Although the investigation into the traffic accident in Jamestown on Monday that sent a Lakewood man to the Hamot Medical Center in Erie is incomplete, questions have been raised about emergency vehicles in respect to the traffic laws since it became known one of the vehicles involved was an authorized emergency vehicle.
At about 7 a.m. Monday, Michael Winne, an assistant chief with the Bemus Point Volunteer Fire Department, hit a vehicle driven by Scott Blake of Ashville at the intersection of Washington and West Fourth streets.
Police have said the investigation is ongoing, as information and witness statements are still being processed, and no charges have been filed in connection with the incident.
STATE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW
The New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law has specific sections which outline what constitutes an emergency vehicle and what laws operators of such vehicles are excused from and when.
Section 115a of the state vehicle and traffic law explains that the vehicle of an assistant chief of a fire department does qualify as an emergency vehicle, although not all volunteer firefighters's vehicles are designated that way.
It also states that emergency vehicles must be equipped with a red light and an audible siren, as was the case with the assistant chief's Chevy truck involved in Monday's accident.
Section 1104b of the vehicle and traffic law states the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle may "stop, stand or park irrespective of the provisions of this title; proceed past a steady red signal, a flashing red signal or a stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation; exceed the maximum speed limits so long as he does not endanger life or property; disregard regulations governing directions of movement or turning in specified directions."
At this point in the investigation, police have not released whether Winne had a green or red light at the intersection, but according to the law, if a light is red, an emergency vehicle can run it as long as the driver slows to ensure the safety of others as they pass through the intersection.
STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES
The state Health Department has issued two opinions since 2000 on the operation of emergency medical services vehicles. In a November 2000 statement from the department's Bureau of EMS Policy, Edward G. Wronski, bureau director, wrote that EMS response vehicles approaching an intersection must be driven to allow the driver to make a safe stop if necessary, must come to a complete stop when it approaches a red light or stop sign, that the driver must account for all lanes of traffic before proceeding through the intersection and should treat each lane of traffic as a separate intersection. Finally, when traffic conditions require an EMS vehicle to travel in the oncoming traffic lanes, the maximum speed is 20 miles an hour.
''Each EMS response vehicle operator must recognize that the emergency vehicle has no absolute right of way, it is qualified and cannot be taken forcefully,'' Wronski wrote.
COURSES AVAILABLE
Julius Leone Jr., county emergency services director, said there are several offerings for an emergency vehicle operations course which, among other things, reinforces safety when responding to a call. The International Association of Fire Chiefs issued a set of guidelines in 2005 that suggested firefighters take a basic driver training course before even being allowed to drive a privately owned vehicle on fire department business. The association recommended a second course before driving department vehicles in emergency situations.
"These classes are not for all firefighters as many of them will never be an official driver," he said. "It is up to the 42 departments in the county whether or not they mandate that their members take the course. In it you learn defensive driving techniques and several things relevant to operating an emergency vehicle.''
Leone explained that when citizens see a red light with a siren, they are required by law to pull over. But when a volunteer firefighter is using a blue light, called a courtesy light, citizens are expected to pull over as a courtesy, to allow them to more quickly respond to a call.
Section 1144b of the vehicle and traffic law states that the legal requirement to yield to an emergency vehicle does not "relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with reasonable care for all persons using the highway."
