Stopped by police, never heard the siren.

[TNFSolitude]

I'm a retired firefighter after 33 years in the fire service. Among my several certifications is being certified as an Emergency Vehicle Driving Instructor, state of Michigan. There's a phenomena called "sirencide", where the emergency vehicle can outrun the sound of the siren, especially at highway speeds. It may not be your fault you didn't hear the siren. See, https://forums.firehouse.com/forum/e...on-the-freeway There are also many google hits on emergency vehicle siren use and sirencide. You two were going too fast for the sound waves to catch up to you. We actually teach not to use the siren on an expressway or other higher speed highway. Further, we teach when on an emergency call to drive in the left lane if there is one. From Driver's Ed on drivers are taught to move to the right when they see an emergency vehicle approaching behind them. "When they're bright, move to the right." You stated you were in the right lane of two going in the same direction.
Also, why where you being pulled over in the first place? You stated you were cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. What emergency vehicle out there did you fail to yield to? Him? Was he on an emergency call and couldn't get around you, so he cited you instead? There must have been another reason out there for him to cite you with that cause.
Good luck going forward if you decide to fight this.

[Eldunerino]

I've never heard of sirencide, I'll have to do some research on that.

He was the emergency vehicle that I supposedly failed to yield to. He said he was behind me with lights and sirens and that since I drove about 1 mile without pulling over to let him pass he decided to abandon the emergency call. He said he then turned the lights and siren off and then the lights back on to pull me over, I still didn't know he was back there. I only saw him when he finally pulled out into the left lane so I could see his car in my driver's side mirror with lights flashing. I immediately put the flashers on and made one right turn, down a side road with a shoulder, to get off the highway and stop. I travelled about three blocks with the flashers on after I saw him behind me. I tried to explain that I couldn't see him back there on my bumper, but he wasn't interested in hearing anything I had to say. The last thing I would ever want to do is impede a first responder from making an emergency call. I have a great respect for both firefighters and police and the jobs that you all do.

[TNFSolitude]

That's what I'm getting at: Why was he in emergency mode? If he was indeed on an emergency call he should have passed you on your left. Even if it's a two lane highway, we pass on the left all the time, when it's safe. Again, all drivers are taught to stay to the right when an emergency vehicle is approaching. The speed you two were driving and with the bulk of your trailer, there is no way the sound waves of the siren reach your vehicle interior, especially if your windows are closed, you have AC running and possible a radio turned on.
I have great respect for the PD, Sheriffs, State Highway Patrol and the impossible job they have at times. If there are more facts than stated here you need to find them. Again, good luck with your task here.

[geotex1]

Sirencide is a cheeky layman's term. Look into Doppler Effect. The problem with asking for advice on matters like this on the internet is you get a whole lot of opinion from folks with no direct knowledge or experience. Just the way they think it should be. However, driving is a privilege in every State and that privilege has an immense amount of conditions that can vary from place to place and it is always the expectation and responsibility of the operator to be familiar. Unfortunately, you were in the wrong, and doesn't matter what any cams may show because you failed the duties of a responsible motor vehicle operator and good luck getting a presecuter to do anything more for you than perhaps notch you down to a plea to a lesser violation. You need not take my word for it by any means. Simply Google up "Texas yield to emergency vehicle laws" and study. Texas is one of the easier States to study rules, regs, and laws on, but we also lived there and still have family there. FWIW - overwhelming majority of the contiguous States have similar laws in effect and are expanding them just as Texas did about a year ago. Finally, there are specific rules of engagements officers are to follow in emergency calls, which are not pursuits, and those begin at State level Code and can be further ratcheted tighter at the Local government level as well as department.

Don't get me wrong as I understand your frustration and feelings about what happened, but the fact is the responsibilities towing long and heavy are even greater and you have discovered your setup has blind spots. I'm surprised a Texas Sheriff didn't cite you for a couple of additional statutes if you said to him or her you didn't see them.

None of us are perfect no matter how experienced or trained. However, these learning experiences, when put in proper perspective, improve us!

[SolarPoweredRV]

Sirencide is a cheeky layman's term. Look into Doppler Effect. The problem with asking for advice on matters like this on the internet is you get a whole lot of opinion from folks with no direct knowledge or experience. Just the way they think it should be. However, driving is a privilege in every State and that privilege has an immense amount of conditions that can vary from place to place and it is always the expectation and responsibility of the operator to be familiar. Unfortunately, you were in the wrong, and doesn't matter what any cams may show because you failed the duties of a responsible motor vehicle operator and good luck getting a presecuter to do anything more for you than perhaps notch you down to a plea to a lesser violation. You need not take my word for it by any means. Simply Google up "Texas yield to emergency vehicle laws" and study. Texas is one of the easier States to study rules, regs, and laws on, but we also lived there and still have family there. FWIW - overwhelming majority of the contiguous States have similar laws in effect and are expanding them just as Texas did about a year ago. Finally, there are specific rules of engagements officers are to follow in emergency calls, which are not pursuits, and those begin at State level Code and can be further ratcheted tighter at the Local government level as well as department.

