# Why don't cop cars follow ambulances to pull over inconsiderate drivers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646 "2024-05-16T19:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/1 "2024-05-16T19:42:33Z")
I see this all the time now, an ambulance with full sirens is blaring and not only are there cars still driving but also a bunch of cars driving full speed right behind the ambulance exploiting it’s siren for themselves. Since cops seem to love ticketing people around me (they still put speed traps around local businesses on residential roads) it seems they could make a lot more money just following ambulances on calls and pulling over people for wreckless driving or failure to abide (or whatever it’s called when you don’t pull over for a siren) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/2 "2024-05-16T20:08:57Z")
One problem police don’t have is trouble finding as traffic scofflaws as they want or need. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/3 "2024-05-16T20:10:58Z")
I was pulled over once for following a fire truck too closely, though I only received a verbal warning. In reality, the fire truck was going the same way I already needed to go, so I followed behind. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/4 "2024-05-16T20:12:19Z")
Difficult to coordinate. An ambulance is moving at speed. A cop car might be a mile away. It’s not easy to get them to link up together in sync. By the time the cop car gets to a location the ambulance would have moved on. Plus, I’d imagine this would be considered too low priority an issue for cops to get involved in on a regular-assignment basis. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/5 "2024-05-16T20:15:00Z")
When ambulances are called it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will transporting anybody afterwards. This means that any police called to that scene will be wasting time until it is finally determined that someone is being transported. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/6 "2024-05-16T20:23:35Z")
Also the minor detail that if police have to attend the scene as well as an ambulance, their priority will be to stay behind, take witness statements, evidence, support the clearance of the scene and all the myriad things they have to do once someone is badly injured, even as that person is whisked to hospital… ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/7 "2024-05-16T20:50:35Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > pulling over people for wreckless driving I think wreckless driving is what all drivers should strive for. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/8 "2024-05-16T23:00:44Z")
My city doesn’t have extra police to follow ambulances in case of bad drivers. They have actual, real crimes to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/9 "2024-05-16T23:25:41Z")
And if there’s been an accident, so police and ambulances are there together, the police are doing valuable work on scene and probably can’t be spared to give tickets to ambulance surfers. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/10 "2024-05-17T12:13:06Z")
Plus, they would have to write tickets - i.e. stop and pull over 1 driver and spend 5-10 minutes at least. By then the ambulance is long gone. So, don’t drive like an idiot close to the hospital? You have a police car sitting on standby for a half hour or more until there’s an urgent call, and then they follow until they catch one driver. An hour or more of the officer’s time for one ticket. Considering that tickets are about raising money, not cost-effective. This is the reality: > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > One problem police don’t have is trouble finding as traffic scofflaws as they want or need. They can find plenty of ticketable offenses, probably non-stop, by hanging out at a place where road configuration makes ticketing easy. If they aren’t looking to spend all their time handing out tickets:… > [@needscoffee](#): > > My city doesn’t have extra police to follow ambulances in case of bad drivers. They have actual, real crimes to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/11 "2024-05-17T12:29:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I was pulled over once for following a fire truck too closely, though I only received a verbal warning. In reality, the fire truck was going the same way I already needed to go, so I followed behind. A ticket would have been unfair in my estimation unless you were actually tailgating the truck, which I highly doubt. The sign I’ve seen on the back of firetrucks says, “Keep back 500 feet.” Seriously?! Five hundred feet is more than 1 1/2 football fields. That’s absurd. Also, if I’m on a 4 lane road in light traffic and am in my right-hand lane with an emergency vehicle approaching from the opposite direction, I slow down but don’t bother pulling over because the emergency vehicle is moving unimpeded with plenty of open space around it. In other words, emergency vehicles need to be respected and motorists considerate, but common sense needs to prevail also. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/12 "2024-05-17T12:49:32Z")
I had the idea that the 500 foot distance was in case the ladder extended unexpectedly, though I may have gotten that idea from a comedy movie of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/13 "2024-05-17T13:02:25Z")
If they had any guts, they’d use [this sign](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxOUBtq2df43pk4T6aCGVDAl7bqvJ1syhHADlvnMC0oIjrPHs3L4QD9jXibf5LliSbm4H52TsmTYpO9UX1fUgZ4XDEAPRGLYqx-3R8kkqsXcEhujx0JnpBnyr1mc_r9kStKnZ/s1600-h/DSC08056.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/14 "2024-05-17T13:37:24Z")
AH! LOL Yeah, I’d definitely obey that sign and then some. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/15 "2024-05-17T13:54:46Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Also the minor detail that if police have to attend the scene as well as an ambulance, their priority will be to stay behind, take witness statements, evidence, support the clearance of the scene and all the myriad things they have to do once someone is badly injured, even as that person is whisked to hospital… Probably 50+% of our calls are from one of about six addresses; not at all surprising when you have a lot of elderly people in one location who are too infirm or demented (dementiaed?) to live on their own & are in one of the various continuing care/assisted living/nursing homes; our cops usually don’t respond to calls at these institutions. Call load permitting, they come to almost all of our other calls, including elderly FDGB (fall down, go boom) or other medical emergencies in a private residence. We have separate dispatch codes for Fall victim - non-trauma & fall victim - trauma; the former is your classic, “Help, I’ve fallen & I can’t get up” or fell out of bed, or missed the bottom step on the staircase, while the latter is fell off a ladder or off the roof, or down an entire flight of stairs, etc. 80+% of calls are medical & maybe 15% are trauma of some form or another & only a fraction of the trauma calls involve _real_ police investigation; yes your car may be damaged & yes, your back or neck may be hurt but no one is dead or life-threateningly injured. IOW, a lot of times the PD may clear the scene before EMS does; going off to do their paperwork, take the next call, or just general patrolling duties. There are some calls where PD follows EMS to the ER because the injured party has been arrested for \_\_\_\_ but needs to be treated/cleared/admitted to the hospital before they can be processed for the arrest; in those cases, unless you do something _really_ egregious that officer is already committed & won’t bother with a relatively minor traffic infraction. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/16 "2024-05-17T18:13:05Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > the fire truck was going the same way I already needed to go, so I followed behind. Do people follow emergency vehicles for any other reason? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/17 "2024-05-17T18:17:22Z")
I live in a top 25 population city in the US. Since covid, our police department has struggled to get officers, much like most police forces across the country. I hardly ever see police pulling over cars for speeding within our metropolitan area, much less having the manpower to start of program of following emergency vehicles. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/18 "2024-05-17T19:49:07Z")
Maybe lawyers do? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/19 "2024-05-17T21:32:12Z")
My area still has TOO MANY police if they can afford to have a cop car sit next to the Coors Light warehouse and pull over people going 50 in a 40 zone. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646/20 "2024-05-17T21:40:19Z")
Since we already live in a digital Panopticon - just thinking out loud here - they have speed cameras and license plate readers and the rest of it, just outfit the firetrucks with similar technology, and automatically issue the registered owner a ticket. Eventually, it will just be robot Police issuing tickets to Robot cars getting in the way of Robot firetrucks, but we’ll all be the better for it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cop-cars-follow-ambulances-to-pull-over-inconsiderate-drivers/1001646.md?page=2)