by Bart Ringer

Created on: December 06, 2009

Full fledged emergency equipment, be they lights, sirens or a combination of both, have never guaranteed safety when law enforcement, ambulance or fire vehicles are responding to a call. Our state statute reads: "Upon observing the approach of an emergency vehicle displaying red and/or blue lights or which is heard to be sounding an appropriate siren or whistle, the operator of a vehicle shall immediately yield to the right."

The key words here are "Upon observing" and "or is heard." I've been a cop for more years then I am going to say and I can assure you that even with a full fledged set of emergency equipment blazing and blaring away, it is not at all uncommon for motorists to fail to see your approach. For whatever reasons of distraction on the part of the civilian motorist, simply showing your red and blues or sounding a siren does not mean that traffic will magically part before you like the Red Sea did for Moses. People must see you coming before they are obligated to yield and if you are involved in an accident and it was determined the civilian driver did not see you approaching the red light you ran, the accident is your fault.

So with that said, what chance does a nervous husband who is trying to get his pregnant wife to the hospital have with a dinky set of emergency flashers? First of all, it will tell those motorists who do see him coming that there is some sort of a problem and it may get a few lane yields and thus help him arrive a bit quicker. On the other hand, if an officer is out on patrol and sees a vehicle driving with the flashers activated, there is probable cause to stop that vehicle and see what's going on. On those occasions where I have stopped folks on their way to the hospital, I radioed ahead and notified the emergency room of the situation so that they could be ready for them when they got there. I was then able to escort them so that they had the benefits of the safety afforded by my lights and siren as I ran interference for them.

In the use of emergency flashers by civilian motorists for any situation, there is one thing that must always be remembered:

The use of emergency flashers does NOT give you the right or the authority to exceed the speed limit, run red lights or drive recklessly or carelessly. Now that we've got the official version out of the way let's get back to the real world:

If you are driving in an emergency situation you will be going over the speed limit and you will be pushing the red lights and stop signs. Understand this: If you don't make it to your destination because you are involved in a traffic accident you will have only taken an emegency situation and made it worse. Given your situation and circumstances, drive as safely as possible.

The display of emergency flashers serves to notify the motorists around you that a problem exists and in the best case scenario, will alert an officer who is out on patrol of your situatiion so that he can provide assistance.

People will always be taking pregnant, sick or injured people to the hospital. While the use of emergency flashers in these situations is not a cure all by any means, it is better then nothing. Use them if you need them.

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