Emergency Vehicles / Roadworks

[andy_quantum]

Posted in SP&L, but thought I'd get peoples impressions here as well

Took the Elan out today for a bit of a Sunday drive, coming into Matlock Bath is a set of roadworks. There's a lane closure which goes around a right hand unsighted bend, so single file traffic regulated by lights

Our lights go green, I'm 4th in the queue and I can hear a siren roughly from where I'm headed. The cars infront of me, together with around 6 or 7 cyclists head off to get through the restriction but I wait for them to clear. And wait. I've left enough time and space that the cars infront of me should definately have cleared. Can still hear the siren but cant see anything, doesnt appear to be coming any further towards me, the car behind is gesticulating that I like vinegar on my chips (thanks to Reg for that phrase), so I go.

Typically, the emergency vehicle decides he's coming as well, cue both of us meeting head to head. He's going much quicker than I am, the closed lane is on my offside so I take a route to the right through the cones to give him space to pass on my nearside. I dont think those behind me had the same judgement or luck

Had the opportunity come around again I'd have probably waited some more just incase

Interested to hear what the correct procedure is for this - should I have waited?

Should the emergency vehicle have turned the siren off if they were planning on waiting for those infront of me to clear?

[andy_quantum]

Thanks both. I thought that I'd possibly made the situation worse by stopping, then going while still having a green light. While it created a gap that both the cars infront and the cyclists should have been able to clear, and the emergency vehicle to then start their attempt, it might have been that the cars infront were reacting to the emergency vehicle with full lights and sirens waiting at his stop sign that slowed down the process. I may have been better to keep up with the other cars and prepare for having to move position. I didnt want to get tangled up with the cyclists though, and couldnt work out if the siren was actually coming further towards me. Obviously it wasnt, the vehicle was waiting for a gap which he took when it became available.

I'm referring to it as an emergency vehicle as I dont actually know what it was - wasnt one of the main 3, so presume it would have been blood or something. Blue lights, VAG estate.

[andy_quantum]

Thats where I feel I cocked up really.

Having thought about it, I'd have waited longer, and if the lights went red then fair enough, whether an emergency vehicle appeared or not I'd felt I'd have done the right thing. What appeared to be my downfall was creating a gap that wasnt big enough for the cars and cyclists infront of me to get through, and for the emergency vehicle to then come through from their side.

I thought about just sticking with the flow of traffic, but it's the cyclists that I keep coming back to - 6 or 7 of them, 2 vehicles head to head and only one lane.

I'm not mentally beating myself up over it, just trying to prepare better if it happens again