Reminder: Michigan Pull Over For Emergency Vehicles

Driver's training is an important class for everyone as this is one of the many things that helps individuals be prepared for the wilderness that is the road. Parents are always terrified when their teenagers begin to learn to drive and start driving on their own and rightfully so. Driving is one of the most dangerous things we do on a daily basis and is so unpredictable.

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The concern isn't for their children doing the wrong things on the road but for the countless number of drivers who will be on the road that could cause anything to happen. There are hundreds of rules and laws for the road and some people follow them more than others or some may be driving without the knowledge, either way, broken rules create danger.

One of the most important rules to the road is being aware of emergency vehicles like police cruisers, ambulance rigs, and fire trucks. The law in Michigan states that we should slow down, move over to the right lane, and pull over to allow the vehicles to pass by. Sometimes this isn't an option so bring your car to a stop and let the emergency cars use the turning lane to navigate traffic.

This law is only when their lights and sirens are on which notifies all drivers that they are either on their way to an emergency or already on the scene of the emergency. For the most part this law is followed with no issues but sometimes people may forget and cause other issues.

Crashing Into A Cruiser In Kalamazoo

That's exactly what happened in Kalamazoo when a man was involved in a collision with a police officer on his way to an emergency. The police officer was responding to reports of a car being on fire near a house when his trip was delayed by a crash with another driver on the road.

The officer had been traveling west on West Main Street and as he approached the curve after Douglas Avenue, he needed to navigate into the oncoming traffic lane to get around the vehicles in front of him. Most vehicles in those lanes had already pulled over to the side to allow the police to pass, except for one.

This one driver either didn't hear the sirens, didn't see the lights, or didn't care about the above and decided to keep driving in the lane they were in. This would lead to the driver hitting the cruiser head on but only causing minor damage. The driver was ticketed for Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle.

This simply serves as a reminder that slowing down and pulling over for emergency vehicles may be a small inconvenience but keeps everyone on the roads safe while also giving those in the emergency the help they need in a timely manner.

Below is a video of the incident in question: