Crew at a north-east lifeboat station have asked members of the public to give way when they see volunteers making their way to call outs.
RNLI Macduff made its plea ahead of the busy summer schedule, when call outs are more likely with families visiting the coastline over the school break.
Unlike other emergency services, lifeboat crew’s cars are not fitted with blue lights.
Instead, they rely on the charity of motorists who are able to spot a yellow, high-visibility sign in their windshields alerting people that they are en-route to an emergency.
A spokesman said: “Every second counts when someone is in the water and needs the assistance of a lifeboat.
“All our crew are volunteers and when their pagers go off they stop whatever they are doing and head to the station to launch the lifeboat.
The crew make their way to the station mostly in cars, they get no blue lights, sirens or dispensation, they have to abide by the Highway Code, observe all speed limits and signs.
“What the crew do get is a yellow sign with ‘Emergency Lifeboat Call’ printed on it, they stick this in the windscreen of their vehicle when they are making their way to the station for a shout.”
The yellow signs are only ever on display during a call out, and even then the crew has to abide by the highway code.
“If you see a vehicle with this sign in the windscreen driving on the road, please, if possible and it is safe to do so, pull over and let them past, every second counts when it comes to saving lives at sea,” he added.
