Firstly,if this subject has been posted already,I do apologise.
Ok,you are at a set of traffic lights on a two laned A road in your artic having just changed to red. In the other lane is another truck in the outside lane. Then comes an ambulance from behind with twos and blues needing to come through,do you stay put or move off slowly checking motorists coming from your right and left hoping that they would have noticed the ambulance?
I think it depends if you want the red light camera to take your photo or not.
You’re not obliged to move out of the way at all and I’d be very careful about going through red lights. I appreciate most of us will want to get out of the way so the emergency services can get where they’re going a bit quicker, but that shouldn’t be at the expense of your (or anyone elses) safety. The emergency driver shouldn’t put you under any pressure to go through a red light, just sit and wait, the emergency driver will either find a way round (wrong side of the carriageway etc) or they may even turn off the lights and siren until the traffic lights change to green.
I have 7 years experience driving on blues and twos…(although I’ve got a proper job again now 
), if the emergency crew are shouting and carrying on with you to move, then they have a dose of the red mist and it’s likely to be a danger so I’d personally be pulling on the handbrake and let them sort it out.
In short the answer to your question is that it’s a judgement call you have to make after you’ve taken everything else into consideration.
recently a fireman was convicted of dangerous driving after going though a red light and hitting a driver that was deaf.
If you can move safely you should, but if the brown stuff hits the fan blaming the emergency services won’t help you.
If I could do it safely, yes I would. If there’s a camera there, it might take a photo, but I’d rather fight the photo in court than risk preventing an ambulance/fire engine’s crew from saving someone’s life.
I have done so in the past, albeit in my car, rather than a truck. Waiting at a set of lights somewhere in North London (not sure where - I was following my nose to the M25 at the time), I was stopped at a set of lights. There were 3 lanes, the two to the left of me each had at least 3 cars waiting, but I was the only car waiting in my lane. I saw an ambulance coming up behind, and fortunately there was a significant distance between the stop line and the actual cross-traffic, so I quickly pulled forwards and stopped in front of the middle lane traffic, leaving my old lane clear.
Agree with Shrek on this one, as you will only make matters worse by trying to move through a red light.
The only way to get out of the way would be to “go” through the lights to the other side of the interchange and remember you’ve no blue lights or sirens to warn others, plus you run the risk of a camera taking a picture of your illegal manoeuvre. (and you would probably be blocking the camera’s sight of the emergency vehicle going past you with your trailer, so try explaining that to the courts)
Best thing is to sit still and let them move around you, that’s what they are trained to do and they will know some of “worst” lights for jams and alter their approach (i.e. wrong side etc) accordingly.
As an ex Fireman of 15 years service, a trained Emergency Appliance Driver and Class 1 Advanced Driver, it would be up to me to decide what course of action to take. Different Brigades have different guidlines although the ‘official’ Home Office advice used to be ‘the driver may treat a red traffic light as a Give Way sign’. It is also upto the Police & DPP as to who to prosecute, the emergency driver or you for getting out of the way, if anything were to happen.
Me, I try to look far enough ahead to not be stuck in a line of traffic, I would always take to the outside where at least I had room to manouvour. After all, it’s easier for someone coming towards me to see me and get out of the way in plenty of time! At least thats the way the instructors in Tyne & Wear taught us! I also try and make my Fire Appliance as ‘BIG’ as possible, taking up as much of the road as I thought I needed!
I read a post on another forum about a motorcyclist being killed by an ambulance going through a red recently, but as there are no further details, I dont know how much truth there is in the story.
All I can say is that the ambulance driver must feel pretty sick that this could happen as he tried to save someone elses life. Sympathy to all parties involved. 
Fire crews, ambulance drivers and the Police are all damned if they do, etc
Mr B:
recently a fireman was convicted of dangerous driving after going though a red light and hitting a driver that was deaf.
If you can move safely you should, but if the brown stuff hits the fan blaming the emergency services won’t help you.
I heard that case…although I think he was convicted of “Careless Driving” rather than “Dangerous”.
Causing Death by Dangerous Driving is a serious offence (obviously) and carries a maximum 14 years porridge. There’s very soon to be a lesser offence of Causing Death by Careless driving which also carries custodial but not as much.
Food for thought.
Yes Zeb…emergency drivers should be looking up ahead and planning a route through the hazards, but I’ve been in with many young, gung-ho coppers who don’t! They just steam up to hazards and expect it all to magically clear in front of 'em! Some are convinced the sirens give them total immunity from accidents/collisions/incidents, call it what you like. I’ve seen some individuals fly through red lights (with no sight lines) at 60mph + on a wing and a prayer that nowt’s coming through legitimately…scary stuff indeed!
Wheelnut…agreed mate. Bloody awful for everyone.
I can’t remember the exact details (I think it was posted on here some time back) but I recall an incident wher a car driver did just that, pulled through a red light to let an ambulance past. Got flashed by a camera and went to court and argued the case. (ambulance…blues and two’s etc)
The head of the area’s ambulance service was a witness in copurt and said that the car driver SHOULDN’T have done that as HIS crews were trained to find a way around any blockage/situation.
The car driver ended up getting done, points and a fine.
Now I am not saying don’t try and help these guys out BUT don’t rely on their presence if you get flashed and go to court.
I will always do my best to move out the way wherever I might be, you never know one day YOUR life might depend on it!
I`ve always been under the impression that Blues and Twos just means get out of the way " as soon as it is safe to do so " and that you should not break the law when you do move 
the worst piece of driving i ever saw was two fire engines trying to force their way along a rush hour duel carriageway with blues n two’s plus air horns blasting.
One of them was on the right side of the road and the other was on the wrong side. I don’t know where they expected the motorists to go but i’m convinced they was racing each other.
Scary stuff.
just watch out for the other charge of obstructing the emergency services in the line of duty, particulary if its the police who are trying to barge through!
Just be grateful you’re not in Germany. Under German law if you impede an emergency vehicle enroute to an incident and someone dies as a result of that emergency vehicle being impeded, the family of the deceased can sue you for every euro that person would have earned up to retirement age!! That is why you have unlimited liabilty cover on your car insurance for such cases over there. 
http://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q699.htm
So… they’d like you to move out of the way but might prosecute you for doing so. Each police force has it’s own (seemingly unpublished) policy. Yep, we’re in England!
The red light cameras do not activate on vehicles travelling less than 12 mph.
stevel:
The red light cameras do not activate on vehicles travelling less than 12 mph.
I stand to be corrected but this sounds like a myth to me 
. The reason being they operate off ground loops in the road so any vehicle going over them can be measured regardless of speed.
stevel:
The red light cameras do not activate on vehicles travelling less than 12 mph.
Surely that can’t be correct 
Is that documented anywhere ?
As for red lights with cameras and you move off to let the emergency services through then you will get done for it , simple as that.
Look at the dude delivering emergency organs , heart transplants and stuff . They nailed him for speeding.
Let them get past it’s part of there job.