Moving over and stopping your car for an approaching emergency vehicle isn’t just a safety issue for you and fire or law enforcement personnel. It’s the law.
Here are some things to think about.
- If an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is traveling in the area where you are driving, you must make every effort to give them an open path to travel. If it is safe to do so, pull your vehicle to the side of the road to give them a clear pathway. Do not stop in the road and prevent them from passing your vehicle. — SC Code Section 56-5-2360 (a)
- When you approach a scene where there are emergency vehicles, such as law enforcement vehicles, ambulances or fire department vehicles, with lights flashing, you must maintain control of your vehicle. If possible, you should move to another lane of the road that is not close to the scene. If changing lanes is not possible or safe, you should maintain a safe speed for the conditions. — SC Code Section 56-5-1538 (G) (1)-(2)
- Emergency personnel have the authority to direct traffic and you should comply with their instructions. — SC Code Section 56-5-1538 (E)
- It is important to exercise caution to ensure the safety of emergency personnel and those they are aiding. If you fail to drive with caution or if you interfere with the performance of their duties, you may be charged with a misdemeanor and required to pay a fine. — SC Code Section 56-5-1538 (H)
- The driver of any vehicle other than one on official business shall not follow any fire apparatus traveling in response to an emergency closer than five hundred feet or stop such vehicle within five hundred feet of any fire apparatus stopped in answer to an emergency. — SC Code Section 56-5-1960
The Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District recently responded to a motor vehicle accident. See what responding to a call looks like from a first responder’s point of view. Would you want other drivers to move over so you could respond to an accident safely?