Save a Life: Yield to the Siren’s Call

An acquaintance of mine was fined for failing to pull over for a paramedic van. She argued she was not at fault; she didn’t hear its blaring siren.

Maybe she’d be less defensive if she saw things from the other side. Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle occurs much more often than some of us might think.

“How often? Every time we go out on an emergency,” said Sgt. Joe Klein of the Fullerton Police

Department. “It is a very, very serious problem.”

Paramedics say traffic delays due to inconsiderate drivers can take minutes, when sometimes seconds are precious.

“If you’re trying to reach a drowning victim, every moment can be critical,” said veteran county paramedic Charles Smith.

But paramedics, firefighters and police have another concern: our safety and theirs.

Smith points out: “Every new firefighter will tell you that going out on a Code Three [emergency] call is the most exciting part of the day. Every older firefighter will tell you it’s the worst part of the day. It doesn’t take long for the thrill to wear off; it becomes just plain scary at times.”

The down side for drivers: The fine for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle is between $77 and $271, depending on your record and how serious your offense is. You’ll likely wind up giving a day to traffic school, too.

Just in case you aren’t sure about the law, it’s this: If you hear an emergency siren--police, fire, paramedic or private ambulance--you are required to pull over to the right curb “or as far right as possible” according to the state vehicle code--never to the left.

Pull over even if the emergency vehicle is coming from the other direction.

That’s because traffic jams often force emergency drivers to head into opposing lanes, especially at intersections. It’s supposed to be a last resort, Smith said, but, “we all probably do it at least once a day.”

So why don’t people pull over for emergency vehicles?

Smith said a few drivers are just plain stubborn: “They take it as an affront; they’ll look you right in the eye and fail to yield.”

But most officials agree with Jim Harris, director of Schaefer Ambulance, which services Costa Mesa and unincorporated parts of the county. Most people who fail to yield, he said, simply don’t understand the law. They panic instead.

One unnerving problem that continues: drivers who use headphones. That’s illegal and hinders your ability to hear a siren.

But the biggest problem, the experts generally agree, is that for too many drivers, their minds are simply elsewhere.

“If 10 cars pull over to the curb ahead of you and you don’t pull over, you can’t say you didn’t hear the siren,” Jones said. “You knew something was going on.”

Here’s a suggestion offered by several: “When you hear a siren, just assume it’s a life-threatening emergency.”

True, it’s not always easy to pull over. Frustration for drivers is when they’re boxed in at a busy stoplight during rush hour, nowhere to go, yet a siren continues to blare behind them. I learned there is a common dialogue among emergency personnel when a vehicle fails to yield: “I guess their business is a lot more important than what we’re doing.”

I just hope those paramedics never have cause to talk about me.

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Jerry Hicks’ column appears Monday and Thursday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling (714) 564-1049 or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com