Whilst also forgetting that nobody can see the flashing lights or hear the sirens.

Sometimes fire trucks also forget to slow down at intersections.

Ivo Shandor: Sometimes fire trucks also forget to slow down at intersections.

I wonder who the cops gave the ticket to on that one. I'm sure the other driver got one on the ambulance crash.

BuzKill: Ivo Shandor: Sometimes fire trucks also forget to slow down at intersections.

I wonder who the cops gave the ticket to on that one. I'm sure the other driver got one on the ambulance crash.

I'm sure that, regardless of how reckless the emergency vehicle may have been driving, that it's the average man who's on the hook here.

Ivo Shandor: Sometimes fire trucks also forget to slow down at intersections.

NSFW, guts everywhere

Badfysh: Whilst also forgetting that nobody can see the flashing lights or hear the sirens.

Do you know what happens when you assume something?

Hell, here in LIncoln, NE we have cops crashing into each other at stop lights and they never get ticketed.

I bet they beat the ambulance there by a good 15 min.

Oh, wait.

GTA V viral marketing?

I blame the other motorist. How could you not see the flashing lights and hear the siren?

bingethinker: I blame the other motorist. How could you not see the flashing lights and hear the siren?

I could hear the ambulance's own radio (I assume that was the source of the noise) over the siren playing music. That wasn't a terrible impressive siren or single blue light. It's late at night and people have shiatty reaction times. Plus we're getting too good with noise insulation the cars. The higher end luxury cars are really bad offenders in this category. I was out the other day with the radio off and didn't hear the police cruiser until it was right on top of me.

/sorry whichever Oakland County unit I was slow to get out of the way for
//around here the ambulances tend to poke their nose out for a second, blast the siren and then clear the intersection

ha-ha-guy: bingethinker: I blame the other motorist. How could you not see the flashing lights and hear the siren?

I could hear the ambulance's own radio (I assume that was the source of the noise) over the siren playing music. That wasn't a terrible impressive siren or single blue light. It's late at night and people have shiatty reaction times. Plus we're getting too good with noise insulation the cars. The higher end luxury cars are really bad offenders in this category. I was out the other day with the radio off and didn't hear the police cruiser until it was right on top of me.

/sorry whichever Oakland County unit I was slow to get out of the way for
//around here the ambulances tend to poke their nose out for a second, blast the siren and then clear the intersection

The siren would be much louder outside the ambulance, due to that good noise insulation you mentioned. But yeah, it's hard to locate them sometimes.

Honest Bender: BuzKill: Ivo Shandor: Sometimes fire trucks also forget to slow down at intersections.

I wonder who the cops gave the ticket to on that one. I'm sure the other driver got one on the ambulance crash.

I'm sure that, regardless of how reckless the emergency vehicle may have been driving, that it's the average man who's on the hook here.

Once saw two police Crown Vics cars blast through a red light and t-bone something akin to a Geo Metro right behind me. Dumb f*cks didn't have their sirens on fully...they were just sort of using them intermittently or whatever. Didn't slow down at the light, at all. And it was in a spot where there's no way the driver could have seen them coming.

I'm sure they probably ticketed the poor victim of the crash, knowing the Chicago PD.

/also saw a Chicago cop hit his lights/siren to blow through a red light and pull a u-turn in busy traffic to pull into a Dunkin Donuts one morning...I sh*t you not
//it wasn't getting robbed...I was headed to the same shop when I saw this

I've talked to a few ambulance guys about this, and it's the ambulance driver's fault in a case like this. They are authorized to go through red lights, but bear the responsibility to make sure it's safe to do so. Same for cops and fire trucks. They're probably not going to be ticketed, but it might be a while before they're allowed to drive.

Some cities have installed equipment that makes sure that intersections are all red, or the emergency vehicle has the only green- making this issue a moot point.

"we need an ambulance.. there's been a terrible crash between a coupe and an... ambulance"

I think the video was faked. No heavy metal on the CD player.

dfenstrate: I've talked to a few ambulance guys about this, and it's the ambulance driver's fault in a case like this. They are authorized to go through red lights, but bear the responsibility to make sure it's safe to do so. Same for cops and fire trucks. They're probably not going to be ticketed, but it might be a while before they're allowed to drive.

Some cities have installed equipment that makes sure that intersections are all red, or the emergency vehicle has the only green- making this issue a moot point.

Yeah, this looks to be someplace in Europe. It's not like the technology to do this is new... The old technology was just a sensor mounted up on traffic poles that detected an oncoming emergency vehicle from its flashing lights. It was supposedly possible to trick them into giving you a green light by flashing your brights at them, although I was way too young to drive when those were around so I never got to test it. The newer and most common tech around here is just a radio transmitter in the vehicle and a receiver on the traffic signals.

Someone call an us!

I almost got hit by an ambulance once. I'm still trying to decide if that's good luck or bad.

prjindigo: I think the video was faked. No heavy metal on the CD player.

Pffft. I drive my rig listening to NPR.

/WHYY
//WNYC

dfenstrate: I've talked to a few ambulance guys about this, and it's the ambulance driver's fault in a case like this. They are authorized to go through red lights, but bear the responsibility to make sure it's safe to do so. Same for cops and fire trucks. They're probably not going to be ticketed, but it might be a while before they're allowed to drive.

Some cities have installed equipment that makes sure that intersections are all red, or the emergency vehicle has the only green- making this issue a moot point.

Do you remember that DD ad from awhile back. It got pulled in a hurry due to outrage. Cop is chasing a vehicle and you're seeing from a helo. Car pulls into DD parking lot and the guy runs inside. Cop does the same. They both exit and the chase is on again. Very funny.

Zeno-25: dfenstrate: I've talked to a few ambulance guys about this, and it's the ambulance driver's fault in a case like this. They are authorized to go through red lights, but bear the responsibility to make sure it's safe to do so. Same for cops and fire trucks. They're probably not going to be ticketed, but it might be a while before they're allowed to drive.

Some cities have installed equipment that makes sure that intersections are all red, or the emergency vehicle has the only green- making this issue a moot point.

Yeah, this looks to be someplace in Europe. It's not like the technology to do this is new... The old technology was just a sensor mounted up on traffic poles that detected an oncoming emergency vehicle from its flashing lights. It was supposedly possible to trick them into giving you a green light by flashing your brights at them, although I was way too young to drive when those were around so I never got to test it. The newer and most common tech around here is just a radio transmitter in the vehicle and a receiver on the traffic signals.

The flashing your brights thing is a myth. Those sensors are activated by a strobe light that operates at a fast, specified frequency. The radio and GPS activated traffic preemptions systems are also expensive, so many cities still use the line of sight strobe lights and infrared systems.

bingethinker: The siren would be much louder outside the ambulance, due to that good noise insulation you mentioned. But yeah, it's hard to locate them sometimes.

And don't forget that deaf people are drivers too.