A couple of weeks after the "Street Smart" article, another astute Los Angeles Times reader provided his own answer:
I am glad that it was established that the mail truck would not even be in the running, but I am disappointed that it was not pointed out that Section 21806 of the California Vehicle Code makes that clear.
Section 21800 answers the question of which of the remaining three vehicles has the right of way. To make it short, the vehicle to the left of the mail truck has the right of way.
Since everybody has to yield to the vehicle on his right, whoever sees the mail truck on his right gets to go first.
Easy, huh?
Originally posted by: BAMAVOO
The mail truck always has the right of way. (Federal) Even if an Ambulance, firetruck or police car have their lights and sirens on, they are to stop at every Stop sign or stop light to make sure it is clear before they proceed through. If they run the red light even with their lights on and hit someone they will get sued!
The answer to that old theoretical puzzler is the mail truck, by virtue of its federal government status.
[A] postal truck should have priority because maybe it was carrying a declaration of war that just had to be delivered while the emergency vehicles waited.
He gave as an example the fact that if a fire truck, an ambulance carrying a patient and a police car in pursuit of a criminal meet a mail truck carrying mail at an intersection, the mail truck has the right of way.
"In the days when this was established," explained Mr. Sulzer, "communication was vital."
"As you may know," he wrote, "the 'fast mail' trains were an important part of the operation of the railroads in their heyday.
"The mail contracts were an important source of income for the railroad and, indeed, one of the purposes for the government establishing railroads was communication through the mail.
"Generally speaking, the fast mail trains had right of way over all other traffic. That is, the track was cleared ahead of the mail. All other traffic went off on a switch track to let it by."
. . . the mail truck does not have the right of way. Like other vehicles and even pedestrians, it must pull to the side of the road to let the emergency vehicles pass. Our answer comes from Bill Madison, a spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Everyone else we queried thought the question was unique, to say the least.
"That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard," said an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division. "I don't even know how people have time to think about stuff like that."
Undaunted, we pressed on.
"OK," a California Highway Patrol officer said in a tone that suggested he didn't take the question seriously.
Finally, Madison responded. "The mail truck is not even in the running, unless the guy is a complete idiot," he said.
. . . once the mail truck is safely to the side of the road, the question becomes trickier. Madison speculated that dispatchers would solve the situation before it arose. If they did not, he said it would make sense for the police car to go first and then the firetruck. The ambulance would go last, he said, because if "five seconds makes a difference, you probably aren't going to save the guy anyway."
I am glad that it was established that the mail truck would not even be in the running, but I am disappointed that it was not pointed out that Section 21806 of the California Vehicle Code makes that clear.
Section 21800 answers the question of which of the remaining three vehicles has the right of way. To make it short, the vehicle to the left of the mail truck has the right of way.
Since everybody has to yield to the vehicle on his right, whoever sees the mail truck on his right gets to go first.
Easy, huh?
Originally posted by: simms
That's stupid. Firetrucks have the potential to save the most lives. They should go first.
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Claim: A United States Postal Service mail truck has the right of way over emergency vehicles.
Status: False.
Example: [Montreal Gazette, 1998]
Here's a question for you. Although hypothetical, it could happen. If a firetruck, police car, postal truck and ambulance -- all with sirens blaring and lights flashing (except the mail truck, of course) -- arrived simultaneously at four corners of an intersection, who would have the right of way?
Who should be allowed to cross the intersection first?
Origins: Surprisingly, quite a few people will answer the above question by proclaiming that the mail truck has the right of way. How this belief came to be is a puzzler, although some respondents have at least made a stab at providing some plausible answers:
The answer to that old theoretical puzzler is the mail truck, by virtue of its federal government status.
That explanation makes a little sense in that we naturally expect federal authority may supersede state or local authority (even if the Postal Service's status as a "federal agency" isn't quite what it used to be), but a mail truck? Cars driven by FBI agents, Border Patrol automobiles, and Army vehicles (including tanks) also have "federal government status," but we're not aware of any laws giving them the right of way over all other vehicles, even in non-emergency situations.
[A] postal truck should have priority because maybe it was carrying a declaration of war that just had to be delivered while the emergency vehicles waited.
Ho ho ho. Imagine Franklin D. Roosevelt announcing to Congress, "I'm sure I dropped that declaration of war against Japan in the mail the day before yesterday. We'll just have to hold off beginning hostilities for a day or two until we can send out another copy. Tell the Navy they'll just have to sit tight for now."
He gave as an example the fact that if a fire truck, an ambulance carrying a patient and a police car in pursuit of a criminal meet a mail truck carrying mail at an intersection, the mail truck has the right of way.
