Mohammad wonders. On multiple occasions, the Brussels resident broke the highway code to allow emergency vehicles to pass. “We let them pass, but we put ourselves in danger. How should we react?”
Mohammad has lived in Brussels for 10 years. At 36, he is used to traveling the sometimes complex roads of the capital. From Schaerbeek to Ixelles, via Auderghem, he knows Brussels like the back of his hand.
However, since its installation, it has regularly found itself confronted with stressful situations for a road user. Emergency vehicles, such as firefighters or police, that must be allowed to pass quickly. “I have already run several red lights to make way.” In mid-August, on his way to the supermarket, Mohammad entered a small one-way street. “A police vehicle is coming up behind me at full speed, flashing lights on. I’m panicking because I can’t pull over. The only option is to park in the only space available.” Once parked, Mohammad is reprimanded by the officer behind the wheel. “He tells me that I am taking too long to let them pass and that it could have serious repercussions. However, I had no other option.”
Another situation occurred a few weeks ago. “I’m stopped at a red light when an ambulance comes up behind me. Again, it’s a one-way street. So I run the light to let him pass.” A dangerous situation: “At that moment, I was sideways in the middle of the intersection. A car on my right was speeding towards me, but it turned at the last moment. The accident was narrowly avoided.”
“Justice has never decided”
Mohammad therefore wonders: “How can you give way to priority vehicles without putting yourself in danger?”
First, a refresher on emergency vehicle signals is in order. “If a police or fire vehicle is behind you with only the flashing lights on, that is not enough for it to have priority,” specifies Benoît Godart, spokesperson for the VIAS Institute. “It is obligatory that the horns also be activated. If you commit a traffic offense while these two signals are not activated, you inevitably expose yourself to a fine.”
So, can we run a red light or stop sign to let an emergency vehicle pass? The answer is not simple. There are two scenarios. “If you are confronted with a police vehicle which orders you to cross the light or bite on the sidewalk, there will never be any sanction. On the contrary, you are obliged to follow the injunction agents.” explains Benoit Godart.
For the rest, the highway code remains vague. If a motorist is faced with an ambulance, fire or police vehicle that does not require you to break the highway code and you step onto the sidewalk yourself, you are committing an offense. “The courts have never ruled on this point. In theory, in this scenario, the motorist is breaking the highway code. However, I have never heard of a driver fined in this way. This does not happen. never happens” continues the spokesperson. If this point is left to the discretion of agents, but also to the common sense of citizens, one thing remains clear: “If by letting a vehicle pass you cause an accident or injure someone, you will of course be liable for the damage. A driver must always remain in control of his vehicle.”
According to Benoît Godart, “The most important thing in these situations is to remain calm and think clearly. It is essential to let the intervention vehicles pass, but above all we must remain vigilant to the environment around us.”
“The officers will never fine a motorist who crosses the red light by 2 meters”
The police reassure
For their part, the police want to be reassuring. “The officers know how to drive in response while avoiding disrupting traffic too much,” declares Katlien Breugelmans, spokesperson for the Brussels-North police zone. “The police are aware of the difficulties that some motorists may encounter in letting them pass.” As far as potential fines are concerned, there is no reason to worry. “For example, officers will never fine a motorist who crosses the red light by 2 meters to let them pass.”
However, you must exercise discernment. “There is a difference between lightly crossing the traffic light and accelerating to speed behind the police vehicle.” Motorists, like Mohammad, can therefore break the highway code as a last resort, while still using common sense. Police officers will normally do the same.
Police highway code road safety ambulance emergency
