Iowa driving lesson · Right-of-Way, School Buses & Parking
Emergency vehicles
A 2-minute lesson from the Iowa course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
When a police vehicle, fire engine, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle uses a siren or air horn and/or red or blue flashing lights, you must yield. The goal is to clear a path quickly without creating a new hazard.
Pull over to the right edge of the road, or as near to the right as possible, when you see or hear an emergency vehicle approaching from any direction.
When an emergency vehicle is stopped with flashing lights, Iowa's Move Over or Slow Down Law applies: change lanes, or slow down and be prepared to stop.
You're halfway around a roundabout when a siren sounds behind you. Don't stop inside the roundabout—continue to your exit, then pull to the right edge of the road.
Put it into practice
On a four-lane divided highway, an ambulance with lights flashing approaches on the far side of the median. You do not have to stop.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
You are already inside an intersection when you notice an ambulance approaching with lights and siren. What should you do?
Stop immediately in the intersection
Pull over right where you are
Drive through, then pull over
Speed up to clear the block ahead of it
Answer: Drive through, then pull over
If you are already in an intersection, you should drive through it before pulling over for the emergency vehicle.