"In the days when this was established," explained Mr. Sulzer, "communication was vital."
Well, maybe so, but putting out fires, catching criminals, and saving lives have traditionally been considered "vital" acitivies as well. It may be, though, that as Mr. Sulzer suggests, the mistaken belief about mail trucks is a carryover from the days of railroads:
"As you may know," he wrote, "the 'fast mail' trains were an important part of the operation of the railroads in their heyday.
"The mail contracts were an important source of income for the railroad and, indeed, one of the purposes for the government establishing railroads was communication through the mail.
"Generally speaking, the fast mail trains had right of way over all other traffic. That is, the track was cleared ahead of the mail. All other traffic went off on a switch track to let it by."
We posed this question to the Los Angeles Times' "Street Smart" column back in 1994, and -- once convinced it was a legitimate question -- they responded:
. . . the mail truck does not have the right of way. Like other vehicles and even pedestrians, it must pull to the side of the road to let the emergency vehicles pass. Our answer comes from Bill Madison, a spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Everyone else we queried thought the question was unique, to say the least.
"That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard," said an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division. "I don't even know how people have time to think about stuff like that."
Undaunted, we pressed on.
"OK," a California Highway Patrol officer said in a tone that suggested he didn't take the question seriously.
Finally, Madison responded. "The mail truck is not even in the running, unless the guy is a complete idiot," he said.
A similary query posed by us to the United States Postal Service produced the reply that the USPS was also unaware of any laws granting mail trucks right of way status.
Okay, so if the mail truck doesn't have the right of way, then who does? "Street Smart" also provided an answer to this from a California DMV spokesman:
. . . once the mail truck is safely to the side of the road, the question becomes trickier. Madison speculated that dispatchers would solve the situation before it arose. If they did not, he said it would make sense for the police car to go first and then the firetruck. The ambulance would go last, he said, because if "five seconds makes a difference, you probably aren't going to save the guy anyway."
We have to wonder about that answer. If five seconds makes a difference, the fire department probably isn't going to save the burning building, and the police probably aren't to catch the fleeing criminal either.
A couple of weeks after the "Street Smart" article, another astute Los Angeles Times reader provided his own answer:
I am glad that it was established that the mail truck would not even be in the running, but I am disappointed that it was not pointed out that Section 21806 of the California Vehicle Code makes that clear.
Section 21800 answers the question of which of the remaining three vehicles has the right of way. To make it short, the vehicle to the left of the mail truck has the right of way.
Since everybody has to yield to the vehicle on his right, whoever sees the mail truck on his right gets to go first.
Easy, huh?
Of course, nothing satisfies like empirical evidence: I came home from work one day to find a fire truck, a police car, and an ambulance in the intersection outside our home. I ran indoors and suggested to Barbara that we try to flag down a mail truck to see what would happen, but there's never a mail truck around when you really need one . . .
The test has a question that is wrong. I have also seen a Postal Inspector answer this and the mail has no special privileges. Urban Legend.Originally posted by: BAMAVOO
You are wrong. The tests given to firefighters is the mail truck does have the right of way. There is a case going on right now where an ambulance ran a red light and hit a car. The driver and the county are being sued, because the drive of the ambulance did not follow protocol. THEY MUST STOP AND MAKE SURE IT IS CLEAR BEFORE GOING THROUGH A RED LIGHT!
Originally posted by: gsellis
The test has a question that is wrong. I have also seen a Postal Inspector answer this and the mail has no special privileges. Urban Legend.Originally posted by: BAMAVOO
You are wrong. The tests given to firefighters is the mail truck does have the right of way. There is a case going on right now where an ambulance ran a red light and hit a car. The driver and the county are being sued, because the drive of the ambulance did not follow protocol. THEY MUST STOP AND MAKE SURE IT IS CLEAR BEFORE GOING THROUGH A RED LIGHT!
And yes, all emergency vehicles must stop at all control devices before proceeding if they are not in their favor. That has nothing to do with right of way. Once the ambulance makes a complete stop, it has right of way regardless of light color in any direction. All other traffic must stop. By failing to stop, the ambulance broke the law and the driver that hit them is not at fault.
Originally posted by: Lithium381
Originally posted by: deejayshakur
so the ambulance is on the way to save a life, pd is on the way to prevent a life from being taken, a firetruck i guess you could argue it both ways, and the mailman will spend the rest of his life ringless.
why get married? he gets to screw the po po's wife, the paramedics wife, and the firemens wife while they're at work!
Originally posted by: FallenHero
Originally posted by: Captain_Howdy
Well, the mail man is packing the most heat, so I chose him...
lol