Blue Light Behind and a Bus Lane

As a retired firefighter with years of being under blue lights, I see this ambulance driver as agressive not just with the sirens and positioning (must have been frightening for the learner), but the horn. He/she should have used the bus lane, as allowed for them. Regarding the answer from the service, looking at the clip there did not appear to be anywhere for the learner to pull in. Good on the instructor for sticking to what was correct.

As a blue light ambulance driver, the driving by this ambulance is so aggressive! When being taught to drive, the bull horn should only be used if there is increased danger or you believe the person in front of you has not heard/seen you and should be used for a very short period of time. This is just to give an alternative noise to the sirens as some people block them out. There is absolutely NO reason why that ambulance couldn't go in the bus lane. I tend to aim for the bus lane if its unoccupied as I don't want people to get fines. At traffic lights I dont expect people to go through them at all! I will use the other side of the road or if there is a lane free i will use that. Personally, whenever i am around learner driver, i try my best to stay a further distance away as they may be nervous and just "slam on", or just be uncertain of how to address the emergency services. At the end of the day, the aim is to make progress through traffic, not necessarily speed to the emergency.

I do not understand why the blue light video is not shown as a public information film on terestial TV. I would never have found or looked for this information if it wasn't for your channel, thank you Ashley.

Shocking that they deemed it to not be aggressive considering they even hold the horn to tell the learner off as they pass, something which can land points and a fine for inappropriate horn use for us regular road users.

I think a lot of people, myself included would have been tempted to go in the bus lane, especially with the ambulance hovering behind, great info Ashley 👍

I don't understand why the Ambulance didn't use the bus lane. Their use of the horn was intimidating and unnecessary.

The Blue Light video should be an advert on tv on a daily basis. Knowledge is the key to success 👍🏻

I’m an ADI based in worcester. Ironically, today, Sunday 3rd, I planned a lesson for a student to drive around the city for the first time. One of the subjects we approached at the start of the lesson was the need to be “Blue Light Aware”. As worcester has its fair share of bus lanes, we discussed what she should do in the event of us driving alongside a bus lane, and exactly as in this video, an emergency service vehicle approach from behind. I’ve only been an ADI for 6 months, and this was not something i was trained to do, so I approached the subject logically based on my knowledge (and a little deduction). We discussed the need to stop in a safe place as soon as possible, and that the “emergency services” have exemptions allowing them to safely navigate their way around you. I’m glad I advised her correctly as I did say she should stay in her lane, and not cross into the bus lane to allow the services to pass. “Treat the solid white line like it’s a curb”, I said. “You wouldn’t mount a pavement to make way, so don’t cross that line”. The instructor and particularly the learner, did very well in the clip you showed, especially with the intimidating scenario developing behind them. I’ve shared this video to my student group so they can all learn from it. Thanks for a very useful and informative video.

Ambulance had an entire bus lane to himself and failed to use that. I would not risk a fine for his mistake.

They can spin it how they want but the driving from that ambulance was shocking. Where were they for the training about using bus lanes 🤣 the use of the sirens like that, especially against a learner, no wonder the intentions were 'unclear'. Great job from the instructor to keep them focused.

I'm a bus driver. A couple of years ago one of our drivers was driving through the Birkenhead Tunnel (I'm sure you'll know it well, Ashley) where buses have to stick to lane 2 because of the arched roof. An ambulance appeared behind him with sirens on, he couldn't move to lane 1 as the bus would collide with the roof, so he maintained his position and speed, then when he exited the tunnel he pulled over to the left to allow the ambulance to pass. The ambulance actually stopped by his side to reprimand him for not moving over.

Interesting how different this advice is from what's taught here in Germany. In my theory lessons it was made very clear that making space for emergency vehicles takes priority over normal traffic rules. Safety is of course a higher priority still, but provided you're able to do so safely you're not only allowed but expected to (for example) use a bus or cycle lane to get out of the way.

It's the whole mess of enforcement and doing the right thing for blue light vehicles. None of this would be an issue if money grabbing councils etc we're not taking money in fines when motorists try to give the Emergency vehicle the best path, i.e the straightest, smoothest line. A car in a bus lane for a moment is not an issue. As for going through red lights, many of us know just how important that blue light response is (stand outside a house fire and you'll know). Also it's great to see the team work from complete strangers to clear the path. I know people should not, but it's truly wonderful to see strangers work together to get the blue light on its way. Final point, all emergency services vehicles are covering greater distances as Fire Stations etc are closed, assets consolidated for "efficiency", so they are having far more interactions like this by the length of the journeys they now do. Great talking point Ashley and the person who submitted the video.

The learner did move a bit into the direction of the bus lane and appeared to be somewhat a beginner. As such I can understand the hesitancy of the ambulance. However, in such case the right indicator could really have been a good way of signaling the intent. Maybe even more important, the ambulance driver could have avoided that uncertainty of the learner by being assertive in moving towards the bus lane at the earliest opportunity. Moving onto the bus lane but not passing does not increase the risk by itself.

This happens frequently in Swindon. Ambulances seem to expect others to cross the solid white line into the bus lane, instead of them using it. Fire and Police seem to use the bus lanes when available. As well as committing an offence if the bus lane is used, it makes more sense for the emergency vehicle to use the lane of least resistance, i.e. the bus lane that is otherwise empty, rather than waiting for maybe multiple drivers to move across, bringing delays. The local Ambulance service needs a rethink.

moving into a bus lane to allow an ambulance past, i did exactly that last year on Christmas eve and was promptly fined for the infraction! they did review the incident and the footage on appeal and they did cancel the fine but they stressed this was on a case by case basis and I was one of the lucky ones though

This upload needs to be viewed by EVERYONE that is using the 🇬🇧 roads. That ought to negate any potential confusion/conflict. Excellent upload.

I noticed in that clip that there was another learner driver up ahead of the one we were following, and they also did the correct thing of pulling over into where the bus lane breaks up for a segment. I don't get why the ambulance driver couldn't use the bus lane themselves. These instructors are doing a great job teaching their pupils though.

This is why emergency vehicles now often have a solid blue light on the back of their light bar (as seen at in the training video Ashley showed, at 4:10). It makes it clear to enforcement cameras that the vehicle is 'on a job', as if they are not on blue lights and enter a bus lane they can be fined. The issue was that sometimes the evidence photo would be taken between flashes, when all the blue (and red) lights were off, leading to disputes.

There was a video by the Blackbelt Barrister a while back where a car pull in to a bus lane to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle and received a ticket for doing it.