Everyone hopes that their family won’t end up in an emergency situation where they are in need of immediate assistance, but it is a possibility for any one of us at any given time to be placed in such a situation. If so, you will realize rather quickly that time is of the essence.
With that in mind, listen up, literally to a new campaign to make it easier and safer for emergency vehicles to effectively maneuver traffic patterns.
“Hear the sound, look around, see the light and pull to the right,” is the new slogan adopted by the City of Santa Clarita’s Sheriff’s Station in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, as part of the campaign to increase public awareness when public safety professionals need to respond with their red lights and siren activated.
Sergeant Darren Harris, a 17-year Sheriff’s department veteran knows first hand the challenges of not being able to reach a destination where an emergency is underway.
“As law enforcement professionals, we sign on to help people, so we want to get to an emergency in a timely manner, we don’t do any good at all if we don’t get there ourselves. We need people to pull to the right and clear a pathway when they hear a police siren or see a red flashing light,” says Harris.
Many times response units are unnecessarily delayed because motorists fail to safely pull to the right shoulder. It is the law.
“I’m sure there are many situations when if I’d gotten to a code three call sooner, we might have been able to make a bigger difference and we ask ourselves, ‘What if?’ Unfortunately, you can’t be everywhere all the time, you just do your best,” said Harris.
The Sergeant, who is based in Santa Clarita says the deputies undergo extensive driver’s training with periodic refresher courses, in order to maintain a sense of alertness when adrenaline kicks in.
“I’m proud of our deputies, they’re well-trained, experienced and pro-active. I’ve seen them effectively coordinate the blocking of critical intersections so that emergency vehicles transporting a sick baby can get through to the hospital. That sort of maneuver can be very rewarding on a personal level,” says Harris.
He says that at the end of a day, you want to know in your heart that you did everything in your power to save a person’s life or protect them from harm, to the best of your abilities.
To assist the Sheriff and Fire Department’s sterling goals to be the best they can be when serving your needs, help them and abide by their code, “Hear the sound, look around, see the light and pull to the right.” Goodness knows you wouldn’t want to delay a response to anyone’s emergency, including your own.