The wailing of the siren behind you initially makes your stomach drop. The flashing lights appear out of nowhere in your rearview mirror. The firetruck and ambulance duo need to get past you in order to reach their emergency situation.
Too often drivers fail to pull over to clear a path for emergency vehicles, taking a toll on emergency response time. When you’re behind the wheel of your flatbed rental you need to be ready for anything. If you’re one of the drivers who doesn’t know what to do in this situation, this blog is for you.
Driving Around Emergency Vehicles
You have somewhere important to be, but you can almost guarantee that wherever the emergency vehicles are heading is of paramount importance. Reality check, move your flatbed rental. Do your part to help the helpers by keeping them out of harm’s way. Yielding to these vehicles is important, but driving defensively around them can save you from serious injury, as they can put you in dicey situations.
When you’re behind the wheel, always drive defensively, actively looking for emergency vehicles. If the flashing lights appear behind you, check your rearview mirror and side mirrors to determine your next move. Signal to get into the right shoulder to prevent damage to one of your boss’s rental trucks.
Odd Situations
It can feel uncomfortable following an emergency vehicle. If you find yourself in the tracks of an ambulance or firetruck, keep your distance. Your truck should never get any closer than 300 to 500 feet behind it.
If you find yourself in the furthest left lane and an emergency vehicle comes up behind you, there may be a feeling of panic in your chest. When in this situation, always remember to check your surroundings, make sure that the other cars at the intersection are aware of what’s going on and then pull to the right in the intersection.
