[Eg_cruz]

Was driving on the Morse Bridge going north, we were in the middle of the bridge when I fire truck with lights on was heading south on the opposite side of the bridge.
There was no traffic in front of the fire truck.

Question: does the north bound cars have to stop?
We were in the left lane and the driver in front slammed on his brakes and come to a stop until the fire truck passed, they didn’t pull over to the right lane he just stopped in the middle of the bridge.

What is the proper move here?

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Eg_cruz

Was driving on the Morse Bridge going north, we were in the middle of the bridge when I fire truck with lights on was heading south on the opposite side of the bridge.
There was no traffic in front of the fire truck.

Question: does the north bound cars have to stop?
We were in the left lane and the driver in front slammed on his brakes and come to a stop until the fire truck passed, they didn’t pull over to the right lane he just stopped in the middle of the bridge.

What is the proper move here?

Good question---here's the applicable statute, but it does not specify which side of the road:

316.126 Operation of vehicles and actions of pedestrians; approach of authorized emergency, sanitation, or utility service vehicle, wrecker, or road and bridge maintenance or construction vehicle; presence of disabled motor vehicle.—
(1)(a) Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle, while en route to meet an existing emergency, the driver of every other vehicle shall, when such emergency vehicle is giving audible signals by siren, exhaust whistle, or other adequate device, or visible signals by the use of displayed blue or red lights, yield the right-of-way to the emergency vehicle and shall immediately proceed to a position parallel to, and as close as reasonable to the closest edge of the curb of the roadway, clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer.

However, as an extreme example, I doubt you have to stop for an emergency vehicle going the opposite direction on I-75.

[Keefelane66]

No since there are 2 lanes one should slow and pull over into the right lane if possible but not stop

[JGibson]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Good question---here's the applicable statute, but it does not specify which side of the road:

316.126 Operation of vehicles and actions of pedestrians; approach of authorized emergency, sanitation, or utility service vehicle, wrecker, or road and bridge maintenance or construction vehicle; presence of disabled motor vehicle.—
(1)(a) Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle, while en route to meet an existing emergency, the driver of every other vehicle shall, when such emergency vehicle is giving audible signals by siren, exhaust whistle, or other adequate device, or visible signals by the use of displayed blue or red lights, yield the right-of-way to the emergency vehicle and shall immediately proceed to a position parallel to, and as close as reasonable to the closest edge of the curb of the roadway, clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer.

However, as an extreme example, I doubt you have to stop for an emergency vehicle going the opposite direction on I-75.

What you quoted pertains to an emergency vehicle that's behind you.

If your on i75 and an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road your supposed to slow down and move to left lane if possible.

It says nothing about being on the opposite side of the road.

Now, if you're in NYC you immediately get behind the emergency vehicle and bypass all the traffic. lol.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by JGibson

What you quoted pertains to an emergency vehicle that's behind you.

If your on i75 and an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road your supposed to slow down and move to left lane if possible.

It says nothing about being on the opposite side of the road.

Now, if you're in NYC you immediately get behind the emergency vehicle and bypass all the traffic. lol.

Yes, as I already stated, it says nothing about the opposite side of the road.

Please highlight the part of the statute that states it only applies to emergency vehicles BEHIND you. Common sense dictates that it must mean exactly that, especially on divided roadways, but it does not appear anywhere in the statue.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by JGibson

What you quoted pertains to an emergency vehicle that's behind you.

If your on i75 and an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road your supposed to slow down and move to left lane if possible.

It says nothing about being on the opposite side of the road.

Now, if you're in NYC you immediately get behind the emergency vehicle and bypass all the traffic. lol.

What was quoted, chapter 316.126(1)(a), applies when an emergency vehicle is approaching from either direction. If an emergency vehicle is approaching, drivers should move as close as possible to the closest edge of the curb. It really is that simple.

The section does not say which side of the roadway for a simple reason: it doesn't matter. If an emergency vehicle is approaching you make way for it regardless of whether it is behind you, in front of you, or approaching from a side street.

On a divided highway, such as I-75, an oncoming emergency vehicle is not on the roadway with you, it is on a separate, parallel roadway. Nothing you do on your side of the divider can make any more room for the emergency vehicle in the other lanes.

On the Morse bridge, the lanes are not divided. If an emergency vehicle with its emergency lights on is traveling on the Morse bridge then all other traffic should be moving to their right to make room for the vehicle to pass. It doesn't matter which direction the emergency vehicle is traveling and it doesn't matter which direction you are traveling, move to the right to make room. It doesn't matter if you are the only other person on the bridge, you still move to the right to make room. It really is that simple.

To answer the OP's question, the right move would have been for traffic going north in the left lane to pull to the right lane and stop until the emergency vehicle had passed. Stopping in the left lane was absolutely the wrong move.

