CHS Healthcare responds “non-emergency” to many calls (without lights & sirens). However, calls that are more serious require us to respond with our emergency lights and siren on. If you are a driver on the road and you see or hear an emergency vehicle approaching:
- Slow down
- Pull to the right
- Come to a complete stop
New law
Additionally, effective January 1, 2011, drivers in New York State now must change lanes when approaching a parked or stopped emergency vehicle. With the passage of the “Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act”, New York now joins 47 other states that already have similar Move Over statutes on their books.
Drivers must use due care when approaching an emergency vehicle that displays red and/or white emergency lighting.
- On all roads and highways, drivers must reduce speed;
- On Parkways and other controlled access highways with multiple lanes, drivers must move from the lane immediately adjacent to the emergency vehicle, unless traffic or other hazards exist to prevent doing so safely.
Emergency vehicles include ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and ambulettes that have turned on their emergency lights. A violation of this law is a punishable by a fine of up to $275, plus mandatory court surcharges. It will also result in two points on the driver’s license record.
Help us do our job safely
Staying clear of emergency crews who have stopped to respond to a motor vehicle accident along a roadway is critical. Each year, hundreds of EMS and other emergency workers are injured or killed in the U.S. while trying to help people who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents.
For more information, click here.