On Wed, 05 Apr 2017 20:04:36 +0100, Tim Streater wrote:

In article , tim...
wrote:

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 5 Apr 2017 09:14:21 +0100, Chris Green wrote:

James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/blue-light-use/

Oh for goodness sake, it's quite simple. If a vehicle has blue flashing
lights, you get out of their way, no questions asked. If you don't and

However the trouble often is that it's far from obvious where "out of
the way" is going to be.

And that in turn is often a function of how 'aware' you are of your
surroundings. I don't generally play music loud in my car (tinnitus)
and have reasonably good vision and like to think I 'keep my wits
about me', so often see / hear emergency way before they are close and
it seems, much sooner than many other drivers.

Many times I've spotted a good place to slow / pull over and in plenty
of time for said emergency vehicle to pass only to have cars overtake
me and then actually create an effective road block! ;-(

I usually just pull into the curb and slow down

only to nearly rear-end the numpty in the car in front who thinks that the
only way that the emergency vehicle can pass them is if they stop :-(

The "numpty" is doing the right thing. If you stop (provided you don't
do it just where there's a refuge and keep-left thingy in the middle of
the road) then the emergency driver doesn't have to compute in his head
where you are going to be when he passes you. He can get on with the
driving bit.

The real numpties are the ones who think the best thing to do is speed
up.

It depends on the circumstances. I might stop, slow down, or speed up. It's pretty easy to work out how not to be where the ambulance wants to be.

For example, I'm travelling along a road at the speed limit of 60mph behind two other cars. An ambulance approaches from behind at 80mph. The two cars in front pull over and slow down or stop. I accelerate to 90mph, leaving the ambulance behind me so I'm not in it's way, and I get past the slowcoaches in front of me.

Following an ambulance is also a good way of getting past the law abiding buggers who won't go faster than the signs. They pull over to let the ambulance pass then I get past aswell before they notice.

--
How do you scare a man?
Sneak up behind him and start throwing rice.