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Your Captain Speaking: I Hate That Intersection!

“Samantha, there are about six intersections locally that I simply hate when running lights and sirens. I’d bet if we compare notes, many of your hated traffic intersections are the same as mine. I have a solution that works for getting thru a busy intersection at a much, much lower risk but often just as fast.”

We all have protocols for when to drive and when not to use lights and sirens (abbreviated L&S for this article). There are a host of studies that show traffic intersections to be a significant factor in first responder crashes. We all know that drivers are supposed to yield to emergency vehicles, but it’s simply not something we can depend on. We can control three things in our vehicles: the brake pedal, the gas pedal, and the L&S switches.

ambulance at busy intersectionThe brakes. An oft-violated traffic rule is not coming to a complete stop at a red light or a stop sign. That means all the wheels are not moving, and you are behind the solid white stop line. Next time you drive without L&S, check yourself to see if you are within this rule of the road. It is much harder than you’d think. Responding with L&S, we have the same requirements. If the traffic light is red, even with L&S, you must come to a complete stop and can only proceed if the intersection in front and/or to the sides of you is clear. You may be going slowly into the intersection but drivers with the green traffic light are only looking straight ahead or maybe even distracted, not fully paying attention and not going slowly. Stay within the law and your protocols: Come to a complete stop and proceed only if clear.

The gas pedal. The posted speed limit is the legal limit and what other cars would be expecting to see others drive. Some jurisdictions might give an emergency vehicle somewhere between 5 to 10 mph over the posted limit while running L&S (with due regard), but not much more. Our vehicles weigh a lot and bringing that mass to a halt, especially a quick halt, is tricky sometimes (understatement). Slowing down prior to intersections gives you valuable reaction time even with a green light. Ambulances and fire trucks are not known for rapid acceleration but in the future, an electric emergency response vehicle is a whole other story. The torque to the wheels is instant in an EV and vastly different from what you are accustomed to in your own gas-powered car. A future problem, for sure, if emergency vehicles go all electric. For today however, just use normal, predictable acceleration from a full stop. Don’t drive angry.

Opticom. A nice system but there are snags. Your emergency response vehicle might have an Opticom system installed so that when you activate the L&S it will emit an infrared signal from the front of the vehicle. A receiver, usually very near the traffic light, will then change the traffic lights to red for everyone else and green for your direction of travel. Police vehicles may be able to activate an Opticom transmitter separately without the L&S so their response is stealthy.

Here are the snags and realities. When we approach an intersection, we have no idea whether the Opticom is installed, nor do we know whether it has been maintained and working. If you ask yourself “Did the last emergency vehicle I drove have an Opticom installed?” I’d bet you’re not sure. Is there a self-test feature in your ambulance or fire truck to confirm it is working? Certainly, you check the emergency lights at the start of a shift, but we can’t see infrared light so we just don’t know.

In aviation, we often ask “What activates that feature?” Did the installation by the mechanic connect the wiring so only the emergency lights need to be selected or do both lights and sirens need to be activated? We have zero “cockpit” indications that the system is working within the vehicles I’ve driven, and we can’t “pre-flight” that particular system.

Every intersection that I hate might have Opticom installed but it’s not until we get up close that we know whether it’s working. Drivers who “know” they have plenty of time to make the intersection can become confused by a unanticipated change in the signal pattern timing. They can miss it completely. We’re human. The sun early or late in the day might be directly in line with the traffic light and the sensor could be overwhelmed in the infrared spectrum. Finally, if your luck is bad, there’s another emergency response vehicle just ahead of you that activates the system for the cross street. Such is the random chance. Nice system, but there are snags. Do you know what intersections in your area have Opticom? Does your vehicles have an Opticom, and can you confirm it works?

“Dick, you said you have a solution for those hated intersections! Give it up!”

The solution has nothing to do with switching from siren to yelp and then to wail, and tapping the air horn randomly. Quite the opposite. I realized that all my hated intersections were four to six lanes with lots of traffic. Some cars were trying to let me through and often just about getting into a crash themselves. Here’s the secret: You know the area and can see out the windshield; when multiple lanes of traffic feed the intersection, shut off the lights and sirens prior to the intersection instead of potentially causing mass confusion for the drivers who are stuck and those trying to get out of the way.

The solution is as simple as just shutting down your emergency lights. But this decision must be known and understood by all crew members to prevent confusion. It doesn’t matter who on the crew brings the suggestion up; crew resource management principles direct it to be considered. Even if you have been dispatched L&S, as a crew you have the right to turn off L&S if you deem it is safer. It is perfectly appropriate, if you feel the need, to advise your dispatcher that you are proceeding with caution: “Dispatch, Medic One is proceeding Code 1 until past a busy intersection.” The same is true with a patient in the back while running L&S. It may be safer and just as fast for all if you proceed on the quiet. As a supervisor, if you heard that on the radio, you’d likely make a mental note that the crew is doing the safe thing.

There is a very high probability that if you proceed through an intersection with L&S, Opticom or not, and two other cars collide, they will likely blame the emergency response vehicle for not driving with due regard. The use of an Opticom changes the timing of the normal flow of the traffic lights, and now unexpected traffic lights are appearing to the drivers. These civilian drivers are likely totally unaware that traffic lights can be commanded by an emergency vehicle. Now you are explaining what happened following a crash and being second guessed. The people in the crash are not happy with your organization. Significant injuries could occur, causing other first responders to respond to the intersection you just sailed through! 

There are times when L&S are very appropriate. It’s a whole other topic whether sirens must always be used with emergency lights. We might also discuss whether hearing protection should be used while running the sirens, but that can interfere with radio communication as well as communication with your own crew. It’s also another topic to discuss passing into oncoming traffic at an intersection versus passing on the right.

Consider for a moment the handful of hated intersections you have in your area. Have you and your partner discussed options when both of you are in the front or when a patient is in the back? 


Dick Blanchet, (Retired) BS, MBA, worked as a Paramedic for Abbott EMS in St. Louis, MO, and Illinois for more than 22 years. He was also a Captain with Atlas Air for 22 years on the Boeing 747 with more than 21,000 flight hours. As a USAF pilot for 22 years, he flew the C-9 Nightingale Aeromedical aircraft. A USAF Academy graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree, his Masters in Business Administration is from Golden Gate University.

Samantha Greene is a paramedic and field training officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health, Region IV in the Southwestern Illinois EMS System; a paramedic field training officer for Columbia (IL) EMS, MedStar EMS, EMS Coordinator for Madison Fire Department, and EMS Liaison for Gateway Regional Medical Center. GMR Star of Life Recipient in 2020.