Dear Ambulance Driver

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nilling

Über Member
Location
Preston, UK
Please don't switch on your blues 'n' twos on when you are right behind me!

Two cars pass me then pull over to the left and before I realise what's happening the ambulance driver hits the switch - I nearly sh@t myself!
 
Perhaps he was using the cigar lighter and pressed the wrong button.xx(
 
Location
Edinburgh
From how I read the OP, he was probably running with the blues only at first. The 2 cars see this in thier mirrors and pull over leaving just the OP pootling (for want of a better word) along in thier way. As he is on the way to some emergency he need to alert you to his presence smartish. The only option to him is a blast on the twos as a horn would not give the same message. Unfortunately there is not a volume control on these things. It probably never occured to him that it would be a problem and was forgotten as soon as he was past. Not a lot of consolation I know, I can understand your reaction, but I think it is something that just has to be let go.
 

Matty

Well-Known Member
Location
Nr Edinburgh
I've never seen a driver react appropriately an emergency vehicle. Default reaction is hit brakes and stop, irrespective of what is going on.
 
Matty said:
I've never seen a driver react appropriately an emergency vehicle. Default reaction is hit brakes and stop, irrespective of what is going on.

Indeed

Worst I had (in the car) was a dickhead who was so busy blasting out loud music and dreaming, had no idea. I indicated to pull into his lane (3 lane road in a queue, everyone else was parting like the red sea but mainly to the right thanks to crash barriers to the left, only room for me to get out of the way was to the right, he insisted on trying to keep "his place" in the queue by not budging to his right and edgeing forward to block any move by me

I don't think he really knew what was going on despite everyone else moving, as the ambulance finally passed after I eventually managed to clear the road having had no option but to be very aggressive about the move over, I shouted "NOW do you realise?"

As traffic moved back into lanes again, he wound his window down and shouted "don't call ME a self-gratification artist!"

I wonder where he got the "self-gratification artist" idea from? The word had never passed my lips. Perhaps subconsciously, he just knew.
 

mark i

Well-Known Member
I find the emergency vehicles that I have encountered quite good. I have been sounded from behind once, which you are right is a bit of a surprise, but cyclists have very poor rearward visibility, we only look back when we know a hazard is about so we need to know what is behind us. Oncoming traffic is usually very good. Two vehicles I have had approaching from the front have waved when I have got out of the way facilitating their overtakes coming the other way.
 
Oh dear....I had a pass from an ambulance driver yesterday on the Bow Flyover which wasn't that good to almost identical to BentMikeys police car video...although a white vans positioning didn't help at all...I also have it on video.
 
OP
OP
nilling

nilling

Über Member
Location
Preston, UK
The ambulance would have passed through roadworks so probably had blues 'n' twos on a bit before, but with the strong headwind this morning I couldn't hear much anyhow.
 
C

chillyuk

Guest
Matty said:
I've never seen a driver react appropriately an emergency vehicle. Default reaction is hit brakes and stop, irrespective of what is going on.

I was on a rural road, very bendy and blind bends for a mile or so. I had an ambulance come up behind me on blues, and being unsafe to overtake I accelerated and drove as fast as I safely could until I came to a safe stretch for him to go by where I signalled left and slightly eased off the throttle while he went past.

The thumbs up from the passenger window suggested that I did the right thing.
 

Matty

Well-Known Member
Location
Nr Edinburgh
chillyuk said:
I was on a rural road, very bendy and blind bends for a mile or so. I had an ambulance come up behind me on blues, and being unsafe to overtake I accelerated and drove as fast as I safely could until I came to a safe stretch for him to go by where I signalled left and slightly eased off the throttle while he went past.

The thumbs up from the passenger window suggested that I did the right thing.

Good effort. The crew were probably quite surprised! Of course, what you should have done is hit the brakes, stop and block the road.
 
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