Don't get me wrong as I understand your frustration and feelings about what happened, but the fact is the responsibilities towing long and heavy are even greater and you have discovered your setup has blind spots. I'm surprised a Texas Sheriff didn't cite you for a couple of additional statutes if you said to him or her you didn't see them.

None of us are perfect no matter how experienced or trained. However, these learning experiences, when put in proper perspective, improve us!

The only problem with your response is that you presume the cop was in fact on an emergency run and was in fact behind the OP for a mile with lights and sirens on.

I don't believe for a minute that that cop was behind the OP with lights and sirens on trying to pass him when there was a clear lane on the left side of the OP that the cop could have used to get to his emergency call.

I am sure that OP is a responsible driver when towing as demonstrated by his near immediate acknowledgement of the cop when he actually saw him in his rear-view mirrors. Why was the cop able to get OP's attention with only lights by slipping to the side of the trailer so that OP could see the cop behind him and he did not perform that maneuver during the "Supposed" mile he was being blocked by OP?

I have seen cops, EMS, Fire Trucks, drive in the emergency lanes to get to their calls. Why, oh why, didn't that cop simply pass OP in the left lane that was traveling in the same direction? I'll tell you why, because the cop made up that BS story about having an emergency call and him having to cancel his response because the cop couldn't pass a camper traveling at 5 - 10 MPH BELOW the Speed Limit, hell, the cop didn't need lights or sirens to pass the camper, he could have legally passed the camper in the left lane.

The reason I suggested that OP get the 911 call logs as well as the dispatch recordings is to determine if there was really an emergency call that cop was dispatched to and if he cancelled the call, or if the call got cancelled for a different reason (by-the-way, I don't believe there was any cancelled call) and he just decided to mess with the camper driver.

[NB Canada]

The only problem with your response is that you presume the cop was in fact on an emergency run and was in fact behind the OP for a mile with lights and sirens on.

I don't believe for a minute that that cop was behind the OP with lights and sirens on trying to pass him when there was a clear lane on the left side of the OP that the cop could have used to get to his emergency call.

I am sure that OP is a responsible driver when towing as demonstrated by his near immediate acknowledgement of the cop when he actually saw him in his rear-view mirrors. Why was the cop able to get OP's attention with only lights by slipping to the side of the trailer so that OP could see the cop behind him and he did not perform that maneuver during the "Supposed" mile he was being blocked by OP?

I have seen cops, EMS, Fire Trucks, drive in the emergency lanes to get to their calls. Why, oh why, didn't that cop simply pass OP in the left lane that was traveling in the same direction? I'll tell you why, because the cop made up that BS story about having an emergency call and him having to cancel his response because the cop couldn't pass a camper traveling at 5 - 10 MPH BELOW the Speed Limit, hell, the cop didn't need lights or sirens to pass the camper, he could have legally passed the camper in the left lane.

The reason I suggested that OP get the 911 call logs as well as the dispatch recordings is to determine if there was really an emergency call that cop was dispatched to and if he cancelled the call, or if the call got cancelled for a different reason (by-the-way, I don't believe there was any cancelled call) and he just decided to mess with the camper driver.

100 percent

Like I said in my first post Just a cop with an ego
They are all the same


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

[Bungy]

You two were going too fast for the sound waves to catch up to you.

So the OP was going more than 761.2 mph (the speed of sound at sea level)? He must have one of those new fangled electric trucks!

[Wicked ace]

The moral of the story is two fold. First as Geotex points out asking for legal advice on an internet forum you are inviting everyone with an opinion or an axe to grind to chime in. Secondly, stay the he!! out of Texas.

[Skiddy]

Interesting post, hope it all works out. I wonder if the Sheriff’s car was equipped with dash cam/eye witness recording? For revenue growth I could see a situation where an officer tucks in behind you, then going 10-39 for a minute or so and when you did not acknowledge or yield as you did not see or hear, he then moves into the left lane to be visible. This builds the case of a driver not initially responding to urgent use lights and siren, then responding, in other words, you did comply, just took too long to do it.
Maybe i’ve Watched too much television.....Good luck.

[Dakota]

I pulled completely off the highway onto the shoulder once. It took a long time to get back in the right lane because of the traffic behind me that was now passing. If I see lights in my side view mirror I move right and slow down. Getting back into the traffic lane is a safety hazard.