Ask A Trooper

Sgt. Jesse Grabow

Question: I seem to encounter a fair amount of emergency vehicles running in emergency mode (lights and sirens.) I also can’t help but notice how many people don’t pull over and yield to them. Can you bring some attention to this?

  Answer: Great topic for conversation. When an emergency vehicle (such as an ambulance, fire truck or police car) with flashing red lights and sounding a siren or bell approaches your vehicle on a two-way road, you must pull to the right and stop.

  On a one-way road, pull to the nearest side and stop. If you are in an intersection, proceed through it before stopping. Remain stopped until all emergency vehicles have passed.

  A law enforcement officer with probable cause to believe you have violated this law may arrest you within four hours of the violation.

  You do not need to stop if the emergency vehicle is separated from your lane of traffic by a physical barrier like a fence, wall or median strip.

  A portion of state statutes were used with permission from the Office of the Revisor of Statutes. If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Trp. Jesse Grabow – Minnesota State Patrol at 1000 Highway 10 West, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501-2205.  (You can follow him on X @MSPPIO_NW or reach him at, jesse.grabow@state.mn.us).