by a firetruck's air horn this morning.

I was boogieing along southbound and made the green through a fairly major intersection. As I was going through I heard the initial sirens of a firetruck pulling out hot from the station that is about a half mile up the cross road but then no more so I paid no attention. The bike path for the approaching stretch is a bit rough and traffic was light so I was taking the right edge of the traffic lane just off the bike lane. Then all of a sudden "BLAAAAAAAAAAAAA", damn near case of sharted short syndrome. I looked over my shoulder and the firetruck was running silent, lights only. I pulled over, slowed/stopped as they passed and turned right about 50 yards ahead of me.

Better than a cup of coffee I tell ya.

Get a mirror. If a friggin FIRE TRUCK with lights on can sneak up behind you....

I see the cops running silent but flashing all the time, never seen firetruck do that.

Running SILENT?!?! A FIRETRUCK?!?!

Even without a siren, they're not SILENT.

Off-topic -- sorry. But "atmdad"?? Mine's just shy of two, so I'm not there yet. But that made my day.

I heard him coming up but just assumed it was regular traffic. The road is wide enough in that particular stretch that you can ride just outside the bike lane typically without causing problems. I guess the fireman was just politely warning me that I was about to get a right hook from a really, really big vehicle.

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Off-topic reply, 10 and 13 here, but it's the wife that gouges my wallet the most.

The definition of a successful man:

One who makes more money than his wife can spend.

That's another good point, of course. I can hear the firetrucks around here at least a block away, even if they're just sitting there idling.

I live within 3 blocks of one of the largest ERs in the city. Go a few blocks further, and I'm on the same street as another giant ER. And there are at least two fire stations on roads I use often.

If I hear EMS vehicles, I stop and pull over until I know for sure that I'm not gonna get flattened. It is very common for emergency vehicles to get in accidents. They've got an insanely high crash rate, especially given the drivers' qualifications... so I don't wanna be a statistic.

I heard sirens the other day and I just stopped and pulled over to the side and waited as cars kept on about their business. soon enough a few cop cars and fire trucks came rumbling through and I was glad to have already been a non-issue to traffic. better safe than sorry.