Driving - "courtesy" lighting

[Mavrande]

I've seen a few people do this and was wondering if the consensus was that you'd find it useful or confusing:

As you're driving an emergency vehicle not code 3, and as another emergency vehicle that is driving code 3 is approaching, as you pull over and stop you also activate your emergency lights. On the positive side, this advises other nearby drivers who may hear a siren but not see the lights that they do need to pull over, and on the negative side it has the possibility of confusing the other emergency vehicle operator. Obviously you don't use your siren, you just activate your emergency lights to give other drivers a better chance of seeing some warning signal before they get hit by the other ambulance. Would you find this useful, or have you done it yourself?

 

[DesertMedic66]

I think people would more then likely find this confusing. When they look in their mirror they are going to see an ambulance stopped on the right side of the road with the lights on. It would easily be (IMO) confused with the ambulance actually going code.

 

[Handsome Robb]

It's pretty common for PD to light up, slip into the intersection and then stop to stop traffic if they see us coming code. Only at intersections though otherwise they just pull to the right.

You don't pass another emergency vehicle if you are both running code so if they light up in front of us while they are still moving we are going to slow down and yield since they have the right of way.

Never seen another EMS or Fire unit do it though.

 

[Mavrande]

NVRob, you might have gotten it - every time I've seen this done I think the vehicle has lit up and then blocked traffic coming off a one-way street perpendicular to the other rig's direction of travel. Obviously you don't want to block a street if the other rig might be turning down there, though - I've had more than enough well-intentioned drivers block a right turn that I had to make!

 

[Handsome Robb]

NVRob, you might have gotten it - every time I've seen this done I think the vehicle has lit up and then blocked traffic coming off a one-way street perpendicular to the other rig's direction of travel. Obviously you don't want to block a street if the other rig might be turning down there, though - I've had more than enough well-intentioned drivers block a right turn that I had to make!

Do you use your blinkers when you respond code? With all the lights going people don't always see them but it definitely helps. That and "telegraph" your intentions. Make your intentions as obvious as you can as early as you can.

 

[Meursault]

If I'm in heavy traffic and another emergency vehicle is approaching from behind, I'll usually turn on the lights and siren. Near me, most drivers don't pull over until they see the lights immediately behind them, and often not then either.

I believe moving people over earlier and/or breaking up the mass of traffic makes things smoother for the other vehicle. I probably wouldn't push people into intersections on anyone else's behalf, though.

I've gotten a few grateful, or at least courteous, waves from PD and other services for doing this, and so far no one's seen fit to discipline me.

 

[SoCal911]

Well 1. You're not authorized to light it up being youre not on a call so you could get in trouble. PD will do it - but they're cops lol. You're lights draw the attention away from them and could cause chaos. If anything chirp the siren but no lights.

 

[mycrofft]

Second SoCal911, but don't use any warning devices if you are not responding. It just adds to confusion, someone may dodge to avoid you and wind up in path of someone else, maybe the other emergency vehicle.

 

[bigbaldguy]

People tend to be poor at multitasking so giving them two things to think about is probably a bad idea.

 

[Steam Engine]

I've had police light up to clear and hold intersections which has been helpful. I've personally never done it though, having never been in a situation where I felt the potential benefit outweighed the potential risk.

 

[akflightmedic]

It is a bad idea and should not be done by anyone...PD included.

If you drive with caution and due regard, there is no major benefit and it could easily confuse too many other drivers into taking an action they would not have done had there only been one set of lights.

Even with PD blocking the road, I am still going to come to a stop, look all directions and then proceed. Waste of time but great show I guess...

 

[Steveb]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37-45AXZD3E[/YOUTUBE]

 

[BigBird]

greetings

I am new to your forum and this is my first post. I am a former police officer and just starting my career as a volunteer EMT, having just finished the first responder course.
From a Law enforcement perspective, only police officers may use emergency lights to direct traffic which is what you are doing when you stop with lights for another emergency vehicle.
From a liability perspective, if you pull to the side and activate your emergency lights and someone hits you, you could be held liable and sued. Generally as an unwritten rule among us officers, any move you make , you can usually expect us to back your play... USUALLY!

 

[SoCal911]

I have had the fire squad rush around us and into the intersection to clear the intersection so we could just proceed through, granted it was on a full arrest that was a witnessed down.

 

[Handsome Robb]

Even with PD blocking the road, I am still going to come to a stop, look all directions and then proceed. Waste of time but great show I guess...

Agreed, you still need to clear the intersection yourself. People ignore emergency vehicles all the time.

I have had the fire squad rush around us and into the intersection to clear the intersection so we could just proceed through, granted it was on a full arrest that was a witnessed down.

The only time we get escorts are for pediatric arrests (sometimes and only if we have reason to transport) or "high profile" cases, ie FF, EMS, PD, government official. I've never seen it happen or heard of it happening in the time I have been working. I did have PD follow me code 3 on a transport of a stabbing victim but he just trailed behind. During the Reno Air Races incident PD shut down a corridor for us to return to the hospital but I wasn't working.

 

[Epi-do]

I've never done this before for anyone, and like others have already said, the only time I have seen it done is when PD is in an intersection, blocking traffic for us.

It does remind me, however, of a situation that I ended up in once, and both my partner and myself were unsure what to do. We were coming off the interstate, onto a surface street and found ourselves in the middle of a funeral procession. We shut our siren down, and someone in the procession let us in front of them so we could get to the next intersection, where we needed to turn. I've always wondered though, what the "right" thing to do would be, or if we handled it ok.

 

[Tigger]

It is a bad idea and should not be done by anyone...PD included.

If you drive with caution and due regard, there is no major benefit and it could easily confuse too many other drivers into taking an action they would not have done had there only been one set of lights.

Even with PD blocking the road, I am still going to come to a stop, look all directions and then proceed. Waste of time but great show I guess...

This sums up my thoughts. I appreciate the "courtesy" but I am still going to stop. Half the time it seems that the PD car stopped in the intersection just makes everyone stopped and I can't get through.

I must say though I did blush a little bit when a semi marked Boston Police SWAT SUV stopped traffic for us at a really tight intersection.

 

[bw2529]

I am new to your forum and this is my first post. I am a former police officer and just starting my career as a volunteer EMT, having just finished the first responder course.
From a Law enforcement perspective, only police officers may use emergency lights to direct traffic which is what you are doing when you stop with lights for another emergency vehicle.
From a liability perspective, if you pull to the side and activate your emergency lights and someone hits you, you could be held liable and sued. Generally as an unwritten rule among us officers, any move you make , you can usually expect us to back your play... USUALLY!

I think that varies by state. Here, Fire Police can also use lights to direct traffic. My understanding is that the concept of Fire Police, at least as they exist in NY, is relatively unknown in southern states.

 

[Bandit55]

"Courtesy lighting" is something you turn on in a darkened hallway not on a busy street. The days of being a siren jockey are, and should be, a thing of the past. We, as a profession, overuse and misuse our RLS (red lights & siren). The public at large tend to find a certain autonomy within their POV and block out much of the world outside of their vehicles, add the radio, cell phone et al they don't, can't, won't hear/see you coming. You might think 'all the more reason', just all the more reason to be more patient and courteous ourselves. We don't have the right of way, we ask for it. So, please don't "courtesy light", and place more credence on the use of RLS.

 

[hippocratical]

This reminds me of the statistic that driving L&S in a convoy is way way more dangerous as the public only expect 1 vehicle. So 1 goes past, they pull out, and then BANG! second vehicle gets creamed.

"Courtesy" lighting sounds like a variation on this theme.