Is it illegal to run a red light to give way to an ambulance?

Question:

When seeing an ambulance signaling for vehicles to give way, if the vehicle in front is stopped at a red light and is forced to run a red light to give way to the ambulance, will they be fined for running a red light?

Reply:

According to Clause 1, Article 22 of the 2008 Road Traffic Law, an ambulance performing emergency duties is one of five types of vehicles that have priority when participating in traffic.

Clause 3 of this Article also stipulates that when there is a signal from a priority vehicle on the route, traffic participants must quickly reduce speed, avoid or stop close to the right curb to give way, and must not obstruct the priority vehicle.

Clause 1, Article 11 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2012 (amended and supplemented in 2020) stipulates that administrative violations committed in urgent situations will not be subject to administrative sanctions (urgent situations are situations in which individuals and organizations, in order to avoid a real risk that threatens the interests of the State, of the organization, their legitimate rights and interests or those of others, have no other choice but to cause a damage smaller than the damage that needs to be prevented).

Is it illegal to run a red light to give way to an ambulance? - 1 — Is it illegal to run a red light to give way to an ambulance? Illustration photo.

In addition, Point d, Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2012 (amended and supplemented in 2020) also stipulates that individuals and organizations sanctioned for administrative violations have the right to prove, by themselves or through their legal representatives, that they have not committed an administrative violation.

Thus, based on the above regulations, vehicle drivers who violate the act of "not obeying traffic light signals" will not be subject to administrative sanctions.

However, the driver of the violating vehicle or the legal representative of that driver must prove that the failure to comply with the traffic light signal was in an emergency to give way to an ambulance on duty to rescue a patient and that the process of giving way must ensure the safety of vehicles on the road.

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