Sharing the road with emergency vehicles: drivers' understanding of Queensland road rules

For emergency vehicles traveling under lights and sirens to reach incidents safely and without delay, other road users must understand and comply with their legal obligation to give way and keep clear. However, reports of on-road behavior suggest many drivers may be uncertain of these requirements. This study examined drivers' understanding of the legislative requirements for sharing the road with emergency vehicles in Queensland, Australia, and whether drivers' self-rated understanding aligned with their actual knowledge of those rules.

A cross-sectional in-person survey was completed by 208 licensed drivers who answered 61 multiple-choice questions (25 emergency-vehicle items embedded among general road-rule items) and rated their understanding of the road rules.

Participants generally believed they had a good understanding of emergency-vehicle road rules; however, survey performance indicated gaps in their knowledge. Across the 25 emergency-vehicle items, participants answered an average of 78.77% correctly. Knowledge of basic giving-way requirements was high, but drivers showed inconsistent understanding of the rules for passing stationary emergency vehicles, and many were unsure how to keep clear when no lane was available to their left. Understanding was also poor for situations where drivers may legally proceed through a red light, when safe, to make way for an emergency vehicle. Open-license drivers scored higher than learner drivers, but self-rated understanding did not align with actual understanding: lower-knowledge participants tended to rate their understanding more highly, while higher-knowledge participants rated it more conservatively.

In the present sample, these findings highlight specific situations where drivers may misunderstand what they are required to do during encounters with emergency vehicles, creating the potential for obstructions, delays, and hazardous interactions.