Accidents involving have tended to increase in recent weeks. Last Friday, a Brussels fire ambulance was hit by a driver, causing injuries to four people, including two paramedics. A phenomenon that would unfortunately not be so rare as that. According to the figures communicated by the Walloon Agency for Road Safety, there was, before covid, one accident with injuries per week involving an ambulance in Belgium. “Over the past 5 years, the AWSR has recorded 187 accidents with fatalities and injuries – including 53 in Wallonia – involving an ambulance in Belgium, confirms Belinda Demattia, spokesperson. These accidents claimed 319 victims, including 301 minor injuries, 16 serious injuries and two deaths.
Figures that do not include accidents where only material damage is observed. According to the AWSR70% of accidents involving an ambulance take place in built-up areas, 72% of accidents take place on weekdays and one out of two occurs at an intersection.
After a decrease in figures due to the drop in traffic in 2020 and 2021, road safety promotion organizations fear an increase in these accidents which endanger paramedics but also increase the risk of death for transported patients. “When hearing the sirens of emergency vehicles, many road users are often distraught or even panicked, causing a very involuntary blockage of the road, deplores Belinda Demattia. You have to move, but how? As soon as a driver hears the siren of a priority vehicle, he must clear the way immediately, give way and stop if necessary.
The AWSR therefore provides several important tips. First keep calm. “In this kind of situation, do not panic and observe your surroundings in order to find the best way to give way to the rescue service. You should also avoid stopping suddenly and rather pull over to the side.”
It is also important not to put others in danger: “Do not stop on the road or in a bend, do not engage in a crossroads which you could block: you could also considerably hinder priority vehicles. And if the light is green for you, and red for the priority vehicle, you must let it pass (Editor’s note: provided that it has the flashing lights and its siren on).”
If, on the other hand, the light is red for you and the ambulance is behind you, the highway code does not allow you to cross the light. “The best thing is to get to the side to make room. If you ever cross the red light because it is the only solution to let the priority vehicle pass, be very careful and make sure to pull over to the side and not cross the intersection.
In the event of verbalization – by a fixed radar for example -, you will however be able to justify the compelling reason to let an ambulance pass to contest the fine.