Why those blue lights on NJ cars mean more than you think

Here's a question for you. Do you know what flashing blue lights mean when they're not on a police car? Like the car you drive. Could be a sedan, or a minivan, or anything like that.

No, it's not always teenage drivers or anyone else trying to show off their ride with flashy lights. I say not always only because I know there are exceptions with certain drivers to this.

In most cases, those flashing blue lights indicate an emergency situation that the driver is trying to address. They might be on their way to the scene, or traveling to the firehouse or hospital.

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I bring this up because of a post I recently saw in a local town's page. One that involved those blue lights, and constant brake checking.

High end SUV vs. blue lights

This incident happened in a downtown area, off of the main highway. The person who posted about this was the emergency driver, and they were complaining about this high end SUV that refused to get out of their way, despite the blue lights flashing.

From what it seems, this SUV wouldn't immediately get out of the way, making the emergency driver believe that perhaps they didn't see the flashing blue lights.

The emergency driver then flashed their highs to try and get this vehicles attention. But instead of moving out of the way, the SUV brake checked them. Then when the emergency vehicle blew their horn, the SUV refused to move.

According to the post, this went on for a while until the emergency vehicle finally had enough clearance to drive around them.

Emergency time lost

From what the driver shared, they were trying to respond to an emergency situation involving an elderly person who was experiencing heart complications. But because this SUV took it into their own hands to actively stop this vehicle from getting by, vital time was lost responding to this situation.

I don't want to pinpoint the town page I saw this in just because that part doesn't really matter. I know what this driver is talking about because all too often I see people not getting out of the way of everyday vehicles with flashing blue lights, which makes me think a lot of us are unsure of what it means.

Don't assume

Those flashing blue lights are given to people who may be firefighters, EMT's, or anyone who is responding to an emergency with their personal vehicle. More likely than not, they may be volunteers trying to quickly get where they need to.

I get that some drivers put lights on their vehicles just to show off, so I get what this SUV in the example above might have been thinking. But don't ever assume that's the case. Get out of the way, and let them pass.

And if you're really unsure, don't hesitate to call the local police and ask about it. If it's a legit emergency response, the authorities should be able to let you know. And if it's not, then you did your part to help police catch the vehicle with illegal flashing blue lights.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.