Mike,

 MP> I rode in the front of an ambulance once when my then-girlfriend had
 MP> fainted and was in the back.  I was surprised about how many people
 MP> didn't get out of the way.

  If a police officer sees you impeding an emergency vehicle, they can 
ticket you.

 MP> For whatever reason, an ambulance driver rolled up behind me and
 MP> expected me to run the light and enter the BLIND intersection.  I guess
 MP> he was hoping for a few more customers.  I waited for the light to
 MP> change before moving.

  In some areas, if there isn't a special system to automatically change
the signals to green for the approaching emergency vehicle (police, fire,
ambulance), they drop the siren, but keep the lights flashing, until they
can move again. Sometimes, they have to get in the lane of approaching
traffic.

  I was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck the other day. I got rear-ended
on the right rear, causing me to spin out of control across the road, and
I got hit on the right front. The vehicle that hit me apparently hit another
vehicle head on, and the one that hit me careened into a utility pole.

  My airbags didn't deploy, so I was able to walk away, so to speak...but,
I'm getting precautionary chiropractic treatment. At least the other drivers
had insurance...and since I was rear ended first, I wasn't at fault.

  I had trouble getting through to 911 on 2 different cellphone networks.
The call got dropped, but they called me back, and I told them what had
happened. They said "help was on the way"...a rescue squad batallion chief,
2 police cars, and 2 ambulances. One driver had to go to the hospital for
treatment.

  The thing is, my car with just under 72,000 miles, is 17 years old. And,
if it costs the insurance company more than 80% of the total value, they'll
just total the car. If I can't get a rental car, or a nice monetary
settlement to buy a pre-owned inexpensive car (at least $10,000 though),
I'm up a creek without a paddle. I likely will end up cancelling a planned
train trip in June...and not go outside the Little Rock area ever again. I
really don't want to have to go to court, but that may end up being the case.

Daryl

... Eyewitnesses were on the scene in minutes.
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