## EMERGENCY VEHICLES 

You must yield the right-of-way to fire, ambu- lance, police and other authorized emergency ve- hicles when they respond to emergencies. They will display lights that are flashing red, red and blue or red and white and/or may sound a siren or air-horn. When you hear or see an emergency vehicle heading toward your vehicle from any direction, safely pull over immediately to the right edge of the road and stop. Wait until the emer- gency vehicle passes before you drive on. If you are in an intersection, drive out of the intersection before you pull over. 

You must pull over and stop for an emergency vehicle even if it is headed toward you in the opposite lane of a two-lane roadway. 

If you hear a siren or air-horn close by but do not know exactly where the emergency vehicle is, you must safely pull over to the right-side edge of the road and stop until you are sure it is not headed toward you. 

An emergency vehicle that uses lights and a siren or air-horn can be unpredictable. The driver can legally exceed the speed limit, pass red lights and STOP or YIELD signs, go the wrong way on one-way streets and turn in directions not normal- ly allowed. Although emergency vehicle drivers are required to be careful, you must be cautious when an emergency vehicle heads toward you. 

not get completely through the intersection. Wait until traffic ahead clears, so you do not block the intersection. 

• Be alert to cross-streets or offset intersec- tions, so that you don’t cause gridlock by blocking another street. 

• A driver who approaches a traffic circle or rotary must yield the right-of-way to drivers already in the circle. (For more information on how to drive in a rotary see “How to Drive Through a Roundabout” in Chapter 8 of this manual.) 

## Move Over Law 

This law requires every driver to exercise care to avoid colliding with an authorized emergen- cy or hazard vehicle that is parked, stopped or standing on the shoulder or any portion of the highway with its emergency lights or one or more amber hazard lights activated. Drivers must reduce speed on all roads when encountering such vehicles, but on parkways, interstates and other controlled access roads with multiple lanes, drivers are further required to move from the lane adjacent to the emergency or hazard vehicle unless traffic or other hazards prevent doing so safely. Drivers are also required to move over for vehicles with blue and green lights which are described in the next section. Violations of this law are punishable as a moving violation. 

## BLUE, GREEN AND AMBER LIGHTS 

Personal vehicles driven by volunteer fire fighters responding to alarms are allowed to display blue lights and those driven by volunteer ambulance or rescue squad members can display green lights. Amber lights on hazard vehicles such as snow plows and tow trucks warn other drivers of possible dangers. Flashing amber lights are also used on rural mail delivery vehicles and school buses to warn traffic of their presence. The vehicles that display blue, green or amber lights are not authorized emergency vehicles. Their drivers must obey all traffic laws. While you are not required to yield the right-of-way, you should yield as a courtesy if you can safely do so. 

## TURNS 

Always signal before you turn or change lanes. It is important that other highway users know your intentions. The law requires you to signal a turn or lane change with your turn lights or hand signals at least 100 feet (30 m) ahead. A good safety tip is, when possible, to signal your intention to turn before you begin to brake or make the turn. The proper hand signals are shown on the next page. 

