Melody_JR posted...
I love how people can be confidently wrong.
I love the irony of you making this statement, then following it with a completely incorrect argument.
Emergency vehicles with lights-and-sirens *always* have right-of-way. If you see a vehicle with lights-and-sirens, you must slow down and give way. That is the law in every jurisdiction in the developed world. Look it up in your local laws and you'll find language something like this:
"On the immediate approach of an emergency vehicle giving an audible signal by a bell, siren or exhaust whistle, and showing a visible flashing red light, except when otherwise directed by a peace officer, a driver must yield the right of way, and immediately drive to a position parallel to and as close as possible to the nearest edge or curb of the roadway, clear of an intersection, and stop and remain in that position until the emergency vehicle has passed." (Motor Vehicle Act, Part 3, Clause 177, British Columbia)
or this:
"Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle equipped with at least one lighted lamp exhibiting red light visible under normal atmospheric condition from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of such vehicle other than a police vehicle when operated as an authorized emergency vehicle, and when audible signal are sounded from any said vehicle by siren, exhaust whistle, bell, air-horn or electronic equivalent; the driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right of way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway, or to either edge of a one-way roadway three or more lanes in width, clear of any intersection, and shall stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, unless otherwise directed by a police officer. (New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, Section 1444, Subclause a)
Does that mean emergency vehicles can blindly enter intersections in an unsafe manner? No, but that's not because they don't have right-of-way. If I have a green light and a car enters the intersection in front of me, against the light, I still have right-of-way, but that doesn't give me the right to T-bone them, and if I did so, I would similarly be at fault. Similarly, if an emergency vehicle isn't allowed to drive in a manner likely to cause an accident, even though they automatically have the right-of-way when they have lights-and-sirens active.
I thought I didn't need to state the zeroth rule of driving, which is that you're not allowed to deliberately cause an accident through malice or negligence, regardless of what any other rules say, but apparently some people need very simple concepts spelled out for them or else they'll make a feeble attempt at a "gotcha" to boost their own egos.