Ambulance at a wet Airport Road junction
At 08:10 you are third in line at a four-way signalised junction on Airport Road. Your light is green. A pedestrian is waiting at the zebra crossing on your left. In your mirrors you see an ambulance with flashing lights and siren closing from behind. The road is wet after a rare rain shower, and a rainbow sheen of diesel runs across the centre of the junction. You are in the left lane; a car is 8 m ahead of you; a lorry is in the right lane. Your front brake lever has normal travel. You have a green light but the junction is partly blocked by queuing traffic on the far side. You are solo, wearing a helmet and gloves.
1. What must you do as the ambulance approaches?
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Give way to the ambulance, but do not block the junction or the crossing. Check mirrors, signal right, and move as far right as is safe without entering the pedestrian crossing or the lorry's lane. If you are already in the junction, clear it rather than stopping in the middle. Do not mount the kerb or run the red light. Because the road is wet and diesel-contaminated, brake progressively with both brakes, keep the bike upright, and avoid painted markings and metal covers. Let the ambulance pass, then re-establish your position.
2. The light turns amber as the ambulance passes. Do you follow it through?
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No. The amber is for your direction, and the ambulance's passage does not give you a legal right to follow through a red. If you are already past the stop line when the light changes, complete the movement carefully; if you are behind it, stop. Following the ambulance through a red would put you into conflict with cross traffic and could be treated as an offence. Wait for your next green and check that the junction is clear before moving.
3. A pedestrian steps onto the zebra crossing and your braking surface is slick. How do you stop?
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The pedestrian has priority at the zebra crossing, even on your green. Release the throttle, apply both brakes progressively, and straighten the bike before increasing brake pressure. Avoid grabbing the front brake on the diesel sheen or the white paint. If the bike starts to slide, ease off the brake, keep the bars straight and let it recover. Stop before the crossing, not on it. If a skid is unavoidable, aim for the gap and do not target the pedestrian. After stopping, stay behind the line and let the pedestrian finish crossing.