Emergency Medical Services

As drivers, we all share the responsibility of knowing and practicing correct driving behaviors. One of the most important rules of the road deals with yielding the right-of-way to emergency vehicles.

When driving, you must yield the right-of-way to police cars, fire engines, fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles which are sounding a siren or flashing lights. It’s a rare driver who has never experienced a fire truck on the bumper, lights flashing, horn honking and that long line of traffic in front…at a dead stop. What to do? Where to go?

Seconds, even minutes, can be dropped from the time it takes an emergency vehicle to reach its destination if you drive safely and are aware. The Plano Fire Department offers these tips for correct driving behaviors.

Remain calm. Don’t panic. Pull your vehicle to the right edge of the roadway and stop.

If you are in the left lane, pull over into the right lane as the traffic in the lane to your right moves over. Once to the right, stop.

If you cannot move to the right because of stopped vehicles, simply move as far to the right as possible, stop and leave a clear path for the emergency vehicle.

If an emergency vehicle approaches while your vehicle is stopped at an intersection, do not move unless you can move to the right without blocking the intersection.

Remain stopped until the emergency vehicles have passed. Once the emergency vehicle has passed, you must not follow within 500 feet of that vehicle.

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