IIRC on my driver's ed, and subsequent refreshers (Changing states every
2-3 years has been good for something), it is illegal to leave a vehicle
unattended for _any_ length of time in front of a fire-hydrant, or
in/blocking designated fire lanes.
Translated into American English: So long as someone capable of driving the
vehicle (legally) is in, or near enough to the vehicle to respond to a need to
move it, you can be
there... AFAIK there is a time-limit even to this, but I'm guessing at
15 minutes.
Unlike what many American's seem to think, the "near enough" does NOT mean
"running into the building real quick-like, just so I can
get/do/drop-off
X." Those people, and the ones who insist they're not going to be long,
which is why they should be allowed to park in a handicapped space even though
they aren't, those kinds of people really get my goat.
Interestingly enough, there's a picture that floated around the net
sometime ago, of a car parked in front of a fire-hydrant and a
fire-truck's
hose going through the obviously broken windows of said car. Mercedes, IIRC.
Made me cheer to see it.
Possibly to bring back on topic... A scenario of desparate NAC infantry trying
to put out a fire... No... Your buddies been shot, but that darn size 1
vehicle is in the way of the armored medical... No... Ah, I got it... You're
set up for an ambush in a mall, when a cop pulls up telling you you can't park
your MBT in a fire lane, even if you're just going to run in real quick to
plant some demo charges... Hrm, no that doesn't work...
Ah hell, there's no way. Rand... Cheerfully being off topic, but at least it's
pleasant conversation!:)
> At 10:11 PM 6/4/2002 +0100, you wrote:
> I've noticed, in movies and the like, that some US roads in cities
I've noticed, in movies and the like, that some US roads in cities have lanes
labelled "Fire Lane".
What are the rules about those? I'm imagining it's something like
"don't be stationary in this lane" - is this near the mark?
> At 22:11 6/4/2002 +0100, you wrote:
> I've noticed, in movies and the like, that some US roads in cities
Basically. No parking or stopping. The area is reserved so emergency vehicles
can have easy access.
> At 5:18 PM -0400 6/4/02, Ray Forsythe wrote:
I thought it was generally a no-parking area, ie don't leave your car
unattended. I've never seen someone get in trouble for stopping to pick
someone up in a fire lane. In general, the area's in front of stores and
buildings are fire lanes.
The point is definitely No Parking. So long as you in no way "block" the
fire lane, you're ok. A vehicle left unattended is blocking the lane, one
stopped with engine running and driver present is not. People in front of my
building get talked at by security if they park there with their emergency
lights flashing while they run inside. I have also seen people honked at by an
actual firetruck. The whole idea behind a fire lane is that a firetruck could
show up at anytime and NEED to park there. I'm on the ninth floor of my
building so I think it's a Really Good Idea.
> Ryan M Gill wrote:
> At 5:18 PM -0400 6/4/02, Ray Forsythe wrote:
> >I've noticed, in movies and the like, that some US roads in cities
> vehicles can have easy access.
This reminds me of a recent course I was on where the French speaking
instructor told us to set up near the "fire trees", after getting him to
repeat this several times we finally asked him to spell it "F-I-R".
Failed
> On Tue, 4 Jun 2002 22:11:32 +0100, Katie Lucas <katie@fysh.org> wrote:
> I've noticed, in movies and the like, that some US roads in cities
Others have answered this. Note that it's not just an American phenomenon. You
get "fire lanes" in Canada, too.
In extreme emergencies, fire trucks have been known (in Canada, anyway) to
push a vehicle sitting in a fire lane out of the way, regardless of the damage
they do to the vehicle.