Legal regulation of an emergency lane creation during a traffic accident: international experience

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the experience of such countries as Germany, India, Austria, the USA, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Canada in the field of legal regulation of the creation of an emergency lane on roads during traffic accidents.
 Emergency and rescue services, ambulance, fire protection, police are important components of providing emergency assistance during a traffic accident.
 The efficiency of emergency services, which must reach the scene of a traffic accident in a short period of time, in addition to subjective factors (the driver's psychological unreadiness/unwillingness to give priority to the vehicle), is significantly affected by the flaws of the road transport infrastructure, but the most - by a large number of vehicles causing numerous traffic jams. The problem of an emergency lane creation during traffic accidents is extremely relevant to rescuing victims.
 It is proved that the emergency lanes on the roads almost double the probability of avoiding fatal consequences caused by traffic accidents.
 By definition, the emergency lane is a free lane on the road intended for vehicles with priority. Such vehicles include: ambulances, firetrucks, police vehicles, tow trucks.
 Since the procedure and specifics of the emergency lane creation in foreign countries are fixed in legislation provided by the Traffic Rules or other normative legal acts, drivers may be sentenced to the following types of punishment for non-compliance: fine, penalty points, deprivation of a driver's license, imprisonment.
 Global experience suggests that the issues with the emergency lane creation and compliance monitoring should be regulated by the state bodies. Such approach contributes to the strict compliance with the traffic rules and therefore to the efficient and timely work of emergency and rescue services, ambulances, fire brigades, traffic police, etc.