In this particular instance not many people will likely shed a tear for the man who was pronounced dead after he reached the hospital seven minutes later than he should have. But imagine for a moment if this hadn't been someone suspected of shooting a cop. Imagine instead that the person was actually innocent, or perhaps that the person being transported was a little girl who had been found unconscious in a swimming pool?
There is also some talk that emergency vehicles should be exempt, but how safe can it actually be for any vehicle to simply shut down in the middle of traffic. Imagine if this had happened at a railroad crossing, and the vehicle were a school bus, or van on the way to summercamp?
This is not to say there should not be any emissions standards for vehicles, but it seems awfully dangerous to impede the operation of a vehicle.
There is an apartment complex in my district that has a long series of speed-bumps. It impedes our response times for emergencies by a considerable amount of time. Apartment complexes are already dangerous enough in case of fire, but then also consider that complexes have regular EMS response as well, and even police response for domestic disturbances for example. When seconds count, any obstruction can mean the difference between life and death, which is precisely why emergency vehicles have lights and sirens. It seems ludicrous that emissions devices can be allowed to interfere in life and death emergencies.
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