(Juneau) The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is offering some safety tips when encountering squad cars or other emergency vehicles on the roadway. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says to never approach a squad car when it is stopped on the side of the road with its lights flashing.
“Don’t walk up to the sidewalks when we’re on a traffic stop or something and approach us,” says Schmidt. “Have us come out of the car and meet you. We don’t know who you are, or what’s going on, are you connected to the incident, and so please do not ever approach a squad car that has the lights on.”
Schmidt says the second most important rule is to yield the right of way.
“I’ve had a couple incidents in the last week where I’ve been responding to emergency type situations,” Schmidt says. “And people are not paying attention to what’s going on behind them, or they see us with lights on coming behind them, and they take a while.”
The sheriff says those drivers will stay in the left lane for a few miles and slowly move into the right lane because they are afraid of getting pulled over. He says that when a squad car with full lights and sirens is behind someone, they should pull over as quickly as possible.
