When you hear sirens or see lights on the road, pull to the right. It's something we've heard since driver's education classes. Even still, law enforcement in Arkansas says drivers aren't doing what they should when they come in contact with an emergency vehicle.
Two of the biggest concerns for law enforcement are slamming on your breaks and of rubber-necking. Doing those things can keep emergency responders from getting where they need to go, or even causing a second emergency.
"The most important thing, if you have any first responders running lights and sirens is to safely get out of the way,” said Sgt. Keith Wilson, with the Sherwood Police Department. Sounds simple enough, right? Not so fast, he added. “The law says you have to move over to the right, as close to the edge of the curb, parallel to the road, as much as possible.”
Kids are out of school, and vacationers are on the road, making traffic worse and making it important than ever to know how to carry yourself around first responders.
Sgt. Wilson shared his top 3 concerns when it comes to moving over for first responders.
1. Slamming on your brakes
"The thing is, don't break suddenly. That's probably one of the biggest problems first responders see. Especially with the fire truck, they've got hundreds of gallons of water in their truck, whenever you slam on the breaks in front of them, they have to slam on their breaks. That water will keep pushing on the truck and act as inertia on it, and keep them moving so they can't stop as quickly as a small compact car."
2. People don't know what to do in an intersection with an ambulance approaching
"If you're already in the intersection, go ahead and clear the intersection over to the right. If you're stopped at the light, or if it's green, go ahead and stop before the intersection. The first responders will work their way through the intersection, but you have to be stopped and out of the way for them to be able to do that."
3. People think they're being respectful, but you should never stop when you're on the other side of a divided highway
"The ambulances and first responders can't cross over that freeway. If you have a first responder going northbound and you're going southbound. There's no reason for you to pull over and stop, or anything of that nature, because they're not going to be able to turn in front of you. The whole intent is for the first responders to be able to get where they're going safety and help whoever they need to help."
If you were having a medical emergency, you'd want first responders to be there as quickly as possible. Sherwood Police say it's important to give everyone else the same courtesy.
"Just think if it was your husband, wife, son, daughter, you'd want that emergency vehicles to get to them. You wouldn't want somebody stopping them,” said Sgt. Wilson finally.
The runners-up: rubber-necking. If you're looking at a crash, you're not paying attention to the road and could cause another wreck.
Finally, people don't look out for a second emergency vehicle. Closely following a fire truck, you'll usually find a police car and an EMT. Make sure you move over for all of them.
Did you know if you don't obey these laws and make things more difficult for first responders, you can actually be charged. The fine, Sgt. Wilson said, could be as high as $400.