As I was about to get on a decently long bridge (about 1/2 a mile long, with two lanes for either direction seperated by a concrete divider) this evening, when checking my rear-view mirror I caught a glimpse of blue flashing lights in the distance behind me. I felt a moment of anxiety - right up until it turned off right before the bridge.
The anxiety came not from worry that I was the target, but because I have no idea what you’re supposed to do if a cop or ambulance needs the right of way on a bridge like this. There’s no break-down lane to pull over onto so he can pass by on a bridge like this, so what exactly are motorists supposed to do in this situation?
If there are two lanes in each direction, totalling four lanes, then you should just stay in the right lane and let the car pass you on the left. If there are only two lanes, one in each direction, then you just have to keep driving until you can pull over at the other end of the bridge. I doubt the officer expects you to drive off the side of the bridge for him.
And if he’s right behind you (or your group of cars) I’d think it would be reasonable to speed up as long as it’s safe to do so. I can think of one time in a similar situation where I was at a red light and the cop needed to get past me but there wasn’t any good way for him to do it. There was no cross traffic so I ran the red light and moved over after I cleared the intersection. I figured he had better things to do then pull me over.
Pretty much. Just get out of the way as soon as you can do it safely. Don’t slow down below the speed limit so you won’t get in trouble. There is a heart attack or a fight or something more important waiting on the other end of that call. Please, please PLEASE don’t panic and slam on your brakes. You would be surprised at how many people do this.