Ambulance drivers remind residents to pull right

Fine can total $2,500 for failure to yield to emergency vehicles

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American Medical Response, a local ambulance company, is trying to remind valley drivers to pull to the right when an emergency vehicle approaches.

Steve Kramer, administrative and operations supervisor with American Medical Response, noted that the Pull to the Right program, now in its sixth year, exists because people seem to forget what the correct procedures are when they are being approached by an emergency vehicle.

According to Nevada Revised Statute 484.323, "Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle or an official vehicle of a regulatory agency, making use of flashing lights ... The driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of a highway clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle or official vehicle has passed, except when otherwise directed by a police officer."

Fines for failing to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle can exceed $2,500 depending on factors such as speed, aggressiveness and recklessness.

The biggest concern that company's drivers experience on a daily basis is that the cars in front of the ambulance don't see or hear them coming.

"One of the biggest problems we experience is people not pulling to the right for a multitude of reasons," Kramer said. "Nowadays, cars are more soundproof. The sound systems are better. You may have the air-conditioning at full blast. You might be talking on the cell phone. All of these factors contribute to people not hearing us."

And as for not seeing them, Kramer said, many drivers fail to check their mirrors as frequently as they should.

"If they don't hear us or see us, it's pretty hard to get them to move out of the way," he said. "And then when someone realizes an ambulance is right behind them, some people freeze and just stop."

When drivers simply stop in front of an ambulance, it creates more of a problem for the ambulance driver than an aid.

"So the emergency vehicle has to stop," Kramer said. "We have procedures to follow, and we have to wait for the car to pull to the right. There are some things we do in true emergencies like go over a median, but we can't pull to the right because if we do so that can cause an accident."

So, officials said if an emergency vehicle is approaching from behind, slow down and pull as far to the right as safely possible and stop. If drivers are traveling on a surface street with a low median, not a several-foot-high divider, and traveling in the opposite direction of the ambulance, they must still pull to the right and stop and wait for the ambulance to pass. When driving in the opposite direction of an ambulance on a divided road, there is no need to pull to the right or stop, officials said.

"Pull as far right as safely possible, we understand if it's a congested road and you can't pull to the right, that happens, but check to see if it's possible. We've also seen accidents where we come up and the driver just turns right and heads right into another car, we don't want that either," Kramer said.

Jon Graff, a paramedic and operations supervisor with the ambulance group, said he believes the more people are reminded of what to do in such a situation, the more lives will be saved.

"Some people panic when they see us coming and they forget what they've learned about what to do," Graff said. "Our drivers here in the valley have a lot of distractions and all of the flashing lights on the roads don't help, but they have to remember to pull to the right as far as safely possible. People need to be aware we're out there and when they help us out they're helping us save lives."