Apparently emergency sirens aren't loud enough

[01rangerxl]

It seems most people are unaware of the fact that you are supposed to PULL OVER for emergency vehicles. I see them stopping in front of the emergency vehicle, or continuing to drive in front of the emergency vehicle at a meandering pace all the time.

Another techno-fad I have noticed recently that seems to be a contributing factor to this sort of behavior is having ear buds in while driving. As if playing on the phone isn't enough of a distraction, some people want to step it up by taking sound input out of the driving equation. I do not understand why...ear buds do not produce great sound, and most of these people are not driving old hoopties that may not have a radio. They are driving newer cars that should have an aux input allowing them to simply plug the audio device into the car and get better sound quality without eliminating important sensory input...like sirens.

In addition, because these drivers are detached from the sounds their car makes, they seem totally unaware of their speed. I saw one the other day in a newer Accord (new enough it certainly had an aux input) who was varying his speed between 45 MPH and 75 MPH on an interstate. He would do 45 MPH, people would pass, then he would run up to 75 MPH to pass them, then drop back down to 45-55 MPH. I looked over to see what his distraction was on one of his flybys...ear buds in, looking at his phone.

 

[DBMaster]

Play the first five seconds only. Pretty much sums it up.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
We have a motoring public that, in general, isn't capable of doing something as simple as backing up without a camera or parallel parking without a vehicle that does it for them. I'm not surprised that some folks aren't attentive enough to know when an emergency vehicle is behind them or what to do when one is behind them.

The kicker is that, if asked, the driver of the SUV in your scenario would consider him/herself fully capable of texting while driving. The people that do that are so clueless that they don't know they are hazardous drivers, both to themselves and to others.


Amen to ALL that!

 

[hattaresguy]

This is a result of poor driver training in this country, and people generally believing they are the most important thing in their safe little world and can do whatever they want without consequences.

Replace that ambulance with a run away cement truck and that driver would have learned about the consequences of their obliviousness. Sadly that doesn't happen often enough.

 

[Nick1994]

I can't stand when people on the other side of a median stop! Do they expect the fire truck or ambulance to jump a huge curb and median with trees and bushes!?

 

[zloveraz]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I prefer dipping two wheels into the paved shoulder and keeping it at about half the speed limit.


I've never lived in a state where you kept driving at any speed unless the emergency vehicles were on the opposite side of the road. Here in Texas it's very clear as The Texas Drivers Handbook spells out the obligation of drivers to yield the right-of-way to police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles have their sirens or lights activated. Drivers must pull to the right edge of the roadway and stop, not slow down but STOP.

 

[rjundi]

One major issue I find with smart phones is it is almost like texting to call someone as you have to look at screen/search etc.

In the past a dumb phone you had 10 speed dial #'s so it involved flip open and by touch typically clicking the correct #. Even texting could be done by some(including my wife) without looking at the screen/dialpad.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: zloveraz
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I prefer dipping two wheels into the paved shoulder and keeping it at about half the speed limit.


I've never lived in a state where you kept driving at any speed unless the emergency vehicles were on the opposite side of the road.


Originally Posted By: eljefino
People also stop completely on wide roads with no oncoming traffic for oncoming emergency vehicles. I prefer dipping two wheels into the paved shoulder and keeping it at about half the speed limit.

 

[Surestick]

Ugh...
- Failing to pull over
- Not pulling over as far as possible and coming to a full stop
- Making a left turn right in front of an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens on
- Pulling over to the left on a divided road
- Hogging the left lane so emergency vehicles need to wait for them to pull over, etc.


I spoke with a driver yesterday who pretty much illustrated what I think the problem with a lot of drivers is, they expect others to avoid them, not the opposite. The driver pulled out of a driveway onto the highway right in front of my marked patrol car, not just close enough that I had to let off the gas for a bit but close enough that I had to brake to avoid a collision. I looked in the rear-view and there was nobody behind me for a kilometer so had they waited the 5 seconds for me to pass they could have merged safely.

I pulled the driver over and explained I'd pulled them over because they pulled out into traffic when it wasn't safe to do so. The driver replied:
- "Well, if I waited for traffic I'd be waiting my whole life".
I replied - "You are supposed to wait until it's safe to pull out, if that means waiting a minute or two that's what you have to do"
- "I've been doing that for twelve years and I've never been in an accident"
- "That's because other people have been avoiding a collision with you"

I got the feeling they probably left still thinking they were right instead of realizing they should be driving so that other people didn't have to avoid them.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Surestick

I spoke with a driver yesterday who pretty much illustrated what I think the problem with a lot of drivers is, they expect others to avoid them, not the opposite.


Excellent point. A lot of people drive offensively instead of defensively. They seem to think "I'll just go ahead and pull out into the road and everyone will avoid me." I have noticed a lot of this...apparently everyone except for them is supposed to be paying attention and be able to avoid their meandering vehicle.

