Right-of-way and intersections
On a two-way road, an ambulance with flashing lights and a siren is coming toward you in the opposite lane. What must you do?
- Pull over safely to the right edge of the road and stop until it passes. Correct answer
- Keep going at your speed, because it is not in your lane.
- Stop right where you are in your lane until it passes.
Why
You must yield to fire, ambulance, police and other authorized emergency vehicles responding to an emergency. When you hear or see one heading toward you from any direction, you pull over safely and immediately to the right edge of the road, stop, and wait until it passes. The manual spells out that this includes an emergency vehicle coming toward you in the opposite lane of a two-way road, so being in the other lane changes nothing. Stopping in your lane is not the rule either: you move to the right edge first. One reason the manual gives for caution: with lights and siren on, these drivers may legally speed, run red lights and STOP signs and go the wrong way on one-way streets, so their moves can be hard to predict.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is Pull over safely to the right edge of the road and stop until it passes.
More on right-of-way and intersections
- You are in the middle of an intersection when a fire truck with lights and siren comes up behind you. What should you do?
- On an ordinary two-lane local road, you come up on a tow truck stopped on the shoulder with its amber hazard lights flashing. What does the Move Over Law require of you here?
- On a multi-lane parkway, a private car with a flat tire is stopped on the shoulder. It has no emergency or hazard-vehicle lights. What does the Move Over Law ask of you?
- A private car behind you shows a flashing green light. The driver is a volunteer ambulance member. What is true about this vehicle?