Milaca Fire & Rescue Issues Reminder For Drivers: Give Them Space On The Road!

A local fire and rescue operation is reminding Minnesota drivers to get back to the basics. They are reminding drivers that they need to stay back and move over for emergency vehicles when they are running their emergency lights, as one recent emergency call saw drivers going around and by one of their trucks en route to an emergency.

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According to a post from Milaca Fire and Rescue, they want Minnesota drivers to use common sense when they see an emergency vehicle responding to an emergency; slow down and move over, it's the law!

Milaca Fire, along with Foreston Fire responded to a house fire north of Milaca on Friday night. Thankfully no one was hurt. Do you know what the most dangerous part of that fire was? It was driving to the fire with the multiple people driving on 169 that thought it was ok to pass the fire trucks with lights and sirens going with icy road conditions! Isnt this taught day one in drivers ed? or at least common sense? These trucks can weigh around 50,000lbs, so give them space! It happens all the time! Please stay back from the fire trucks, and all emergency vehicle for that matter. It is the law!

It's concerning to see a post like this. No matter the weather conditions outside, when you see those flashing lights in your rearview mirror, slow down and pull over to let them through. As a driver, you don't know what kind of call they are responding too, and those seconds can matter in some situations.

From the Minnesota Office for Traffic Safety:

Emergency responders working on the shoulder of the road have got your back. Do you have theirs?

Minnesota’s Ted Foss Move Over Law was named in honor of the State Patrol trooper who was killed while on the shoulder of I-90 in Winona in 2000. The law states:

• When traveling on a road with two or more lanes, drivers must keep over one full lane away from stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights activated — ambulance, fire, law enforcement, maintenance, construction vehicles and tow trucks.

• Reduce speed if unable to safely move over a lane.

• Failing to take these actions endangers personnel who provide critical and life-saving services. Fines can exceed $100.

Minnesota Statute 169.20 Subdivision 5 has complete language on what drivers should do when approached by an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens going.

Another reason you should slow down and get out of the way, you don't want to be an emergency call too, fire trucks, in general, are big vehicles, so they aren't made to be swerving around vehicles especially when the weather isn't very nice, like last Friday with all the ice we had on area roads.