Emergency vehicles.....

[speedingpenguin]

This happend to me the other day and thank god I was in my moms minivan, not in the G35 or the Catera. I'm just wondering what you people would do in a situation like this, or if insurance would cover any damage or what......
came up to an intersection, and turned.....theres 2 lanes at a stoplight (red at the time) going the opposite direction, and one lane going the direction i'm going, and a sidewalk on the passenger side of the car....fairly heavy traffic. As soon as I turn, I notice the car in front of me go up onto the curb, and see an ambulance coming toward us between the other lane and my lane, it hadnt had its siren on until I turned....it was trying to squeeze through between the cars going in opposite directions, so I had pretty much no choice but to drive the van up onto the curb and let him pass.....it was a fairly big curb (6 or so inches probably, straight up, no slant to the curb wall...), and I'd have been PISSED if I had to drive the g35 up there or even the Catera....both cars are fairly low to the ground, have fairly low profile tires, and suspension that is built more for being stable at high speeds than for going up a 6 inch curb. Say you were in a car like that and in a similar situation....What would you do?
On the one hand, someones life could depend on you getting out of the way. If I knew that, I'd definatly just go right up onto the curb, but most of the time around here its either paper cuts that some hysterical mother paniced and called 911 about, or someone with an upset stomach, in which case, 5 seconds for them to creep by slowly and for me to tuck the mirror in wouldnt be the end of the world. I dont want to sound like a prick, but I wouldnt want to damage any suspension stuff or the tire walls or the rims by driving a sports-sedan up and over a curb like that. If I did have to do it, and I scratched the rim or damaged something, would insurance have a problem paying for it because I was getting out of the way of an emergency vehicle? Hope this is the right section for this post....

[Igovert500]

Sometimes the county will pay for damages of that nature, for instance if you dent a rim on a pothole and get in touch with the county immediately. Insurance companies make a living screwing people out of their money, so I doubt they would pay for it, or at least make you pay the deductible and then drop you after the repair. So it's a tough decision.
Personally, I don't know what I would have done in that situation. I know I would have the same feelings driving my vr4 up onto a high curb. I don't even take it up my aunts driveway due to the steep incline and stress it puts on the frame.

[Pimperish1]

The law requires you to get out of the way but your not expected to jump off a cliff because you hear a siren going. I drive Ambulances, I try my best to work with other drivers on the road. Sometimes I wish I had a ram bar, but thats for the really dumb ones. The ones that make me stop for them to do a k-turm in the hospital driveway. Do your best dude but dont wreck your sh*t. It aint worth it and you will get stuck with the bill one way or the other.

[mospeed1]

Originally Posted by Igovert500

Sometimes the county will pay for damages of that nature, for instance if you dent a rim on a pothole and get in touch with the county immediately. .

i had this happen to me. i had to file a police report and get estmates for a new rim .the city wrote me a check to buy a new rim


the ems thing is a tuff call...

[bm2boats]

First off, you did the right thing. As someone who drives Ambulances, Many calls are BullCrap, many are truely Emergent. To anyone outside from the person who dailed 911, No one knows what the call truly is until the Ambulance gets there. As far as leaving the road surface.... You really didn't have to do that, just get to the curb.

[maximagirl420]

I guess a lot of you are going to think I'm a horrible b****, but...I'm not pulling any vehicle I'm driving up on a curb for anyone. A 4X4 truck with proven clearance;yes. The ambulance, cop, fire truck can drive up over a curb before me. My cars have always had nice rims and l/p's, and I would just tell them I didn't think the car would be physically capable of going up the curb. And anyway, where I live the ems can only drive 10mph over the limit anyway, and I don't consider that really being in a hurry anywhere.

[bm2boats]

As a Rule, All Emergency Cars, trucks Rigs SHOULD only go 10 mph over the limit. BUT, When you hear a CODE 5 ( EMS under attack) or a "Baby" not Breathing Or any Child -vs- Car( Or what ever) You put the Petal Down and lean on the Siren and Airhorn. HINT! If you see a Ambulance doing a lot of Swirving or leaning hard on the Sirens and Airhorn, It is 99.2% that it is what I discribe above or a TRue Emergency or it is a new drive getting his/ her rocks off going to get Grandma that can't get off the toilet.
Just pull to the side of the road. no need to jump curbs.