Emergency vehicles, trams and pedestrians

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Priority for emergency vehicles, trams and pedestrians: who goes first, and how to react correctly on Belgian roads.

Cover, Emergency vehicles, trams and pedestrians

Lesson objectives

Understand the absolute priority of trams over all other users Master the rules of pedestrian priority, especially on crossings and in the absence of a crossing Correctly apply the order of passage when emergency vehicles, trams and pedestrians are present

Trams: almost absolute priority

Article 12.1 requires every user to give way to rail vehicles , and to leave the railway track as soon as possible . « Every user » means everyone: motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians . The obligation does not depend on the right, nor on priority signals, nor on which side the tram comes from. The reason is physical: the tram cannot leave its rails or bypass an obstacle, and its braking distance is very long. But pay attention to the wording: article 12.1 creates an obligation on your part , it does not exempt the tram driver from complying with the regulations, in particular the traffic lights that concern him.

Rail vehicle

A vehicle circulating on rails established on the public road, mainly the tram. Article 12.1 requires every user , including pedestrians, to give way to it and to leave the railway track as soon as possible. It is not that the tram « does not respect » the rules: it is that the code places the obligation on others.

Order of passage with a tram

Situation: at an uncontrolled intersection, a tram comes from the left, a car comes from your right, another comes head-on. Order of passage: The tram , article 12.1 applies to everyone, including the car coming from the right The car coming from the right , right-of-way (art. 12.3.1), which only applies between ordinary users You and the oncoming car, depending on your respective movements The key point: the side from which the tram comes is irrelevant. Right-of-way is never disputed in the face of a rail vehicle.

Common mistake: believing that right-of-way can prevail over a tram. It never can, article 12.1 applies to every user . Second mistake, more subtle and very often asked in the exam: believing that a pedestrian on a crossing passes before the tram. The pedestrian is a user like any other under article 12.1: he too must give way to the rail vehicle and leave the railway track.

Tram circulating in the center of a Belgian street

Pedestrians: priority on crossings

It all depends on how traffic is regulated at that location, this is the distinction the code makes. Without agent or traffic lights (art. 40.4.2): you can only approach the crossing at moderate speed and you must give way to pedestrians engaged or about to engage . With agent or traffic lights (art. 40.4.1): even if traffic is open in your direction, you must let pedestrians regularly engaged complete their crossing at normal speed; and if traffic is closed in your direction, you stop before the crossing. In both cases, article 40.5 prohibits you from entering the crossing if congestion risks immobilizing you there.

A21

A21, Pedestrian crossing. A pedestrian crossing is located further ahead. Slow down and be ready to stop to let people engaged in crossing or waiting at the edge of the road pass.

F49

F49, Pedestrian crossing. This sign marks the exact location of a pedestrian crossing on the road. Pedestrians engaged in crossing or clearly intending to cross have priority. Slow down and stop if necessary.

What is prohibited near a pedestrian crossing

Overtake on the left a driver who is approaching or stopping before a pedestrian crossing or a cyclist crossing, but only where traffic is regulated neither by an agent nor by traffic lights (art. 17.2, 5°) Stop or park on the crossing, and on the roadway less than 5 meters before it (art. 24, 4°), stopping too, not just parking Enter the crossing if congestion risks immobilizing you there (art. 40.5) Beyond the crossing, stopping and parking become possible again, subject to other prohibitions.

Pedestrian crossing in a Belgian urban area

Pedestrians: in the absence of a crossing

Outside a crossing, the pedestrian does not have priority, but the code does not say either that he « must give way ». His rule is that of article 42.4.4 : he can only enter the roadway with caution and taking into account vehicles approaching . He must also cross perpendicular to the axis of the roadway without lingering there (art. 42.4.1), and use the crossing if one exists less than 20 meters or so away. On your side, article 7.1 remains above all: you cannot endanger more vulnerable users. The pedestrian's lack of priority is never an authorization to proceed by force.

Three neighboring obligations often forgotten

Public transport stop (art. 40.3.1 and 40.3.2): you must reduce your speed when passing a coach, bus, trolleybus, minibus or rail vehicle stopped for boarding or alighting of passengers . And if there is no shelter at the stop, the driver traveling on the side where passengers board and alight must stop to allow them to access the vehicle or return to the sidewalk safely, then only resume at moderate speed. Lateral distance from cyclists (art. 40ter): at least 1 meter in built-up areas, at least 1.50 m outside built-up areas, between your vehicle and the cyclist or two-wheeled moped driver. Lateral distance from pedestrians (art. 40.7): at least 1 meter when the pedestrian uses the roadway due to lack of a usable sidewalk.

Emergencies: priority vehicles

Article 38 sets a short and precise rule: as soon as the approach of a priority vehicle is signaled by the special audible warning , every user must immediately clear and give way; if necessary, he must stop . The detail that matters in the exam: the trigger written in the text is the special audible warning , the siren. Blue lights alone, without a siren, do not create this obligation to clear. Clearing does not mean running a red light or dangerously entering an intersection: you move aside to the extent you can do so without creating another danger.