[Laker14]

Regarding the Morse Ave. bridge: stopping in the left lane does nothing to help the oncoming emergency vehicle. If I were in the left lane I'd get to the right lane as quickly and safely as possible. If I were in the right lane I'd adjust my speed so whoever was in the left lane could get over into the right lane. Since there is no way the EV would be trying to turn left in front of me to get to a cross street, I wouldn't stop unless traffic in front of me had stopped. I would maintain the speed of the traffic around me, other than to slow down as described above, so the left lane traffic could move over.

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by Eg_cruz

Was driving on the Morse Bridge going north, we were in the middle of the bridge when I fire truck with lights on was heading south on the opposite side of the bridge.
There was no traffic in front of the fire truck.

Question: does the north bound cars have to stop?
We were in the left lane and the driver in front slammed on his brakes and come to a stop until the fire truck passed, they didn’t pull over to the right lane he just stopped in the middle of the bridge.

What is the proper move here?

What was that driver thinking? "I'll just stop and block the lane. That should help." Thinking is an important part of driving.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

What was that driver thinking? "I'll just stop and block the lane. That should help." Thinking is an important part of driving.

Might have been thinking that same thing as the cart driver on the pet peeve thread 😂😂😂

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Good question---here's the applicable statute, but it does not specify which side of the road:

316.126 Operation of vehicles and actions of pedestrians; approach of authorized emergency, sanitation, or utility service vehicle, wrecker, or road and bridge maintenance or construction vehicle; presence of disabled motor vehicle.—
(1)(a) Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle, while en route to meet an existing emergency, the driver of every other vehicle shall, when such emergency vehicle is giving audible signals by siren, exhaust whistle, or other adequate device, or visible signals by the use of displayed blue or red lights, yield the right-of-way to the emergency vehicle and shall immediately proceed to a position parallel to, and as close as reasonable to the closest edge of the curb of the roadway, clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer.

However, as an extreme example, I doubt you have to stop for an emergency vehicle going the opposite direction on I-75.

Thank you

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

What was quoted, chapter 316.126(1)(a), applies when an emergency vehicle is approaching from either direction. If an emergency vehicle is approaching, drivers should move as close as possible to the closest edge of the curb. It really is that simple.

The section does not say which side of the roadway for a simple reason: it doesn't matter. If an emergency vehicle is approaching you make way for it regardless of whether it is behind you, in front of you, or approaching from a side street.

On a divided highway, such as I-75, an oncoming emergency vehicle is not on the roadway with you, it is on a separate, parallel roadway. Nothing you do on your side of the divider can make any more room for the emergency vehicle in the other lanes.

On the Morse bridge, the lanes are not divided. If an emergency vehicle with its emergency lights on is traveling on the Morse bridge then all other traffic should be moving to their right to make room for the vehicle to pass. It doesn't matter which direction the emergency vehicle is traveling and it doesn't matter which direction you are traveling, move to the right to make room. It doesn't matter if you are the only other person on the bridge, you still move to the right to make room. It really is that simple.

To answer the OP's question, the right move would have been for traffic going north in the left lane to pull to the right lane and stop until the emergency vehicle had passed. Stopping in the left lane was absolutely the wrong move.

Thank you

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

What was that driver thinking? "I'll just stop and block the lane. That should help." Thinking is an important part of driving.

Thank you that’s what I was thinking
������

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Eg_cruz

Thank you that’s what I was thinking
������

Your tag line is, "Living is Easy with Eyes Closed". It isn't. I keep bumping into and tripping over stuff.

[dhdallas]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

What was quoted, chapter 316.126(1)(a), applies when an emergency vehicle is approaching from either direction. If an emergency vehicle is approaching, drivers should move as close as possible to the closest edge of the curb. It really is that simple.

The section does not say which side of the roadway for a simple reason: it doesn't matter. If an emergency vehicle is approaching you make way for it regardless of whether it is behind you, in front of you, or approaching from a side street.

On a divided highway, such as I-75, an oncoming emergency vehicle is not on the roadway with you, it is on a separate, parallel roadway. Nothing you do on your side of the divider can make any more room for the emergency vehicle in the other lanes.

On the Morse bridge, the lanes are not divided. If an emergency vehicle with its emergency lights on is traveling on the Morse bridge then all other traffic should be moving to their right to make room for the vehicle to pass. It doesn't matter which direction the emergency vehicle is traveling and it doesn't matter which direction you are traveling, move to the right to make room. It doesn't matter if you are the only other person on the bridge, you still move to the right to make room. It really is that simple.

To answer the OP's question, the right move would have been for traffic going north in the left lane to pull to the right lane and stop until the emergency vehicle had passed. Stopping in the left lane was absolutely the wrong move.

As a former paramedic, you win the gold star for giving the correct answer. Unless you are on a divided highway, when an emergency vehicle with flashing lights and siren approaches from EITHER direction, all traffic is to pull over to the right and STOP.

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

Your tag line is, "Living is Easy with Eyes Closed". It isn't. I keep bumping into and tripping over stuff.

Funny