It could mean several things, a few I know are: You have to pay extra to be transported with lights and siren's. If it is not a life threatening emergency they tend to not put on the lights. However they also do not put on the lights for someone who has passed away.
Activation of lights OR siren indicates that there is an emergency. Please be courteous and assume nothing else or lives can be jeopardized.
While local laws may vary, the general rule of thumb is...
1. All drivers and pedestrians should attempt to safely move to the side of the road (moving right is typically accepted unless the ambulance is using the right lane to pass).
2. After safely moving from the lane of travel, bring your vehicle to a safe stop. This applies whether the ambulance is behind you or approaching from the other direction. If the ambulance is approaching you and has to turn left, waiting until the last minute will delay their response or cause you to hard brake. Hard brakes may cause you to be rear-ended.
3. Never speed up in attempt to outrun any emergency vehicle.
4. Do not panic and slam on the brakes.
5. Do not assume that the ambulance should go around you. While transporting a patient, medical procedures are occurring in the back. Changing lanes creates unnecessary motion that can delay or prevent procedures from being completed correctly.
That said, if the lights are activated without a siren, it is possible that someone just forgot to turn the switch off. It's uncommon, but it does happen sometimes! Don't fail to yield right of way if you see this though, because:
1. We do what is best for the patient. It may still be an emergency. The siren may have deactivated en route to an emergency or while transporting. The best decision for the patient may be to carefully transport with lights only, instead of waiting on another ambulance that is far away.
2. We try to keep everyone happy. Some communities complain about sirens, so they are used intermittently in attempt to please the public. This is especially true in residential areas during late night hours.
Hope this helps you help us help others. Take care!
Signing for or accepting a citation from a law enforcement officer:
It means that the person in the ambulance is not critical, but they still need to hurry and get to a hospital..so it's just a "let us through" kind of thing.
the ambulance is going to the hospitalthe ambulance has its siren onthe ambulance is moving (:PJHS
yes
Whatever colour they happen to be painted (one can not see the siren usually). I hope you are not confusing the siren (which makes the noise) with the flashing lights (which are blue).
If the ambulance was using red lights and/or siren, you are obligated to yield the right-of-way. You are likely responsible for this collision.
It is illegal but maybe you can buy it from someone who stole it from the ambulance, or maybe the people who build the ambulance siren is kind and give it to you. But it is not legal at all.
Not just ambulances, but many other emergency and police vehicles have a warning siren and flashing lights too. The lights and siren is to warn other road users ahead that a vehicle is on an emergency call and needs to get to the emergency as quickly as possible.
The word "siren" comes from Greek mythology. In the Odyssey, the sirens were singing monsters that lured sailors to their deaths with their sumptuous voices.
Both are warnings of potential trouble.
When ambulances are responding to a Priority One job (urgent situation) they activate the sirens and warning lights to alert other vehicles to let the ambulance through. The ambulance siren can be set to a variety of different sounds and volumes.
110
yield to the emergency vehicle
nee-naww nee-naww :)