In practice: as soon as you hear the siren, slow down, look in your rear-view mirrors and identify where the vehicle is coming from before moving. Move to the right and stop if necessary. Do not enter an intersection to "clear" the way: you would create the danger that the rule seeks to avoid. Not to be confused with article 39 : in built-up areas , any driver following the same direction as a bus or trolleybus must allow it to leave its stop as soon as it has indicated its intention with direction indicators, the driver slows down and, if necessary, stops. By way of derogation to article 12.4, the bus is then not required to give way.

Trams, emergencies, pedestrians: what the code really says

The obligations, text by text

Situation What the code requires Text A rail vehicle approaches All users give way to it and move away from the railway track as soon as possible, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians included art. 12.1 A priority vehicle uses its special audible warning device All users clear the way and give way immediately; if necessary, they stop art. 38 Pedestrian crossing , without officer or lights Approach at moderate speed; give way to pedestrians who are engaged or about to engage art. 40.4.2 Pedestrian crossing , under officer or lights Allow pedestrians regularly engaged to complete their crossing; stop short if traffic is closed in your direction art. 40.4.1 You change direction Give way to drivers and pedestrians travelling on other parts of the same road, and to pedestrians crossing the roadway you are approaching art. 19.4 and 19.5 A bus leaves its stop in a built-up area Slow down and, if necessary, stop to let it depart art. 39 None of these situations Signage, then right-of-way rule art. 6.2 and 12.3.1 There is no single "ranking" between tram, emergency and pedestrian: each obligation has its own trigger. The table should be read situation by situation, not as a podium.

Complex situation: pedestrian, tram, car

Scenario: you approach an uncontrolled intersection. A pedestrian wants to cross at a crossing. A tram is coming from the left. A car is coming from your right. What happens: The tram passes: article 12.1 applies to all users, to the pedestrian as well as to cars The pedestrian crosses next: without an officer or lights, you must give way to one who is engaged or about to engage (art. 40.4.2) The car coming from the right (art. 12.3.1) You The order is not an abstract hierarchy: it is the combination of three separate obligations that resolves in this order in this specific case .

The most common pitfall in this chapter: believing that a pedestrian engaged on a crossing passes before the tram. It is the opposite. Article 12.1 applies to all users , and the pedestrian is one of them: they too must give way to the rail vehicle and move away from the railway track as soon as possible. The obligation of article 40.4.2, on the other hand, rests on the driver approaching the crossing, it does not reverse article 12.1.

Change of direction: it is not a manoeuvre

Turning right or left is not a manoeuvre within the meaning of article 12.4: the list in the code, lane change, roadway crossing, exit from parking, exit from residential property, U-turn, reverse, does not mention change of direction, which has its own regime under article 19 . This regime imposes two priority obligations, and they are broad: Art. 19.4 , give way to drivers and pedestrians travelling on other parts of the same public road : pavement, cycle path, service road Art. 19.5 , give way to pedestrians crossing the roadway on which you are about to engage , whether a crossing is marked there or not Added to this, for a left turn, is the obligation to give way to drivers coming in the opposite direction on the roadway you are leaving (art. 19.3, 3°), and the execution of the movement at moderate speed .

Turning right and pedestrian

Situation: green light, you turn right. A pedestrian is crossing the roadway you are entering. Result: you wait for them to finish. The basis is not article 12.4, turning is not a manoeuvre, but article 19.5 , which requires you to give way to pedestrians crossing the roadway you are approaching, with or without a marked crossing. And if a cyclist is travelling on the cycle path that your turn crosses, it is article 19.4 that applies.

Key points to remember

Rail vehicles (art. 12.1): every user yields the right of way and clears the railway track, including pedestrians at a crossing Priority vehicles (art. 38): the obligation to clear arises from the special audible warning , not from blue lights alone Pedestrians at a crossing : without an officer or lights, priority to those who are engaged or about to engage (art. 40.4.2); under an officer or lights, allow those who are regularly engaged to complete their crossing (art. 40.4.1) Pedestrians off the crossing : they may only engage with caution, taking into account approaching vehicles (art. 42.4.4), and must use a crossing located approximately 20 m away Change of direction : this is not a maneuver. Yield the right of way to users of other parts of the same road (art. 19.4) and to pedestrians crossing the roadway you are entering (art. 19.5); to the left, also yield to oncoming vehicles (art. 19.3, 3°) Bus leaving its stop in built-up areas: slow down and if necessary stop (art. 39) Overtaking : prohibited on the left in front of a driver approaching or stopping before a crossing, where there is neither an officer nor lights (art. 17.2, 5°) Stopping and parking : prohibited on the crossing and 5 m before it (art. 24, 4°)

What now?

First complete the quiz for this lesson to validate your knowledge, then practice on the exam simulator and multiple-choice questions . You have completed this module. Next module: Exercises .

BelgianLicenses

You know the theory; now it's time to practice. The simulator is your best ally.