Right-of-way and intersections
A fire engine ahead of you has its siren and flashing lights on. How close behind it may you legally drive?
- No closer than 300 feet. Correct answer
- No closer than 200 feet.
- No closer than 100 feet.
Why
Following an emergency vehicle that is running its siren or flashing lights is against the law inside 300 feet, and the rule names them all: fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance or other emergency vehicle. Both wrong answers sit closer than that, and both are real distances from the handbook, which is exactly why they are tempting. Two hundred feet is as far as you may drive inside a center left turn lane. One hundred feet is the no-passing zone before an intersection, bridge, tunnel or railroad crossing. Two more duties sit beside this one on the same page: give the right-of-way to any emergency vehicle using a siren and red lights, and stay away from the scene entirely, because you can be arrested for driving to a fire, collision or other disaster.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, DL 600 ENGLISH (REV. 6/2025). The correct answer is No closer than 300 feet..
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Sharing the Road › Emergency Vehicles , page 45
- Section 6. Navigating the Roads › Types of Lanes › Center Left Turn Lanes , page 16
- Section 6. Navigating the Roads › Passing , page 24
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Sharing the Road › Emergency Vehicles , page 45