Is this a new law or a change to a current law: Change
What law do you wish to change/add: Add the following to 12.7 Emergency Vehicles: (highlighted in green)
12.7 Emergency Vehicles
Upon the approach of an emergency vehicle with its lights or sirens activated, drivers must pull to the rightmost side of the road to allow the vehicle to pass. If the emergency vehicle remains behind them, they must come to a stop at the nearest safe location. Drivers approaching a responding emergency vehicle from behind must not attempt to overtake it and must remain behind the emergency vehicle until it leaves their direction of travel or they are lawfully ordered to proceed.
Why should this change/addition be made: As the law is currently written, it creates a loophole that allows drivers to overtake responding emergency vehicles from behind while they are travelling to an active emergency. This can delay emergency response times and increase the risk of collisions, particularly when civilians cut in front of emergency vehicles after overtaking them. The issue is especially noticeable on smaller roads outside the highways, where overtaking maneuvers are often more dangerous due to limited space and visibility.
What is the aim of this change/addition: This amendment is an attempt to close that loophole which would in theory, improve road safety, and helps ensure emergency vehicles can respond to incidents without unnecessary obstruction coming from behind. 6.10 Obstruction of Emergency Services would still apply in other scenarios if action are performed deliberately.
Additional Information:
"But SunnyR drivers can already overtake safely if they don't interfere!" While that may be true, predictable driver behavior is safer than relying on individual judgement. Officers responding to emergencies should not have to anticipate whether a civilian will attempt to overtake them, particularly on roads with limited space or visibility where there is little room for error.
Realistically, most drivers would never attempt to overtake a responding emergency vehicle in real life because doing so would likely result in significant traffic citations or even potential jailtime depending on the severity of the offence.
What law do you wish to change/add: Add the following to 12.7 Emergency Vehicles: (highlighted in green)
12.7 Emergency Vehicles
Upon the approach of an emergency vehicle with its lights or sirens activated, drivers must pull to the rightmost side of the road to allow the vehicle to pass. If the emergency vehicle remains behind them, they must come to a stop at the nearest safe location. Drivers approaching a responding emergency vehicle from behind must not attempt to overtake it and must remain behind the emergency vehicle until it leaves their direction of travel or they are lawfully ordered to proceed.
Why should this change/addition be made: As the law is currently written, it creates a loophole that allows drivers to overtake responding emergency vehicles from behind while they are travelling to an active emergency. This can delay emergency response times and increase the risk of collisions, particularly when civilians cut in front of emergency vehicles after overtaking them. The issue is especially noticeable on smaller roads outside the highways, where overtaking maneuvers are often more dangerous due to limited space and visibility.
What is the aim of this change/addition: This amendment is an attempt to close that loophole which would in theory, improve road safety, and helps ensure emergency vehicles can respond to incidents without unnecessary obstruction coming from behind. 6.10 Obstruction of Emergency Services would still apply in other scenarios if action are performed deliberately.
Additional Information:
"But SunnyR drivers can already overtake safely if they don't interfere!" While that may be true, predictable driver behavior is safer than relying on individual judgement. Officers responding to emergencies should not have to anticipate whether a civilian will attempt to overtake them, particularly on roads with limited space or visibility where there is little room for error.
Realistically, most drivers would never attempt to overtake a responding emergency vehicle in real life because doing so would likely result in significant traffic citations or even potential jailtime depending on the severity of the offence.
