See a Blue or Green Light? Let 'Em Through

With Labor Day weekend upon us, we're all bracing for the traffic and all the craziness that comes with it. Now imagine you are an emergency responder trying to get to a call without the help of a light bar on the roof  of the car, sirens, and a loud air horn to demand the seas part. 

While there's plenty to be said about distracted driving these days, one of the many consequences to the pandemic of driver inattention is they forget to check their rear-view mirror.

There's one thing I beg of you to keep in mind: Keep your wits about you while you're behind the wheel. See a blue or green light flashing from the windshield of the driver behind you? Pull to your right. 

For those of you who don't know, that person trying to get by you is a volunteer. Our fire departments and emergency medical services on the South Fork are largely composed of people who donate their time to respond to emergencies. 

The flashing light in the windshields of their personal vehicles are courtesy lights, alerting drivers to move on over so that they can pass and get to the firehouse or the ambulance barn, or even a nearby scene, quickly.

While you can't get a ticket for not pulling over for a volunteer, wouldn't you want all drivers to pull over if that volunteer was heading to your house? 

As one of those volunteers, I can assure you the few minutes you saved the responding volunteer actually do count, especially this time of year when bumper-to-bumper traffic is the norm. 

I've been stuck in the traffic jam west of the light at the Bridgehampton Commons quite a few times. I find that motorists stuck in traffic, yacking on the phone, looking down at their screen, or just singing along to the radio, are paying the least attention to what's going on behind them. 

Then again, I've also seen people look in their rear-view mirror and make a gesture of some sort, indicating they have no idea what the blue light means. 

What I know for sure is that when drivers pull over, quickly, and come to a complete stop in the shoulder, I often find myself saying, "Thank you." 

In the spirit of thinking positively, I am saying a big thank you to all of you who will graciously pull over for a volunteer this weekend.