[skip0358]

Originally Posted by CFrance

I heard a siren at 5:00 a.m. I don't mind. I just hope whoever they're responding to survives.

AMEN on that !!

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by skip0358

AMEN on that !!

You and CFrance can wake up and pray....

[Russ_Boston]

OP - Did you read about the police car that slammed into a family at 3AM (Ohio maybe?) and killed all 6 passengers (mom, dad, 4 daughters) about 2 weeks ago?

Turn those sirens up and slow down at intersections please. Needless waste of 6 lives responding to a convenience store hold up!

[spk7951]

The answer is simple as defined in Chapter 316-126 of the Florida Statutes;

"(3) Any authorized emergency vehicle, when en route to meet an existing emergency, shall warn all other vehicular traffic along the emergency route by an audible signal, siren, exhaust whistle, or other adequate device or by a visible signal by the use of displayed blue or red lights. While en route to such emergency, the emergency vehicle shall otherwise proceed in a manner consistent with the laws regulating vehicular traffic upon the highways of this state."

[NotGolfer]

IF these responders were coming to your home for you or a loved one...I'd expect you wouldn't care if their sirens were on or not. For me...hearing them would tell me they're coming and it would be "comforting" in the sense that they were close.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by NotGolfer

IF these responders were coming to your home for you or a loved one...I'd expect you wouldn't care if their sirens were on or not. For me...hearing them would tell me they're coming and it would be "comforting" in the sense that they were close.

One night while riding up front while my husband was being transported to the hospital by ambulance, I asked the driver if they had problems with people not granting them the right of way. His response was, "Very often. You wouldn't believe what some do, either because they don't understand with the new divided roads these days or simply do not know or don't care." He also told me that they travel in the inside lane which leaves plenty of room for the traffic to pull to a stop on the side.

If you are on the other side of let's say Buena Vista with the emergency vehicle coming toward you, it is not a bad idea to pull over or at least slow down if you are approaching an intersection or turn around, just in case you need grant them the right of way. We all need to keep in mind, too, Florida's "Move Over Law" if you see police or emergency vehicles stopped on your side of travel.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by spk7951

The answer is simple as defined in Chapter 316-126 of the Florida Statutes;

"(3) Any authorized emergency vehicle, when en route to meet an existing emergency, shall warn all other vehicular traffic along the emergency route by an audible signal, siren, exhaust whistle, or other adequate device or by a visible signal by the use of displayed blue or red lights. While en route to such emergency, the emergency vehicle shall otherwise proceed in a manner consistent with the laws regulating vehicular traffic upon the highways of this state."

I think OP has a point---at 3 am the displayed blue/red lights are adequate and according to the statues.

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by justjim

I think OP has a point---at 3 am the displayed blue/red lights are adequate and according to the statues.

I guess you missed my post about the 6 people killed last week by a police car at exactly 3AM. I'm ok with no siren but please slow down when approaching lights or circles. It only takes a few more seconds.

6 killed, officer hurt in police car collision

[Dick and Lin]

If you're the party that called for help it is great to hear the siren getting louder. It is reassuring to know that help is on the way. A person will hold up jumping from a multiple story building if they know that rescue in just around the corner.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by brightspot01

I don't think the OP was actually asking a question. I took it as a rhetorical question...nothing more.

A sentence followed by a question mark, is not a rhetorical question.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

A sentence followed by a question mark, is not a rhetorical question.

If we valued the person to whom the ambulance was rushing to see in full blare as much as we valued ourselves than it would not be an issue.

The Golden Rule.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

A sentence followed by a question mark, is not a rhetorical question.

That is not true. A rhetorical question certainly can end in a question mark. Grammar Girl : Do Rhetorical Questions Need a Question Mark? :: Quick and Dirty Tips

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

If we valued the person to whom the ambulance was rushing to see in full blare as much as we valued ourselves than it would not be an issue.

The Golden Rule.

Touch�

[Mo779]

Woken up twice last night from sirens blaring. Between 1am - 5am. Not much traffic, pedestrians, bikers or walkers on the road at that time!! Sorry, but I don't think that common sense is being used here - certainly use lights & sirens to go through intersections, but have the courtesy to shut them (sirens) down after doing so.

[Carl in Tampa]

Originally Posted by Mo779

Woken up twice last night from sirens blaring. Between 1am - 5am. Not much traffic, pedestrians, bikers or walkers on the road at that time!! Sorry, but I don't think that common sense is being used here - certainly use lights & sirens to go through intersections, but have the courtesy to shut them (sirens) down after doing so.

I suggest that if you were awakened then you were in no position to actually know the roadway conditions regarding traffic, pedestrians or bikers. (Walkers is redundant.)

The use of emergency lights and sirens is a very positive public safety device. Even then, there is no guarantee of safety for the vehicle operator and the public.

What could be more secure than a Presidential motorcade, with flashing lights on the motorcade vehicles, police officers controlling traffic at each intersection and motorcycles running escort alongside the motorcade? Yet, with all of this there have been multiple occasions where a driver on a cross street has pulled out and struck a car in the Presidential motorcade.

The prudent First Responder uses emergency lights, the siren and caution at all times.

-----------------------------

When driving on multiple lane highways, like the Interstates, I always use my turn signals when changing lanes, even when I don't see another vehicle anywhere near me, just in case there is a vehicle that I've failed to see.

Life experience has taught me great caution.

Besides which, the law requires a signal when changing lanes.