It’s a situation every driver has experienced. You’re sitting in traffic or cruising through an intersection and suddenly you hear a siren. Your heart rate spikes. You check your mirrors. Where is it coming from? What do you do?
Captain Donovan Lee of HPD’s South Gessner Division wants Gulfton residents to know that the most important thing to do in that moment is also the simplest: don’t panic.
Why It Matters
“Anytime that there are lights and sirens, if we have them on, we’re going to an emergency event,” Captain Lee explains. “And that’s not just police — that’s also our ambulances, our fire trucks. There’s an immediate need for us to get to somebody to either help them or rescue them or apprehend somebody that is doing a violent crime happening in progress.”
Every second counts in those situations. A delayed ambulance response can mean the difference between life and death for someone having a heart attack. A fire truck stuck in traffic means a fire keeps burning. An officer unable to reach the scene means a victim waits longer for help. When drivers don’t know how to respond to emergency vehicles, it creates a chain reaction that slows response times and, in worst-case scenarios, causes additional accidents.
The Right Way to React
Captain Lee acknowledges that hearing sirens can be disorienting, even for him. “On the weekends, I wear a fishing shirt and I drive a normal car too. And sometimes I don’t even know where that siren’s coming from.”
His advice is calm and practical:
Don’t panic. You haven’t done anything wrong. Take a breath and stay in control of your vehicle.
Look up and locate the emergency vehicle. Sirens can bounce off buildings, especially in areas with dense apartment complexes and commercial buildings like Gulfton. Check your mirrors and scan the road in every direction before making any moves.
Pull to the right and stop when it’s safe to do so. This is the standard rule of the road for a reason — it creates a clear lane for the emergency vehicle to pass. If you’re on a multi-lane road, merge right. If you’re on a two-lane street, pull as far to the right as you can and come to a stop.
Do not slam on the brakes or stop in the middle of an intersection. If you’re already in an intersection when you hear a siren, continue through it and then pull over on the other side.
Do not run a red light to get out of the way. This is one of the most dangerous mistakes a driver can make. Captain Lee is direct about it: “If you’re at a red light and it’s completely stopped and there’s an emergency vehicle behind you, we don’t want you to start panicking, hit the gas, and go through the intersection, because there’s going to be cross traffic. And that’s how now you become a victim or become involved in an accident that we’ve got to address too.”
Wait until the emergency vehicle has fully passed before pulling back into traffic. And keep in mind that there may be more than one emergency vehicle responding — don’t merge back immediately without checking.
A Shared Responsibility
Gulfton’s streets are busy. The district sits at the intersection of major thoroughfares and residential neighborhoods, with heavy foot traffic, commercial vehicles, and school zones all sharing the same roads. That density makes it even more important for every driver to know how to respond when an emergency vehicle approaches.
“In most emergencies, seconds count,” Captain Lee says. “We want to be able to get to our destination as quick as possible, and we also don’t want to see anybody else hurt.”
It’s a simple message with real stakes: stay calm, stay aware, and clear the way. The life that depends on it could belong to someone you know.
The Gulfton Management District partners with HPD’s South Gessner Division to keep our community informed and safe. For more public safety updates, visit gulftondistrict.org or follow us on social media.