As quickly as the emergency services have to be on the scene, the correct behavior of other road users is just as important, says Thomas Renner, driving instructor at the Salzgitter professional fire department.
The fire department, rescue services and police have special rights when they drive with flashing blue lights and sirens. The Salzgitter fire department is called out to 30,000 incidents a year, many of which are emergencies with blue lights and acoustic signals. These call-outs are a stressful situation for everyone involved. For this reason, the fire department's emergency drives are carried out by experienced drivers. The fire department employees are prepared for this by the three driving instructors Thomas Renner, Frank Rusche and André Pölchen as part of their driving training.
However, the correct behavior of other road users in an emergency is just as important. "The emergency services must get to where they are urgently needed as quickly as possible," emphasizes Thomas Renner. Drivers need to react carefully and calmly. This applies to both driving and parking. This is because the current road conditions make it even more difficult for emergency vehicles to reach the danger zone due to the snow. "It helps the emergency services if drivers park on the right-hand side of the parking lot if possible," says Ingo Dolder, press spokesman for the fire department.
The general rule in road traffic is to give way to all emergency vehicles. A regular look in the rear-view mirror is just as important as avoiding playing music too loudly in the car so that drivers are not surprised and react frightened when they see a vehicle with blue lights. "Drivers should not rush or turn the wheel abruptly," emphasizes driving instructor Thomas Renner. Such behavior also endangers other road users. The following rules are important: 1. drive slowly to the side of the road to form a lane. 2. avoid emergency braking and jerky steering movements. 3. reduce speed and/or signal in good time. 4. drive with particular foresight in winter road conditions.
