The purpose of a rescue alley is already in the word itself: an alley to save lives in case of doubt. Unfortunately, what sounds simple does not always work in practice. Most recently, the “last generation” climate activists were suspected of having obstructed a rescue operation in Berlin with their roadblock and the resulting traffic jam. A cyclist who crashed died a little later from her injuries. In retrospect, it is difficult to find out to what extent the demonstrators are actually to blame – but there is no question that a blocked rescue lane can have fatal consequences. The women and men of the fire brigades in the district of Ebersberg experience this again and again during their operations.
This is confirmed by District Fire Councilor Andreas Heiss when asked by SZ. “There are always problems, especially on the freeways,” says the head of the Ebersberg fire brigade. It is often the case that drivers get back into lane when an emergency vehicle has driven through the emergency lane. The following firefighters could then no longer get through. But what happens when drivers block the emergency services? “It can happen that colleagues have to stop and get out to point this out directly to people,” says Heiss. Sometimes it’s just necessary to go through and say: “Now let’s free it up,” said the district fire councilor. Of course, during an operation where every second counts, this costs valuable time.
In neighboring Austria, things work much better with the rescue lane
Andreas Heiss sees the need to catch up in terms of emergency lanes primarily as a German problem. In Austria, for example, it goes without saying that a lane is kept free for emergency vehicles even when traffic is slow. “It still takes a long time for us.” Nevertheless, the head of the district fire brigade recognizes a certain learning effect among drivers. “The public relations work is already having an effect,” says Heiss. It used to take significantly longer for a rescue lane to be formed – if that was the case at all.
Another problem that can be read again and again does not seem to be a big issue in the Ebersberg district: blocked fire brigade access roads. From Wuppertal, for example, it was recently heard that the local fire brigade is now regularly carrying out “drive-through tests” to defend against illegal parkers. The Ebersberg motorists, on the other hand, seem to follow the traffic rules better. “I haven’t heard anything from my colleagues that this is particularly common here,” says District Fire Councilor Heiss.
Peter Meier, deputy head of the Ebersberg police department, also confirms this assessment: “Something like this happens from time to time, but it’s not a major problem in the district.” The police track down illegal parkers who park their car illegally in fire brigade access roads as part of normal patrol surveillance. Anyone caught gets a ticket on the windshield. According to the catalog of fines, 50 euros are due for parking in an area marked as a fire brigade access road. Anyone who also obstructs an emergency vehicle must expect a fine of 100 euros.