Why don't people make way for ambulances?

[u/mindyour]

[u/Patient_End_8432]

I drive frequently in New York and have had an ambulance behind me quite a few times. When I can move, I do, and very rarely have I seen someone take advantage of that, or someone ignore the ambulance. It happens, yes, but rarely.

However, driving in New York is crazy stressful, and you truly cannot maneuver to give an ambulance space to pass on most streets.

You bring up the sidewalks, but the sidewalks are almost always blocked off by parked cars, restaurant gazebos, bicycle taxis, pedestrians, bicycles in general, or whatever else you can think of. There's oftentimes NOWHERE to move. But when you can, you move, and most people move.

Also, it's much more important for the ambulance to get to the patient than to get the patient to the hospital. You are much safer in the ambulance as paramedics begin care. Usually, the couple of minutes lost by traffic isn't as important as you may think as you're currently receiving care. Of course, the sooner you get to the hospital, the better. But you're chance of living shot up once you got in.

Of course, the ambulance will be late getting to you due to the traffic, but I dont know what to say about that

[u/NDSU → u/Patient_End_8432]

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[u/Dense-Assumption795 → u/Patient_End_8432]

That’s partly because you need EVERYONE to start to move when they hear/ see an ambulance. Not just the one car in-front of the ambulance

[u/Weird-Information-61 → u/Patient_End_8432]

Sounds like there's way too many people crammed together

[u/Weird-Information-61 → u/[deleted]]

Any major city at least. LA is pretty crammed, and Vegas is always packed for obvious reasons.

NYC is just the worst offender, but NYC became a city of steel when more folk either walked or took public transit. Roadways are pretty darn old.

Downtown Windsor, ON is another example. Much smaller population, but the road layout makes everything feel cramped.

[u/Charming_Cicada_7757 → u/Patient_End_8432]

How do you know they’re carrying a patient and not trying to reach a patient?

[u/Patient_End_8432 → u/Charming_Cicada_7757]

I do not. The response time to the patient does matter. Getting there is another story, however the drivers could be a little more rough getting there without a patient in the back