Protecting The Evironment Can Kill You

An ambulance in Washington D.C., last Wednesday, carrying a gunshot victum shut down automatically on I-295 and could not be restarted. 

The cause of the vehicle stall was an EPA mandated device meant to reduce diesel emissions.  If the emissions toxicity gets too high warning lights start blinking and if not corrected, the device turns off the engine. 

Another ambulance was dispatched to offload the passenger from the disabled vehicle, but that caused a delay.  The injured person, Nathaniel McRae, 34, who was shot by D.C. police, was dead  by the time the second ambulance arrived at Howard University Hospital.

Red Freeze

If an Ambulance or other emergency vehicle is coming up on you and you are stopped at a red light, you are supposed to pull over and let them pass.  But you might have to move forward into the intersection to get out of the way.  You would be breaking a traffic law; entering the intersection against the red light.  It's for a good cause; you may be saving some person's life, and a real cop would recognize that and give you a pass. 

But what if the intersection is infested with red light cameras?  Would you still roll forward and pull over, knowing you will get flashed, ticketed by mail and then have to take time off work to go explain yourself to the traffic judge?  The judge would probably dismiss the ticket, but you are still out the time and aggravation.