Just like many other countries in the world, obstructing the path of the ambulance on the road is a serious and punishable offense. An emergency vehicle which is running on the road and authorized to respond to an emergency. Ambulance, fire brigade, police PCR van, Rescue vans come under this category. These vehicles are equipped with a siren and flashing lights on the roof. They seem to ride on the road with high speed. They are intended to do so to respond to any emergency.
In our day to day commutation to our office, we witness a scene where an ambulance driver is struggling hard to go through the traffic and mess created by us. Negligence of Indian drivers on speeding ambulance is generally seen and found to be a major concern in our country. It is also found that even once the ambulance got freed from the mess and the congestion, motorists speed up and mercilessly try to make good use of the space created by the ambulance. This makes the situation even worse and tends the speeding vehicle chasing behind in trouble and leading to an accident. Sad, but true Indian’s have a mindset that the Ambulances take unnecessary advantage of the authority. So, the motorists chase the ambulance like anything.
The concern was already raised to the transport ministries for an action. If we compare Indian roads with roads abroad, it is found that the roads always have an extra space in between two lanes. Broader roads always help other vehicles to make some gaps when required. That’s why the ambulances abroad get ample space by other vehicles when required.
We need to understand the value of life and act sensitively in order to save someone’s life. It is important for us to take care of the following things:
- Never park in front of a parked ambulance
- Always move to the left and or side your vehicle or come to complete stop
- At the signal, if an ambulance ask for way from behind, do the same, move front, move to left and stop
- Do not tailgate an ambulance it’s a crime.
- Do not panic with the siren and jam the road while stopping your motor in midways
- Do not try to speed up or try to run it
- Do not use the space as lead-blocker and speed behind the ambulance
Examining the emergency services in India, the laws governing them are split under separate heads. Moreover, the penalty for obstructing the movement is quite meager with no stringent penal consequences. Ambulances or other emergency vehicles are allowed to jump the red light traffic signal at intersections. As per Indian Law, SO439 (E,) dated 12th June 1989- Section 118 of the Motors Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988), says in point 10 that every driver shall on the approach of a fire service vehicle or of an ambulance allow it free passage by drawing to the side of the road. Penalty- Motorists obstructing the way of emergency vehicles will be fined Rs 2,000 apart from facing legal action, according to the Delhi Traffic Police. Also, the extreme right lane, on roads having three or more lanes, will be used by emergency vehicles while they are attending to a call.
According to recent news from an authentic source, not giving a path to life; (hindering the way of the ambulance) is violating the traffic rule and the guilty have to pay a penalty of 10, 000 INR. This rule is in accordance with the amended motor vehicle bill, which got a nod by Union Cabinet on June 24th, 2019. The bill also includes several other amendments like imposing fine on drink and drive has been increased from Rs. 2000 to 10000, speeding on the restricted area has moved beyond Rs. 500 to 5000, not wearing the seat belt have been increased from 100 to 1000.
Be a responsible citizen, follow the traffic rule and give way to the ambulance.