People just ignore the most basic rules of the road and have no common courtesy

So I am driving by the South Mountain recreation area. I am driving on Pleasant Valley Way towards Northfield. There is an ambulance with its lights and siren on Northfield. As it tries to cross the intersection no one is stopping for it. I stop at the intersection but five or six cars going the other way continue to cross the intersection while the ambulance waits with its lights and siren. It can not be missed. Finally a car in the right lane on Cherry Way stops. The ambulance starts to cross. But a BMW travelling at too rapid a speed to begin with in the left lane continues into the intersection and needs to brake very hard to not hit the ambulance broadside.

What ever happened to you hear a siren or see lights and you stop?

People are idiots. Selfish idiots with huge self-entitlement issues.

It's only an issue some of the time though - mostly in the car. If those same people were slowly ambling down a flight of stairs and heard someone shout "paramedics! Step aside!" they'd move to the right and stop walking.

Funny thing is, by law the only vehicles that can legally go through red lights are postal vehicles...not police, ambulance, or fire trucks.....sadly the ambulance would be at fault......another issue is stopping for pedestrians which may prove to be more dangerous, because an idiot behind you will go around (usually at a high rate of speed and illegally passing) or instigate a road rage incident. The law is that the pedestrian must be a full lane away from the side of the road you are turning on...but you are lucky if the guy behind you isn't blasting his horn as soon as you can squeeze by the pedestrian.

jmitw said:
Funny thing is, by law the only vehicles that can legally go through red lights are postal vehicles...not police, ambulance, or fire trucks.....sadly the ambulance would be at fault...

That is actually a long-held urban legend. Postal trucks have no authority to run red lights and all vehicles, including postal vehicles, must yield to emergency vehicles being operated in emergency situations with lights and sirens. The emergency vehicle operator must still "drive with due regard for the safety of all persons" and may not drive with "reckless disregard for the safety of others"... but he or she has the right of way at intersections and other drivers must pull to the right and stop, and keep stationary until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed.

http://www.nj.gov/health/ems/documents/vehicle_guidelines.pdf

http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/fourway.asp

39:4-91. Right of way of emergency vehicles; liability of drivers.

a) The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall yield the right of way to any authorized emergency vehicle when it is operated on official business, or in the exercise of the driver’s profession or calling, in response to an emergency call or in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law and when an audible signal by bell, siren, exhaust whistle or other means is sounded from the authorized emergency vehicle and when the authorized emergency vehicle, except a police vehicle, is equipped with at least one lighted lamp displaying a red light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of at least five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle.
b) This section shall not relieve the driver of any authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall it protect the driver from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any immunity or defense otherwise provided by law.

39:4-92. Authorized emergency vehicles; clearance for; following or parking near

Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle giving audible signal, and equipped, as required by section 39:4-91 of this Title, and unless otherwise directed by a police or traffic officer,

a) The driver of every vehicle shall immediately drive to a position as near as possible and parallel to the right-hand edge or curb of the highway, clear of an intersection of highways, and shall stop and remain in that position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed and
b) The driver or person in control of a street car shall immediately stop the car clear of an intersection of highways and keep it stationary until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed.

welp

I wish the postal truck were allowed to run red lights. Anything to speed up mail service would be great.

Funny, I was told this by a Police Officer and EMS administrator...that only postal trucks could run red lights.

There is a difference between yielding to an emergency vehicle by pulling over so it can pass and letting it go through a red light. I don't remember seeing red lights on some ambulances. I once read a trivia question regarding colors of emergency lights and had started looking at one point.....but that was awhile ago.

There is also a difference between the right of way in some circumstances and going through a red light....even though the mail truck doesn't have the right away over an emergency vehicle, doesn't necessarily mean they can't go through red lights.

This is something that needs further research..maybe it used to be the law. I have found reference to an UNREPEALED LAW in the UK.

I've found a statement from a post master general that says carriers should follow all state and local laws...

No it does not "need further research"

b) The driver or person in control of a street car shall immediately stop the car clear of an intersection of highways and keep it stationary until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed.

That still does not directly address the issue at hand. It could be referencing an emergency vehicle passing through a GREEN light....and what about a postal truck at a red light WITHOUT ANY OTHER VEHICLES AROUND (including emergency vehicles). They would not be yielding to emergency vehicles and according to what alleged knowledgeable people told me the postal truck could legally proceed against the light (if that had been the law at one time). It has been at least 15 years since I was told that.....probably 25.

Postal lawyers have argued that

"the postal service enjoys federal immunity from state and local regulation," to get out of tickets

jmitw said:
That still does not directly address the issue at hand. It could be referencing an emergency vehicle passing through a GREEN light....and what about a postal truck at a red light WITHOUT ANY OTHER VEHICLES AROUND (including emergency vehicles). They would not be yielding to emergency vehicles and according to what alleged knowledgeable people told me the postal truck could legally proceed against the light (if that had been the law at one time). It has been at least 15 years since I was told that.....probably 25.

Give it a rest. It says "a street car shall immediately stop the car clear of an intersection of highways and keep it stationary until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed." That statement is unconditional.

As to the postal issue, one lawyer did apparently write a letter to get out of red light camera tickets in 2012 sating what you wrote. But the Post Office issued a statement saying "David Van Allen, regional spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said in an interview that postal employees "are subject to obeying local traffic laws and ordinances just like any other citizen. However, the Postal Service cannot legally be billed for any traffic violation fines incurred by its employees."

So the issue is really that since red light camera tickets are sent to the owner of the vehicle the Postal Service was saying they did not need to pay because it should be the employee who pays.

Plus "That last bit did not go over well with American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the Arizona-based company that enforces East Cleveland’s camera citations.

“By attempting to hide behind an immunity claim, you are aiding and abetting your drivers in their blatant disregard for the traffic laws in East Cleveland, which have endangered other drivers, pedestrians and school children,” ATS attorney George Hittner wrote in his three-page responseto Breslin, who received it on Thursday. (He also cc'd the postmaster general, two U.S. representatives and two senators.)
Hittner cited the Postal Service’s own safety manual and case law to point out that postal truck drivers should and have been held accountable. He also gave a few examples where the driving habits of carriers resulted in well-publicized legal consequences."

I forgot to mention...this is what I was told at a defensive driving course offered in the town I was in at the time given by the police officer......so at least it is true in that town that mail trucks can go through red lights since that is what the police go by!

jmitw said:
I forgot to mention...this is what I was told at a defensive driving course offered in the town I was in at the time given by the police officer......so at least it is true in that town that mail trucks can go through red lights since that is what the police go by!

Section (a) doesn't do it for you? It's pretty inclusive. As quoted above, NJSA 39:4-91a states:

a) The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall yield the right of way to any authorized emergency vehicle when it is operated on official business, or in the exercise of the driver’s profession or calling, in response to an emergency call or in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law and when an audible signal by bell, siren, exhaust whistle or other means is sounded from the authorized emergency vehicle and when the authorized emergency vehicle, except a police vehicle, is equipped with at least one lighted lamp displaying a red light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of at least five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle

Is this really happening?

I was just about to ask the same thing.

Some people can never be wrong.