance responding to an emergency”. He asks motorists to “slow down, give them space and help them reach those in need safely”.
Failing to abide by this law can result in a $289 fine and two demerit points in the ACT.
In NSW, slowing down to 40 km/h past stationary emergency vehicles only applies in zones with a speed limit of 80 km/h or less.
“If the speed limit is over 80km/h, you must slow down safely and move over. This includes changing lanes on a multi-lane road, if it’s safe to do so,” according to the NSW Government website.
In zones 80 km/h or under, a $544 fine and three demerit points can apply for speeding up or failing to slow down to 40 km/h.
In the ACT and NSW, the rule does not apply when the stationary emergency vehicle is on the opposite side of a divided road separated by a median strip.
