Right-of-way and intersections
An ambulance with its siren and red lights on is coming up behind you while you are in the middle of an intersection. What should you do?
- Continue through the intersection, then drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop. Correct answer
- Stop immediately where you are, inside the intersection.
- Speed up to get out of its way and keep driving.
Why
Emergency vehicles using a siren and red lights always get the right-of-way: pull over to the right edge and hold there until they are gone. The one wrinkle is the intersection. Stopping inside it blocks the very path the ambulance may need, so the handbook says to finish crossing, then pull right and stop as soon as it is safe. Racing ahead is not yielding, and it keeps the emergency vehicle stuck behind you. Failing to pull over can get you a ticket, and once the vehicle passes, do not tag along: following within 300 feet of an emergency vehicle with its lights or siren on is against the law.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Continue through the intersection, then drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop.
The rule behind this one
Right of way in California: who goes first goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
In real life
More on right-of-way and intersections
- A pedestrian with a white cane is waiting at the corner as you approach the intersection. Which of these is correct?
- Two vehicles meet on a steep, narrow mountain road where neither can pass. Which vehicle must back up?
- You are on a road that ends at a T intersection with no STOP or YIELD signs. Who has the right-of-way?
- You are inside a roundabout and realize you have just gone past the exit you wanted. What should you do?