Tyler Police Respond: What Should We Actually Do When We See Emergency Vehicles?

Something I've always appreciated about living in East Texas--well, one of many things--is the way most drivers show respect on the road whenever they see a fellow East Texan has pulled over and turned on their hazard lights.

Along those same lines, when a funeral procession is making it's way down on our East Texas streets, it's common practice to see other drivers slow down, and in many cases when it's possible, to stop completely or pull over to make the passage easier for the caravan of friends and family of the deceased.

It wasn't until I had friends from Chicago in the car with me one time that I learned this is not common practice all over the country. They were sincerely surprised to see how everyone in East Texas just seemed to "know" that this was the right and courteous way to handle these situations.

And what do you do when approach an emergency vehicle, particularly when its lights are flashing?

Many of us follow our instincts here. And similarly to the aforementioned scenarios, many of us give as much space as possible in an effort to not add to the danger and possible trauma of the situation.

Although now that I think about it, I never knew what the specific procedure should be, according to local authorities.

This week, the Tyler Police Department addressed this very thing on their Facebook page. According to the people who know best, this is what we should do: 

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