Emergency services vehicles

Clearing the path for emergency service vehicles

If you see flashing lights and hear sirens, it’s time to take action.

When responding to an emergency, it’s vital that first responders are able to get to an incident quickly and safely. We have partnered with Western Australia Police, Department of Fire and Emergency Services and St John WA to highlight the importance of clearing the path for emergency vehicles. 

If you see lights or hear sirens from an emergency vehicle on the road, just remember these four simple steps: 

1. Stay calm, check your surroundings. 

   Remain calm and safely check your surroundings and pay attention to where the emergency services vehicle is coming from. 

2. Safely merge to the left. 

   Give way to the emergency vehicle by merging as far to the left of the road as possible. And make room for other road users to move to the side too. 

3. Can’t move over? 

   Slow down and indicate left until the emergency vehicle has passed. 

4. Don’t break the law. 

   There’s no excuse for speeding or going through a red light. 

These simple steps can help our first responders save precious seconds and keep everyone safe.

Slow Down, Move Over law

The Slow Down, Move Over or SLOMO law applies to all emergency service vehicles and first responder vehicles who need to attend to roadside incidents in Western Australia, including:

• WA Police Force vehicles;
• Department of Fire and Emergency Services vehicles;
• St John Ambulances;
• RAC roadside assistance patrol vehicles and other breakdown services;
• Main Roads Incident Response vehicles (which assist in the removal of broken-down vehicles and debris); and
• Tow trucks.

Flashing lights on a stationary vehicle means you MUST slow down, move over (if possible) and pass at no more than 40km/h. In doing so, you should apply your brakes gradually and safely.

This applies to drivers in all lanes that travel in the same direction as the lane where the emergency or response vehicle is stopped. Vehicles travelling in oncoming traffic from the other direction only need to slow if the incident occurred in the middle of the road or in the medium strip.

By slowing down and moving over, you can help make a safer environment for workers responding to road incidents.

Offences and Penalties