I was venting off steam the other day due to the CO's  who nearly caused me to go head on with unyeilding traffic from the opposite lane!

I was asked by the sargent who witnessed the 5 vehicles failing to yield to please get him their liscense plate #'s next time...

(The same 5 vehicles who almost caused another accident)!

The Co who we were going to pick up was grateful we were so close by...But, it could have had a different outcome if I had to stop & deal with a rescue instead of the CO who needed us.

I've had that happen to me too Joty!  Freaks me out- I start looking everywhere for emergency vehicles...  I don't get it.  Are sirens that musical anyway?  I just think they're annoying in songs.

LOL!! That is hillarious joty!!

Talking about being distracted by the radio...imagine my embarrassment when I heard a very loud siren and pulled over as quickly as I could, glaring at the other drivers going on by - only to realize the siren had come from a commercial on the radio (I did not have the volume way up either). I wish I could remember what the ad was for, I think that should be prohibited. I've also heard songs with sirens in them. Oh well, at least you know I am programmed to pull over!!! 

Progresso, you are a riot!!!! Thanks for making me laugh this morning!!!

From the CA Drivers' Handbook.  Note that the car is not on the shoulder of the road, but only to the right of the paved surface, in accordance with the handbook's instructions....

and it was my feathers which were ruffled...

Progresso is an ignorant jack a**.  Trying to ruffle feathers as always.

Sounds to me like you want to fix a lot of blame for a lot of reasons.  Usually frustrations have less to do with any particular thing another person is doing and more with your own frame of mind.

But whatever - the next emergency vehicle I impede will be the first, so maybe you should stick your attitude in your pocket - or your ear.

Progresso,

People are distracted by many things. Maybe we should do a test with you driving in front of me and I come up behind you in an ambulance with my "Strobe" lights, LED's, and Siren going and see if you are distracted by Kasey, your passenger, or that bluetooth you have shoved in your ear!!!

No matter what the case . You should still pull to the right when an emergency vehicle is behind you or approaching from ahead of you!!!! Its the Law, and the respectable - Right thing to do! And maybe You should turn off your radio.

Have a great night.

People are "still distracted" by their conversations via their blue-tooth headsets?  What about the distractions caused by the conversations with the person sitting next to them in their cars?  Should we turn off the radio, too?  After all, I might be distracted by Casey Kasem and his weekly Top 40 countdown....

It is the biggest pain to have someone not yield yet those are the members of the public who yell and throw fits if you are not to their house fast enough. Its kind of hypocritical!  I thank everyone who does pull over. It is much appreciated. 

On a another note is ambulance tailgaters- I think the the most interesting part is when someone in a elevated or raised vehicle get as close as they can to see in the back of your ambulance to see if they can see something.  I sure they would not appreciate that if the role was reversed yet it happens almost every time I transport somebody.

Also when we are going Code 3(Lights & Sirens) and drivers get really close to us to try and squeeze through traffic as if we were Moses and parting the Red Sea! Come on people!!!! What would happen if the Ambulance or Fire Engine were to stop suddenly. Then you slam into the back of the emergency vehicle. The end result is now that emergency vehicle has to stop and it may delay care to someone who really needs it because you wanted to hurry.

Gube - In my opinion, you can put what you want on my blog. Out of line with the comment?? Yes & No. I think "Snitch" is not the word for it and maybe AVEMT would be considered a whiner by the Sgt and basically as soon as the phone was hung up it would be swept under the rug. But in defense of AVEMT, I think under the circumstances AVEMT is doing what they feel they need to do. Who knows until it actually happens. I know I have wanted to say something(under my breath)and I have to friends of mine that are CO's. It doesn't help because it happens almost daily.

Olivia- I completely agree with you on your "Respect" comment!!! The world we live in is changing and some is not for the better. It is definitely not like when we were younger. I was raised with the military mindset being my dad was in the Air Force. Respect was bred into me. I still see respect more when I go to the Midwest of the US, but here in California it is minimal at best. Sad but true.

 Well I start slowing down as soon as I hear them, sometimes you can't even tell which direction they are coming from I always hear them before I actually see them. The other day I was in Lancaster by the outlet mall and my light had just turned green when I heard sirens so I just sat there until I knew from where they came and waited till they passed and went on about my business, if I miss one light cycle it's not the end of the world. Now 202 stinks as far as places to pull over but the second I can I do.

I admire what you guys do I can't imagine having to try and "think" about how each and every driver is going to react when they hear you, and also try to maneuver a large fire truck through traffic. Thank You and I hope your blog reaches a few of these people and changes their opinion.

It''s irritating to see an Ambulance or any other emergency vehicle coming, and watching those in front of me or behind me ignore it.  C'mon people what do think the lights, sirens, horns are for.  It means I'm on an Emergency call, please give me the right of way.

Another one that people have forgot is the respect you give when there are cars going to a cemetary to bury a loved one.  It's called respect.  That's what we do as American's.  We pull over out of respect for the mourning.  I don't care if the line is 3 miles deep.  Pull your butt over, and show some respect.  We are quickly growing into a country that no longer respects anyone.

I think I'm an angry blogger lately.

Trucker1 I always yield for lights and sirens.....Its the law.....I used to drive an ambulance years ago so i know first hand how important it is to move out of their way.

The snitch remark was probably out of line but come on the ''I'm going to call your Sargent'' remark is funny........Just sounded kind of childish that's all.

Actually I have seen numerous times where people coming out of the prison fail to yield. AVEMT is not being a snitch. Although calling the Sergeant probably wont go far, but after a high volume of calls regarding the same thing it might. But more than one person would need to call.

The failure to yield is a problem that I have seen over many years of driving. And unfortunately it is not going to stop anytime soon. With the influx of people we have had in Tehachapi over the last few years, and the roads not getting any bigger, it is bound to only get worse for all the emergency vehicles.

And let me guess Gube - You dont yield for anything because you are who you are and the world revolves around only you. :)-