Emergency Vehicles / Just pull over, OK?

From the Atlantic City Press Published: Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Add this to the indicators of our fast-paced and self-absorbed culture: Area rescue squads report that motorists increasingly refuse to move over when emergency vehicles approach. That's pretty appalling.

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Some rescue squads say the discourtesy of motorists, compounded by the increase in traffic congestion, is having a real impact on response times. Two or three minutes means a huge difference in a life-and-death situation. And it's not just rescue squads that have noticed the indifference of motorists to emergency vehicles - police and firefighters have as well.

Chuck Solimine, chief of Lacey Township emergency medical services, said he theorizes that motorists ignore ambulances because they think the ambulance is responding to a trivial or low-priority call.

We think Solimine gives motorists too much credit. Our theory is that motorists don't think at all about who might be in the back of that vehicle, who might have called 911 with an emergency or who might be waiting for what seems like an eternity for the rescue squad to arrive. We think motorists are only thinking about where they're going and how fast they can get there. Or maybe about the conversation they're having on their cell phone. Or maybe what's for dinner.

The isolation and disconnect of many motorists stands in real contrast to the rescuers, many of whom are among the dwindling number of volunteers taking time out of their lives to serve the community. The least drivers can do is to take three seconds to pull out of the way.

It's tempting to call for police to crack down on offenders of this most basic courtesy of the road. After all, it's the law in New Jersey: Failure to move to the right and stop for an emergency vehicle can draw a fine and even a jail sentence. But while police should certainly ticket when they witness an offense, what really needs to happen is for the motoring public to start to understand that emergency vehicles truly need to get where they are going faster than anyone else on the road.

So pull over, for heaven's sake. Pretend the person waiting for that ambulance was your loved one - or you.