POLICE officers have urged motorists to pull over safely to the left-hand side of the road if a patrol car activates lights and sirens.
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Bendigo Highway Patrol officers issued the warning after a P-plater failed to quickly give way to them while on their way to an incident in North Bendigo on Wednesday afternoon.
Officers were on their way to what could have been a time critical incident when they were stuck behind a green' for several hundred metres.
Sergeant Geoff Annand said it was an all-too-common predicament for police officers who had already activated their lights and sirens and were hurrying to the scene of a crash or crime.
"We often encounter vehicles and drivers who don't know what to do when emergency vehicles are approaching from the rear," he said.
"On this occasion we were stuck behind a green P-plater, so they've probably have had their licence for three years.
"In an emergency situation those seconds that are lost might be the difference, who knows?
"We encourage drivers to move out of the way at the first opportunity."
The car that hindered officers on Wednesday eventually veered to the right towards a traffic island where it would have had enough room to safely get out of officers' way without getting in the way of any oncoming traffic.
Officers were about to get into a left-hand bike lane to pass the car when it veered back again.
The police officers had to brake and sound their horn at a car which had already had more than enough time to get out of their way, and lots of room on the left-hand side of the road to pull into.
The car then pulled over into the bike lane and the police officers were able to continue on their way to an unrelated car crash further up the road.
Sergeant Annand said a vehicle had crashed into another at the intersection of Fenton Street and Arnold Street after failing to stop quickly enough.
The officers remained at the scene until it was cleared, helping manage traffic and investigating the cause of the crash.
Paramedics treated one person for minor injuries following the crash and transported them to hospital in a stable condition.
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