MrRamonG

I was riding into the office this morning on a small street with no traffic except me and this approaching ambulance. The ambulance blasted his siren for a second right as he passed me. Scared the crap out of me and I almost ate it as I clipped along at about 18 mph. Do they not pick up enough of us that they have to startle us into wrecks?

chephy

This is where earbuds and loud music could've made your trip safer. Always, always wear your headphones!

gerald_g 

There's a train engineer that likes to do that to me it seems. Sneaks up alongside with the train, and then BLASSST!!! lets the train horn go. Maybe their together in this scheme?

ilmooz

If it was just me and an ambulance approaching me in traffic I expect I'd have sufficient attention focused on it so as not to be startled by its siren. You need to figure this thing out before you pass a skunk on the road.

MrRamonG

I feel your pain.... but I don't see how a train can sneak up on you.

Think I'm gonna get an Airzound.

MrRamonG

Been commuting for over 15 years now. When someone honks at me or blows their horn at me unprovoked or for no other reason than to be a jackass, it still startles me.

nkfrench 

If it's a 2-lane road I believe vehicles are supposed to pull over and stop to allow the ambulance to pass.

Cars would have rear-view mirrors and could see the ambulance approaching. A bicycle is also a vehicle so you should still pull over and stop but the ambulance driver is assuming you don't have a mirror and don't know it's an ambulance and not just a regular car.

MrRamonG

If he had turned his siren on because he was responding to an emergency, then there wouldn't be an issue. My problem is that he turned it on then off right as he passed me. He was on the opposite side of the road.

noisebeam

You are supposed to pull over and stop unless a physical median in the middle of the road.

Skivvy9r

Only if the ambulance is responding to an emergency, ie lights/siren. OP says that was not the case. Pay attention!

CACycling

I had a cop flip on lights and siren just as he was passing me on a homeward bound commute earlier this year. Yeah, it can be quite startling.

jdom

If the lights are not on then they are just another vehicle with no special privallages.You do not pull over for an ambulance if there lights are not on.I'm not sure why people blow there horns or in this case there siren,I don't think that most of these people know that it sometimes really startles a cyclist and can be dangerous in some situations.I think alot of times they are trying to be friendly and acknowledge that you are there,but being inside there vehicle they just don't inderstand how loud horns actually are.

When I was living in Florida and working as an electrician I did a job at an air force base on the runway lighting.Sometimes when we were working and had our attention on the job a jet would do a flyby for us and scare the poop out of us.The flight tower would call us to ask how we liked it,they were trying to be nice and give us a small air show,but they didn't know just how much they can scare you when you don't know they are coming.

Of course there are people who do it just to be "funny" also.

noisebeam

The op said nothing about lights if they were on or off, only that the siren blasted. Round here emergency vehicles w/light on blast sirens at intersection approaches or if other drivers are not responding to lights.

MrRamonG

The ambulance was on the opposite side of the road and was heading towards me. He flipped the siren on and off right as he passed me. No lights, no emergency. I'm sure it was directed at me because when I looked at him he had a $h!t eatin grin and was lookin at me.

CB HI

I got a cop in trouble for using their siren just to harass me.

exile

I thought it was illegal for emergency vehicles to use thier sirens or lights if they are not responding to an emergency?

I remember reading many years ago about an emergency vehicle that got into an accident. At first either the pedestrian or vehicle they struck were cited for failure to yield. However upon further investigation it was discovered the emergency vehicle was using its lights and sirens to blast through intersections to bring food back to the station.

nanter

It is illegal. As an ambulance driver, I can tell you that blipping your siren like that is enough to land you on suspension if it's your first offense or worse if it's your second. If it was a county/town/otherwise public ambulance, you can look for a marking on the side that indicates the station of origin and a number that indicates the unit number. Then I would suggest calling the station and reporting the offender. They know who was driving the unit when. Same goes for a private ambulance company. Plenty of AHs drive ambulances, but most of them are not expecting someone to lodge a complaint.

MrRamonG

Thanks Nanter. Its refreshing to know that ambulance companies are responsible enough to not tolerate such irresponsible behavior from thier drivers. Wish I would have been quick enough to gather the info you suggested.

exile

Thanks nanter. I don't think I would want one of them to be suspended or fired (unless it was an ongoing issue), I'd rather it cease.

jubal117

I had that happen to me this morning. A schoolbus, I believe my daughters, was behind me. I knew it was there and was staying over as far as I safely could while climbing a steep hill. We were almost at the top and I could tell it was pretty close then the driver laid on his horn and went past me. Startled me quite a bit and as I was going slowly already I lost control a little. The funny thing was I then almost kept pace with it until I turned off.

I got to work and called the school and the superintendent, who is a family friend. I don't feel there is any call for what he did. The horn blowing still startles me after 6 or 7 years of commuting.

MrRamonG

Yeah, it’s tough enough to keep your mind on the usual commuting obstacles let alone be prepared for some a$$h0le intentionally trying to throw a wrench in our commute. Wish we were more like ilmooz and be prepared for every situation at every moment of our ride.
Guess we better manup and develop nerves of steel so we can be prepared for that errant skunk….. jackass

ilmooz

I feel your pain.... but I don't see how an ambulance can sneak up on you.... especially when you already know it's there.

MrRamonG

Well played.... Until next time!!

lil brown bat

Wow, take it easy, dude. Just call the ambulance company and deal with it, don't drag everybody else into your vendetta and be calling them names when they don't want a part of it.

MrRamonG

Oh Lil Bat.... How I missed your unorganized comments. Once again you have acted without reading the thread. I was calling ilmooz a jackass for suggesting that we should be prepared for all situations at every moment of our commute. He clearly wanted a part of it when he made that ridiculous comment. But I called him a jackass with the friendliest and most fraternal typing I could muster. He responded in kind and I reviewed my stance and conceded some ground.

Also, as I told Nanter, had you read, I couldn’t gather pertinent info off the ambulance quick enough.

But thanks for shopping, please come again.