If you go through a red light and get fined...

[Nosha123]

If you were stopped at a red light.. and behind you a police or ambulance is trying to pass through traffic with their sirens going... If you cross the white line whilst the lights are still red.. and carefully pull over to the side to create some space for the emergency vehicle to pass.. and you get camera flashed by one of the cameras they have at junctions... Can you defend your actions that you were allowing an emergency vehicle through or will they still fine you?
Hypothetical question.. but one i have often wondered about!

[jno]

I'm pretty sure I read about someone getting fined for doing just that.

http://www.rac.co.uk/...hen-lights-flashing!!

[EvianBaby]

I'm sure you could successfully appeal it. After all they would also have snapped the emergency vehicle going through the red light which would provide evidence for your reason.

[Squitty]

not hypothetical for this chap

http://www.dailymail....ice-van-999-pass.html

[Ankou]

they usually flash a couple of times, so if evidence shows that you pulled over and stopped i am sure you would have good grounds for appeal.

[jackthehat]

Unless instructed to do so by a policeman, there is NO excuse for moving forward of the Stop line at a red traffic light.

A bonkers ruling when it comes to the situation you describe, but the Law is the Law, I'm afraid.

[jake-the-peg]

Some conflict of opinion here:

http://www.rac.co.uk/...hen-lights-flashing!!

I tend to suspect in practice as long as there was no accident or damage resulting they'd drop the case.

It would play badly in the press

[jno]

play badly in the press? So it does (see Squitty's link) but when did that ever stop anyone?

[SlackAlice]

A red traffic light means stop, and there do not appear to be any exceptions to this except 'you may cross a red light on the instructions of a police officer'.

I've often moved over to allow an Ambulance or Fire engine through, but if I know the traffic lights have cameras then I will not cross then white line. You will find that the emergency vehicles will often find a way through on the opposite side of the road.

[SlackAlice]

for 'then' read 'the'
Duh!

[Squitty]

I was in this situation recently and had nowhere to go but forward - the ambulance just went around the lights on the wrong side of the road so never caused a problem anyway.

[jake-the-peg]

If you read the bottom of Squitty's DM article they say:

Last July, Khalid Mahmood was fined for pulling into a bus lane to allow an ambulance to pass in Manchester. The fine was later withdrawn by the council.

Also if you follow up on the Phillip Lilley case and do your homework properly you'll see he too was let off

http://menmedia.co.uk...ine_driver_is_cleared


That's the answer to JNO's question about when it ever stopped anyone.


Moral of the story check facts and don't rely on cynicism

[joko]

i suppose you could argue that the fact that the lights were flashing on a police car is kind of permission and being told to move by an officer...that is the point of them isnt it? to ask people to move...

[joko]

reading some of those links... imagine if people just stayed put, even though they could have moved safely, for fear of doing the wrong thing and someone dies...?

if i found out that a delay like that ensured the death of someone i loved, i would cause a lot of trouble about it...
some things are more important than technicalities...but some would stubbornly sit there thinking 'im not getting fined!' while someone is dying...

[Nosha123]

interesting isnt it chaps.. thanks for your contributions...
My husband needed an ambulance 2 weekends ago after a bike accident. thankfully he is fine... but I did think to myself that I would be really angry to see drivers not moving out of the way for an emergency vehicle if they had been dashing to help him at the scene of the accident.
I always do my best to get out of their way as quickly as poss... and am sure at some point I have gone through a red light to allow them room....
Food for thought eh!

[redcrx]

the emergency vehicle, be it police, ambulance, fire engine, is driven by a trained driver and also has warning lights and sirens on it.

The emergency vehicle will find a way around you and you should not have to get out of way, though it would help if you did but only if safe and legal to do so.

If a car crossing the traffic lights on red had a collision there would be no "well i needed to get out of way" excuse, so it would be same with being done for crossing lights, you may get away with an appeal though.

[gem_mother]

I was almost in this position yesterday at traffic lights. There was a car in front of me and a couple behind, and three or four in the outside lane. A police car came up behind with sirens blaring. When he couldn't get through he started beeping his horn but made no attempt to get through on the other side of the road. As the car in front of me didn't move there was little I could do other than pull over to the side as far as I could. Fortunately we were saved by the lights changing.

[Andyvon]

I think this is one of those points where there are no hard and fast rules as each situation is different. Hopefully, each situation would be resolved by those drivers involved using common sense at the time (sense not being too common sometimes of course!)

[jno]

but jake, that's my point. They didn't drop either case because it would play badly in the press. They dropped them AFTER they had already done so, which is a different matter. The thought that it might do so in future has not been enough to make them stop and think; as a result the victims have had to fight the cases, and/or phone the Mail, when the cases need not have been brought in the first place.

[netibiza]

Agree with JHH, it is up to the emergency services to find a way through or then to ask you to move.

[cathfromsaron]

i would hope that if you were repositioning your car to let an emergency vehicle through, then you would be ok, and the events would also be recorded! but i know people have been done and then complained to the papers instead of making their case properly!

people grinding to a halt in the road when they hear a siren *really* annoys me! you are supposed to maintain your speed and drive to the side to make space!