Emergency Vehicles

Emergency Vehicles

You must yield the right-of-way to fire, ambulance, police and other authorized emergency vehicles when they respond to emergencies. They will display lights that are flashing red, red and blue or red and white and sound a siren or air-horn. When you hear or see an emergency vehicle heading toward your vehicle from any direction, safely pull over immediately to the right edge of the road and stop. Wait until the emergency vehicle passes before you drive on. If you are in an intersection, drive out of it before you pull over.

You must pull over and stop for an emergency vehicle even if it is headed toward you in the opposite lane of a two-way roadway.

If you hear a siren or air-horn close by but do not know exactly where the emergency vehicle is, you can safely pull over to the right-side edge of the road and stop until you are sure it is not headed toward you.

An emergency vehicle that uses lights and a siren or air-horn can be unpredictable. The driver can legally exceed the speed limit, pass red lights and STOP or YIELD signs, go the wrong way on one-way streets and turn in directions not normally allowed. Although emergency vehicle drivers are required to be careful, be very cautious when an emergency vehicle heads toward you.

from: https://dmv.ny.gov/about-dmv/chapter-5-intersections-and-turns