CLEVELAND — University Circle is known as a bustling cultural oasis of museums, hospitals and a prestigious university. It also can be known for its traffic tie ups.
QUESTION
That’s why Brian submitted this e-mail to WKYC Studios.
“From my office window, I often watch a very confusing intersection in University Circle. One road has four lanes which are all in one direction. Often there is an ambulance that has to get through to get to one of the local hospitals. Occasionally, the light is red at the intersection and all four lanes of traffic are backed up and the ambulance cannot get through. Traffic can only go through the intersection to get out of the way of the ambulance. Can you drive through the red light to make way for the ambulance without legal repercussions?”
The intersection in question is where Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd crosses Cedar Avenue just southeast of the Cleveland Clinic main campus.
This portion of MLK is one directional taking the flow of multiple lanes of traffic northwest.
ANSWER
The short answer to Brian’s question is no.
“There are no exemptions in the Ohio Revised Code for motorist to travel through a red light to yield for a public safety vehicle,” says Staff Lieutenant Craig Cvetan with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
THE LAW
Ohio code 4511.45 says that when an ambulance flashing its lights approaches, drivers need to yield the right of way to the ambulance by immediately driving, if practical, to the right side of the road. Your vehicle should be as close as possible and parallel to the edge or curb ... clear of any intersection. Drivers must remain stopped in that position until the ambulance passes unless a police officer directs you to do something else.
The law provides exceptions for ambulances and other public safety vehicles, not regular drivers, to safely find ways to get through blocked intersections.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE TICKETED
“I can’t say I can ever recall someone being ticketed for going through a red light to let an emergency vehicle through,” says Sergeant Jennifer Ciaccia with the Cleveland Division of Police. “But I don’t want to say it’s never happened."
If you’re the exception and are charged with violating a traffic law because you ran a red light to let an ambulance through, Attorney Michael Lear of Zukerman Law in Cleveland says fight the charges.
He advises to enter a plea of not guilty and then explain the circumstances to the prosecutor and/or the court.
In an e-mail Lear writes, “Under extreme and unusual circumstances that could result in such a charge, I believe it unlikely that a prosecutor would prosecute … or that a Court would convict the operator of the vehicle of the charge.”
But always remember, just because an ambulance is coming you don’t legally have the right to run the light.
HOW TO ASK YOUR QUESTION
