I was cycling through the northern suburbs into Plymouth yesterday
evening. Time, a little after 7pm for a 7:30 rehearsal of
http://www.theatreroyal.com/showpage.php?dd=1&theid=2578
The route takes me (more or less) past Derriford, the city (and region's)
biggest hospital. On that stretch of road I hear an emergency vehicle
coming up behing, siren wailing. No problem; it was wailing far enough
in advance to assess the situation. An approaching ambulance with ample
space to pass; no need for me to do anything.
A minute or so later, another siren. This one was almost upon me before
it started up, so no time to assess the situation. And I was at the
point where my route goes straight ahead onto a flyover, but a lot of
traffic filters off left into a slip road for a huge roundabout and
the A38. I moved left, putting me on and just over the dotted line
for the slip road as the ambulance comes past far too close (unlike
the first one). And, as I try to reclaim my route, a 4x4 which is
tailgating the ambulance tries to wipe me out, and another driver
behind got confused requiring another minor evasive action.
This leads me to several conclusions:
(1) While we should all allow emergency vehicles through, they need
to help. In this instance, the second ambulance should have
sounded its siren well in advance of filtering left while
overtaking. Don't these drivers have training?
(2) Some modern sirens are wholly inappropriate to the task.
The ones used on both these ambulances were much harder to
locate than the sound of an old-fashioned siren, or indeed
a car horn. Manufacturers and NHS procurement managers need
to use their braincells.
(3) Tailgating an emergency vehicle - even firmly within the
speed limit - is seriously dangerous. Motorists should be
educated, and that should be backed up with prosecutions
where appropriate.
--
Nick Kew