Flashing Red, a Pedestrian, and an Ambulance Behind You
A thunderstorm has knocked out the signal at a four-way intersection, and every approach is flashing red. You are northbound, stopped at the limit line. A pedestrian with a dog is in the crosswalk on your right, moving slowly away from your lane. A sedan on your right arrived at its limit line about two seconds before you did and is stopped. Just as you begin to ease forward, an ambulance comes up behind you with lights and siren, and the driver behind the ambulance leans on the horn. The crosswalk ahead of you is clear, but the sidewalk corner on your left is crowded and a cyclist is rolling toward the crossing on your left side. Rain is still falling and the pavement is dark and reflective.
1. Who has the right of way right now, and in what order should the parties move?
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The pedestrian in the crosswalk goes first, and that does not change because an ambulance is behind you. A crosswalk occupied by a pedestrian stays occupied; an emergency vehicle's lights and siren do not transfer the pedestrian's right of way to you. After the pedestrian clears your path, the sedan on your right goes before you, because it arrived first and you are both facing the same flashing red instruction. A flashing red signal is treated exactly as a stop sign on every approach: full stop, then yield to traffic already in or approaching the intersection, then proceed when clear. Once the pedestrian is out of your lane and the sedan has moved, you may proceed, but only after checking the left side for the cyclist, who may not have stopped cleanly in the rain.
2. What should you do when the ambulance comes up behind you while you are stopped at the limit line?
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Do not drive into the intersection or into the crosswalk to clear a path. The ambulance needs a clear route, but the safest and legally correct move is to stay put if there is nowhere to go, or to pull as far right as the lane and shoulder allow and stop, staying behind the limit line and clear of the pedestrian. Emergency vehicle operators anticipate that stopped traffic at a dark signal will not launch itself into an intersection. If the only route to the right would put you into the crosswalk, the curb, or a flooded gutter, holding position is correct. Do not run the flashing red, and do not creep forward just because someone behind you is leaning on the horn. The horn is pressure, not information.
3. The sedan's driver waves you through before the pedestrian is clear. Do you go?
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No. A wave is a courtesy, not a transfer of right of way, and it cannot give you something the pedestrian already has. If you accept the wave and move, you may strike a pedestrian who is legally in the crosswalk, and the fact that another driver gestured will not defend you. The same caution applies to the cyclist approaching on your left: a wave from one driver says nothing about what a cyclist, a pedestrian, or a car in the far lane is about to do. Treat the wave as one piece of information among several. Proceed only when your own eyes confirm the crosswalk is clear, the cyclist has stopped or passed, and no vehicle is approaching on the conflicting road. When another driver's signal and your own view disagree, your view wins.