Discussions

There is no confusion regarding the title of this thread. I have many pet peeves regarding the poor and often illegal driving habits of those in this city. I have made no secret of how I feel about the lack of traffic enforcement in this city. This is one topic that if not followed is legally indefensible. Period!  
 
When you see an emergency services vehicle with lights and sirens it is safe to assume that they are in a bit of a hurry to either safe a life or protect property and they ALWAYS have the right of way. YOU never do. If you forget what you are supposed to do please read this short link before getting behind the wheel again:  
 
https://apps.mpi.mb.ca/comms/drivershandbook/emergency-vehicles.html  
 
The legal responsibility is on you to know what to do in this situation and act accordingly. The fines for not doing so are large and there is no defense in court for not adhering to the law. If you can't see them... get glasses, if you can't hear them...get a hearing aide or turn down your music. All emergency services vehicles have cams on them so they will fine you after the fact. Know that.  
 
Edited by Gussins, 2022-11-20 14:54:59

Nine times out of ten it is loud music in the vehicle that is the culprit. Aswell yes proper etiquette/ law for yeilding to emergency vehicle knowledge required.

This afternoon around 12:45pm, I was going west on Kircaldy Dr. near the Home depot approach, I saw an ambulance and a police vehicle behind them going east with their lights on. I pulled over However I could not stop because of a turkey behind me would of rear ended my vehicle if I went to a complete stop. I was able to slow down next to nothing being pulled over next the curve atleast. So I guess the concern is I do I want rear ended by somebody for failing to pull over and make a complete stop..  
 
Edited by alight, 2022-11-21 17:55:48

What I've noticed is a lot of people wait to the very last second to get out of the way of emergency vehicles and usually by that time the emergency vehicle has already had to slow down or start to go around.  
 
People should also be checking their mirrors more often

I was walking down Knowlton as that ambulance approached the Kirkaldy intersection. It got to the three-way at the same time as a white car with Blue Bomber plates (Blue plate, white text?) driven by a young man with a beard who was coming from the other direction. Instead of letting the ambulance make the left turn onto Knowlton, the driver of the white car made a right turn onto Knowlton at the same time, causing the ambulance to swerve around it, then, instead of pulling over, the white car floored it - in the school zone - as though it was trying to get ahead of the ambulance or not let it pass before finally pulling over.  
 
I don't know if ambulances are equipped with dash cams so legal action can be taken, but it would be nice if that driver and others like him faced some real consequences.

All ambulances have dash cams in Manitoba now. It would be nice to see them enforce move over laws more. That said I feel that a lot of younger drivers have been failed by the drivers Ed program. It seems not many know alot of rules like this anymore. They also don’t teach gravel road driving or have seem to have the concept of driving in slippery conditions( which seems to be an issue through most age groups)

There’s a lot of truth in that. I have a daughter in drivers ed and currently it is a pathetic program with virtually no instruction available. We aren’t happy that we can provide her the help she needs to learn safely so we are hoping to put her through private driving lessons with a professional.

is the practice driving hours, that is why it is so important for them to complete it not just "say" they did.  
 
I was lucky enough I guess to have my drivers test done the day after a blizzard.. I true Manitoba test  
 
It is almost like they should be tested in winter as that is the true driving test, we all see it, even people who have had their drivers license for years, when winter comes, they panic and they forget how to drive.

My neices are now 18 and 20, and they are the ones who told me about the 'new' law about slowing down while passing emergency vehicles.  
Has Driver's Ed ever taught gravel driving? I did Driver's Ed in 1987 and there was no gravel or highway driving included.

All the practise hours in the world don’t equate to professional instruction. The course needs to feature many more in car hours with an instructor similar to a class1 course.

to get back on topic. Getting out of the way of emergency vehicles.

Just heard on Global news that Winnipeg is looking at a device for first responder vehicles that can keep traffic lights green to speed up their response time. Cost at about $3 million dollars.  
 
As far as drivers ed I took back in late 70's we did not do gravel driving but we were mostly farm kids and drove on gravel anyways with big vehicles that held the road. We needed more town driving. Don't go to Winnipeg very often but always scared of driving in the congestion. New drivers and old need practice on gravel roads as a lot will be driving smaller cars that don't hold the road, drive too fast, possibly texting on phones and with the rough gravel road conditions not a good combination. Speaking from experience ended up in the ditch as a teenager due to driving too fast and hitting washboard.  
 
Give the ambulances lots of room could be a family member or friend in there. Just a reminder of the accident last weekend near Winnipeg where a person was killed after they were out of their vehicle and hit by a passing semi.  
 
Edited by oldcowgirl, 2022-11-23 08:56:58

To be honest, if people don't understand the concept of turning their taillights and headlights on during dark hours. I don't know how they would understand to pull over the emergency vehicles.  
 
The amount of vehicles that drive without light is quite dangerous!!

I’ve noticed alot of people do not acknowledge this aspect of things. I went to school in winnipeg and drove the highway lots of times. I would slow down to 60 and move into the left lane for a tow truck. Everyone would go into the right lane and speed past them. Tow trucks are considered emergency vehicles right?

I was coming off Brandon onto southbound 18th and watched a police car with lights on trying to pull over the vehicle in front. The vehicle then waited for the green light and then pulled over. I was so confused. I sat waiting at the lights so they could go through.

I’ve notice living around here either people are ignoring, or don’t know what to do or they just aren’t looking ahead, looking around especially at lights for flashing lights, sirens!!! Manitoba is a little better then Saskatchewan people but way worse then NW Ontario.  
People need to be AWARE with what is going on , has for people who are nervous or scared to get rear ended, let the person hit… it’s automatic their fault and need to learn the hard way… people need to realize every second counts for where the emergency vehicles are going… if it’s you who needs help would be probably biggest complainer..  
In my opinion Fines should be distributed.  
 
Edited by Vel, 2022-12-02 08:03:20