Keep back / Keep away laws - Just a review

[SkipSanders]

It's not just fire trucks you have to keep 300 feet back from...

21055. The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle is exempt from
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21350), Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 21650), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 21800),
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 21950), Chapter 6 (commencing with
22100), Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 22348), Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 22450), Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
22500), and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 22650) of this
division, and Article 3 (commencing with Section 38305) and Article 4
(commencing with Section 38312) of Chapter 5 of Division 16.5, under
all of the following conditions:

(a) If the vehicle is being driven in response to an emergency
call or while engaged in rescue operations or is being used in the
immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law or is
responding to, but not returning from, a fire alarm, except that
fire department vehicles are exempt whether directly responding to an
emergency call or operated from one place to another as rendered
desirable or necessary by reason of an emergency call and operated to
the scene of the emergency or operated from one fire station to
another or to some other location by reason of the emergency call.

(b) If the driver of the vehicle sounds a siren as may be
reasonably necessary and the vehicle displays a lighted red lamp
visible from the front as a warning to other drivers and pedestrians.

A siren shall not be sounded by an authorized emergency vehicle
except when required under this section.


21706. No motor vehicle, except an authorized emergency vehicle,
shall follow within 300 feet of any authorized emergency vehicle
being operated under the provisions of Section 21055.

This section shall not apply to a police or traffic officer when
serving as an escort within the purview of Section 21057.

Unless being there is your job, there's also the 'no sightseeing' law...

402. (a) Every person who goes to the scene of an emergency, or
stops at the scene of an emergency, for the purpose of viewing the
scene or the activities of police officers, firefighters, emergency
medical, or other emergency personnel, or military personnel coping
with the emergency in the course of their duties during the time it
is necessary for emergency vehicles or those personnel to be at the
scene of the emergency or to be moving to or from the scene of the
emergency for the purpose of protecting lives or property, unless it
is part of the duties of that person's employment to view that scene
or activities, and thereby impedes police officers, firefighters,
emergency medical, or other emergency personnel or military
personnel, in the performance of their duties in coping with the
emergency, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Every person who knowingly resists or interferes with the
lawful efforts of a lifeguard in the discharge or attempted discharge
of an official duty in an emergency situation, when the person knows
or reasonably should know that the lifeguard is engaged in the
performance of his or her official duty, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c) For the purposes of this section, an emergency includes a
condition or situation involving injury to persons, damage to
property, or peril to the safety of persons or property, which
results from a fire, an explosion, an airplane crash, flooding,
windstorm damage, a railroad accident, a traffic accident, a power
plant accident, a toxic chemical or biological spill, or any other
natural or human-caused event.

[ChrisK]

In 402. (a) it says "...and thereby impedes..."

I'm no lawyer, but it sounds to me like as long as you don't get in anybody's way you are not in violation of the statute.

[N6ATF]

Yep.

[SkipSanders]

But guess who decides if you're 'impeding'?

Hint: It's not you.

It's one of those rarely enforced things that an officer can use to nail you if you annoy him.

[hodad200]

thats what pds units live for...

[Steele]

Hay guys you sound pretty serious about going to the scene?
I’ve been to so many fires and car accident I can’t count them all.
A lot of these I went to as a kid O-boy it was some kind of fun!
I thank that if you use a little common sense don’t do any thing
That the rest of neighbors aren’t doing. And unless you are all ready
On the freeway I would avoid going to calls out there, for these reasons
You can’t really stop and still be safe, CHP is not real friendly to say the
least. Even if you have a media credential or you are the good Samaritan
that stopped to help they can be tough on you. So stay out of the way
but if you see some big header or hear something on the old scanner have fun because that is what scanning is all about.

[astrodanco]

Geez folks, one of the reasons why I actively listen to a scanner in my car is to know about areas where I DON'T want to be. I want to AVOID areas with police, fire or paramedic activity. It's the same reason why I use the XM Navtraffic feature on my GPS receiver.

[SkipSanders]

Just for info, I posted this in the first place because one of the news stringers got ticketed for 'following too close' behind a cop car, and the talk was they thought that was only fire trucks.

Well, there was more too it than just that, but that was the part I was posting helpful info about.

[N6ATF]

So that's what they were being all hush-hush, call me on the phone about.

[thefish]

Which reads:
21707. No motor vehicle, except an authorized emergency vehicle or a vehicle of a duly authorized member of a fire or police department, shall be operated within the block wherein an emergency situation responded to by any fire department vehicle exists, except that in the event the nearest intersection to the emergency is more than 300 feet therefrom, this section shall prohibit operation of vehicles only within 300 feet of the emergency, unless directed to do so by a member of the fire department or police department, sheriff, deputy sheriff, or member of the California Highway Patrol. The emergency shall be deemed to have ceased to exist when the official of the fire department in charge at the scene of the emergency shall so indicate.

In other words, not only can you not follow within 300 feet of a fire engine, but you can't drive within the same block, or within 300 feet of a fire engine parked at an incident.