Driving is one of the largest responsibilities that people take into their control daily. Ensuring that you get where you need safely is vital, but all too often we allow ourselves to get distracted or delayed causing us to rush and pay even less attention than we should. All too frequently we have our music turned up, talking or texting on cell phones, with others in our vehicle, or whatever. We must all make a conscientious effort to pay more attention when on the road no matter when and where we travel.
Move Over, It’s the Law!
When an emergency vehicle is approaching you from the rear, PA law says you are to pull to the right and stop your vehicle. All too frequently we experience drivers who fail to yield to emergency vehicles. We often we see things such as vehicles completely disregarding lights and sirens and not pulling over at all, pulling over but continuing to drive at the same speed, trying to outpace the emergency vehicle and stay ahead of it and the list goes on.
Additionally, a few years ago, Pennsylvania enacted a law like most states throughout the nation. When approaching an emergency scene, it is mandatory to pull over (away from the scene) as well as slow down. If you cannot safely move over you are to slow down.
Every year we hear about Fire and EMS personnel getting struck while on the scene as well as police officers, tow truck operators, and other municipal employees as well. Tragically, this sad story has come to Erie County killing one and injuring a second at the scene of an incident earlier today.
We cannot express how imperative it is for drivers to “wake up” and pay attention. It’s time to put your phones away, quit talking, texting, and trying to get photos or videos as you drive past an emergency scene. We do not know the details, nor are we speculating about today’s incident, just speaking about things we have frequently seen.
Stop making an already tense and dangerous situation more dangerous. Just as you want to get safely to your destination, we would like to get home safely.
