Information related to emergency vehicles and their operation.
The rain is pounding down outside this morning as I sit looking out my living room window with tablet and coffee in hand. I think I'm fortunate to be retired because I am no longer on the highway investigating collisions in this weather. Of course, Murphy was listening...
The C.F.S.E.U. was in the news this week, probably not in the way they would have liked. You may have seen the dash cam videos from Richmond showing a number of vehicles apparently brazenly running red lights. The story hit the news amid amazed comments about how bad drivers were becoming in the Lower Mainland.
All freeways in BC appear to have cross over sections that connect the separated highways. These sections all have do not enter signs on each side. What type of vehicle or driver is permitted to enter these sections of the highway?
Sirens! I'm being overtaken by an ambulance on the way to a call. In order to give way, I signal, move out of the right lane onto the shoulder and stop. Traffic around me seems to be well aware today too as they are doing much the same thing.
When you need the services of firefighters or paramedics seconds can seem like hours. Sooner is always better in situations like this so some traffic lights are equipped with sensors that listen for sirens and change the signals to make way for emergency vehicles. Not knowing what the priority signal lights meant led one driver to make a choice that could have resulted in a collision in a Ladysmith intersection.
A reader was travelling in a major municipality recently and was stopped in a large collection of vehicles waiting for a red light at the intersection of two multiple lane highways. Emergency vehicles using lights and sirens approached from the rear and tried to get through the traffic and the intersection. There was significant difficulty and the reader was curious how far forward vehicles could move into the cross flow of traffic to assist in clearing a path.
The police must follow the provisions of the Emergency Vehicle Driving Regulation when they intend to employ the exemption from the rules of the road set out in the Motor Vehicle Act. In this case, Constable Jacobson was driving his police vehicle on Highway 97 at Daimler Drive in West Kelowna approaching a red light. Hoping to save a few minutes arriving at a complaint he activated the police vehicles's emergency lights and siren about 4 - 5 vehicle lengths’ back from the beginning of the left turn lane on Highway 97 going south.
Imagine making a lane change and crashing into a fully marked police vehicle stopped at the side of the highway with all of its emergency lights operating. I can only guess that the driver was not properly scanning his environment and looking far enough ahead to anticipate issues before they happen.
I was caught by surprise, and although I realize ignorance of a law is no defence, I wonder how I might have known about this change in BC traffic law. I had moved away from BC in 2001, not returning until 2012. When I returned to BC in 2012, I was given a BC drivers licence again, but no info about any changes in traffic regulations which had happened while I was away. Apparently in 2009 or so, MVA Regulation
Just wondering what "discharge of a members duties" means? Also I'm wondering why BC doesn't have a flashing light policy for Volunteer Firefighters? There are quite a few volunteer halls here in Victoria that would benefit in response times if they could utilize flashing lights and possibly even sirens.