I saw this unravel in a major way right in front of me about a week ago. I was on a one way street with four lanes, with stop lights. When the lights are green, traffic moves about 40 MPH. I was in the left middle lane, behind a Chrysler 200. In the outside left lane was an Acura MDX. The 200 was at a light that had been red, but turned green well before I or the MDX approached it. Upon the light turning green, the 200 sort of meandered into the intersection, almost stopped, then made an abrupt left turn...directly into the lane the MDX was in. At this point the MDX was doing about 40 MPH, and plowed right into the 200. The lady in the MDX never hit the brakes (I slowed because I figured this wasn't going to be good), but she did lay on her horn. She pushed the 200 across the intersection and into the pole for the traffic light. Nobody was hurt, as both vehicles had air bags everywhere an air bag would fit, but it was a pretty dramatic wreck. Loud with parts flying everywhere. Both drivers seemed to have the "everyone will just get out of my way no matter what I do" mentality, resulting in two very totaled vehicles. The driver of the 200 was at fault, but I didn't feel very sorry for the lady in the MDX given that she made no attempt whatsoever to avoid the accident. Had she hit the brakes (she had time to lay on the horn), she might have been able to avoid plowing into the 200 like a freight train, and the 200 driver would have been the only douche, but she almost seemed to take it as a challenge to a game of chicken. They both lost. I would like to think it was a wake up call to the driver of the 200 to pay attention, and to the driver of the MDX to use the brakes rather than defiantly charge ahead, but I doubt it. It was the dumbest wreck I have ever seen happen right in front of me.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
^I have seen plenty of police cars I would like to pull over and ticket. Training and experience notwithstanding, cops aren't much better drivers than the rest of us. No disrespect is intended here. I am simply making the statement that stupidity is a shared trait and no one is immune.



Following the lead of local Cincinnati idiot drivers, I see city kops make multiple lane changes without signaling. That's-against-the-law-officerrrr... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40JQQ-uy2XI)

 

[ARB1977]

Air horns pointed to the rear would wake their donkeys up.

 

[saberz]

Be glad they didn't rear end you or cause an accident. I myself just got Venza back from the body shop because a 20 something girl was busy on her phone and slammed into my car at about 25-30 mph.

I use the AT&T drive app so i dont get disturbances in the car and have it on bluetooth to allow only certain numbers through for emergencies. Phones and driving should really be enforced strictly.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Surestick
Ugh...
- Failing to pull over
- Not pulling over as far as possible and coming to a full stop
- Making a left turn right in front of an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens on
- Pulling over to the left on a divided road
- Hogging the left lane so emergency vehicles need to wait for them to pull over, etc.


I spoke with a driver yesterday who pretty much illustrated what I think the problem with a lot of drivers is, they expect others to avoid them, not the opposite. The driver pulled out of a driveway onto the highway right in front of my marked patrol car, not just close enough that I had to let off the gas for a bit but close enough that I had to brake to avoid a collision. I looked in the rear-view and there was nobody behind me for a kilometer so had they waited the 5 seconds for me to pass they could have merged safely.

I pulled the driver over and explained I'd pulled them over because they pulled out into traffic when it wasn't safe to do so. The driver replied:
- "Well, if I waited for traffic I'd be waiting my whole life".
I replied - "You are supposed to wait until it's safe to pull out, if that means waiting a minute or two that's what you have to do"
- "I've been doing that for twelve years and I've never been in an accident"
- "That's because other people have been avoiding a collision with you"

I got the feeling they probably left still thinking they were right instead of realizing they should be driving so that other people didn't have to avoid them.


Wow. If they had that kind of attitude when speaking to an officer I can only imagine what their attitude is toward other people.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Had she hit the brakes (she had time to lay on the horn), she might have been able to avoid plowing into the 200 like a freight train, and the 200 driver would have been the only douche, but she almost seemed to take it as a challenge to a game of chicken. They both lost. I would like to think it was a wake up call to the driver of the 200 to pay attention, and to the driver of the MDX to use the brakes rather than defiantly charge ahead, but I doubt it. It was the dumbest wreck I have ever seen happen right in front of me.



I see things like this all the time. In fact I've seen people speed up when a car pulls out in front of them. Seriously, how dumb can someone be? This is why I just bought a dash cam, and why I have a hand held air horn next to my seat.

 

[Lapham3]

When I was a cop many years ago, I sent in quite a few request forms to the DMV for divers reexams on poor drivers I'd stopped. I'm not sure it did a lot of good as it seems that many will continue to drive regardless of lack of license/insurance. Years ago, it was easier to avoid poor drivers as the roadways were not as filled as today. I quit the motorcycle thing as the 'escape routes' to avoid bad situations had filled with other traffic.