Emergency services are uneasy about the number of motorists in the South who are not pulling over for vehicles responding to emergencies.
They say drivers are increasingly unaware that a police car, fire engine or ambulance responding to an emergency is behind them, and when they do notice, they are not reacting appropriately.
A senior highway patrol officer expressed concern about vehicles not pulling over to let emergency services past on the way to a fatal crash.
Other emergency services contacted said the problem was getting worse.
They blamed the fact that more vehicles were on the road and that cars were more soundproof and people, especially if they had stereos turned up, could not hear emergency vehicles approaching, despite their sirens.
While most drivers still responded appropriately once they were aware an emergency vehicle was behind them, they needed to check their rear-vision mirrors more often, and learn what to do when emergency vehicles approached.
Sergeant Pete Muldrew, of the highway patrol, said that as he was travelling to a fatal crash at Glenavy this month, a row of vehicles pulled over, except for the last car, which pulled out and passed the others while he was trying to get past.
It was an ongoing problem and while many motorists were good and moved over, others were "completely oblivious", Sgt Muldrew said.
Firefighters say the problem is getting worse.
Willowbank station officer Martin Jansen said two fire appliances had difficulty getting to the scene of a crash in Evansdale last week because drivers were not pulling over, or were slamming on the brakes when they finally saw the fire trucks behind them.
While the outcome at Evansdale was not changed by the short delay to the appliances' arrival, it was "frustrating" for firefighters wanting to respond to an emergency as fast as they could without causing another incident.
Dunedin Central Senior Station Officer Lindsay Rae said drivers not pulling over had "definitely got worse" recently.
However, he acknowledged it was a tricky area to educate people about because there was no one-size-fits-all way for drivers to respond when an emergency vehicle was behind them.
St John Dunedin team manager Gavin Westall said the main issue for ambulances was people pulling over but not slowing down.
"I had one the other day, for example, and he pulled over left into roadworks, but he didn't slow down.
All he was doing was flicking stones at me as I was trying to get past."
Highway patrol Senior Sergeant Steve Larking said motorists needed to think how they would feel if it was a family member needing the emergency service and it could not get through.
He also emphasised the need for drivers to check their rear-vision mirror regularly.
People should also be aware it was illegal not to make way for a vehicle with flashing red or blue lights and drivers could be fined $150 if their registration plate was noted.
