Autoblog

Leave the Saint Bernards at home, honey, we've got something better. The Subaru Mountain Rescue Vehicle was made for the National Ski Patrol -- an organization we had never heard of until we saw this truck. On its tiptoes it has 14 inches of clearance, and the staid passenger car driving compartment is balanced by the diamond plate floor and steel walls in the rear. Its got more flashing lights than K-Mart, and a 9,500-pound winch in case you need to rescue snowcats. And apparently, when ski time is over, you can hop in the toboggan that's mounted on the roof. Or you can put injured people in it. Your choice. Have a look at the mighty mountain rescue ranger vehicle in the gallery of high-res photos below.

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A group of Porsche trainees has created a custom Cayenne S emergency response vehicle prototype, which will be used by the automaker's internal Health and Safety Services group. The interior from row two back was gutted and reconfigured to accept a stretcher, accommodate an emergency doctor, and store all the associated equipment, such as an EKG, defibrillator, etc. Four trucks have been ordered, and Porsche will place them at each of its plants and at the test track in Weissach. All the Cayenne running gear is unchanged, and performance and off-road capability are generally unaffected. Complete details can be found in the press release pasted after the jump.

[Source: Porsche]

Alright, do we have your attention? The details of this story make it a bit more understandable. As it turns out, Valerie Montgomery was fined $632 Canadian dollars for not slowing down while passing an emergency vehicle, in this case a police car that had pulled someone else over on the shoulder of the road. We were not aware of this law, which apparently is new in Calgary, that stipulates all vehicles must slow to 60 kph in their lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle on a shoulder directly adjacent to that lane.

Valerie eventually got the fine reduced to $115. She was quoted as saying, "What's an emergency vehicle, anyway?" Do you think it is obvious that a police car with its lights on is an emergency vehicle? Ambulances and firetrucks would be the other obvious vehicles that qualify.

We personally hate it when cars don't slow down, stop at lights (even when green) and pull over for ambulances, fire trucks and police cars en route. We bet if their loved one were waiting for that ambulance, they would want everyone to pull over or else be fined $632 Canadian dollars.

[Source: Calgary Pundit (warning: some bad language)]

The story of the Colorado man who got fined $50 for using a device to change traffic lights on his way to work from red to green has made its way around the internet already. As much fun as it is to read about the man’s eventual capture after two years of playing god in traffic, it’s more fun to watch this CNN video of townspeople pissed off that the guy got off virtually scott free. Hilarity also ensues watching the authorities explain how after fielding two years of complaints about an unexplicably long red light at this particular intersection they finally went to the tapes and noticed a reoccurring Ford Ranger pickup that never got caught… by the light, that is.

[Source: CNN via AutoSpies]