Emergency vehicles
| What the rule says | What you do | Where it goes wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The duty itself | One sentence, without conditions: road users must let drivers of an emergency vehicle go first. Pedestrians and cyclists too — it says “road users”. | Make room calmly and predictably, usually to the right, and pull away again only once it has passed. | Panicking onto the pavement or through a red light. Art. 50 lifts no other rule; what you do to make room must itself be allowed. |
| How you recognise one | It concerns an EMERGENCY VEHICLE — one showing the prescribed signals. A blue flashing light together with the siren is the picture the rule means. | First listen and look for where it is coming from, and only then steer — otherwise you make room on the wrong side. | Stopping at once in the middle of the carriageway. A car standing in an unexpected place is an obstacle for it, and for whoever is behind you too. |
| At a junction or roundabout | Art. 50 applies in full, but lifts no other prohibition: driving through red to make room remains driving through red. | Stop where you are and move as far aside as possible — clear the junction rather than crossing it. | Entering the junction to “get out of the way”. That blocks exactly the route it needs. |
| After it has passed | Pulling away from the side again is a special manoeuvre (art. 54): you give way to the other traffic, now too. | Wait until the line is moving again and only then merge, with indicator and shoulder check. | Pulling straight out behind it. One emergency vehicle is often followed by a second, and the line beside you is not expecting you. |
| What he himself may deviate from | Art. 91: drivers of an emergency vehicle may deviate from the rules of this decree AS FAR AS the performance of their task requires. Red light, direction, speed — only while the task demands it. | Expect a manoeuvre that cuts across the ordinary rules: through red, against the flow of traffic, past a prohibition. Watch what he DOES, not what he ought to do. | Thinking he may do anything. “As far as … requires” is a limit, and that limit binds him — not you: your duty under art. 50 stays the same. |
The law itself
RVV1990 art. 50RVV1990 art. 82 lid 1WVW1994 art. 5RVV1990 art. 54RVV1990 art. 91RVV1990 art. 68 lid 1RVV1990 art. 62
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