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Q: I was in Fremont at the major intersection of Stevenson and Fremont Boulevards, waiting for the light to change, when a fire engine came up behind me. The red lights and siren were on and the driver was honking the horn, over and over again.

I was afraid to move into the busy intersection on a red light. I waited for the green light, then drove into the intersection and got out of the way.

Did they really expect me to proceed onto Fremont Boulevard on a red light to let the fire engine pass? That did not seem safe to me.

A: You are required to move to the right, if you can do so safely. Some police officers recommend not pulling into the intersection if your light is red.

Q: If a bus is stopped on the side of the road with its red lights flashing, but children are not crossing, and there is a turning lane in the middle, do cars going the opposite direction have to stop?

A: Yes. Never pass a bus that has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended. This applies on all streets, except those divided by a physical barrier, such as a concrete wall or grassy median. Then only vehicles traveling in the same direction as the school bus are required to stop.

The fine for passing a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop arm is $1,000.

Q: I don’t think a two-lane right turn on the Highway 85 north offramp to Fremont Boulevard would help significantly.

Many people in the left lane are going left, but even if they want to go right, the limiting factor is usually traffic backed up on eastbound Fremont, due to the light at Bernardo. Much of the time during busy hours, one cannot turn right here at all, even from the right lane.

A: Traffic engineers agree with you.

Q: Many years ago, a Highway Patrol officer told me to stay far enough behind the car in front of me that I could see its rear tires.

He said that in case you are rear-ended, this leaves room to prevent your hitting the car in front of you. It also gives you room to get around the car ahead, should it stall. And it decreases the amount of time it takes for a line of cars to start moving when the light changes because everyone can start moving as soon as it does. This makes a lot of sense to me.

A: Yes. That’s what police recommend.

Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow, or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.

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