10:23 AM CST on Tuesday, February 21, 2006

By Jeremy Desel / 11 News

Click to watch video

It's a scary moment when you're frozen at an intersection and you hear the siren and see the flashing lights.

Houston's EMS teams are making more runs than ever as they often race against time to save lives.

11 News went for a ride and what they experienced could make a difference in the way you drive.

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Michael Cornitius could possibly save a life if more drivers did what they were supposed to do.

The way many people drive is a big problem when critical seconds count.

Navigating the maze of Houston's highways and byways is a challenge, to say the least.

If you feel stressed trying to get from here to there, try doing it with a life on the line.

"You start thinking of things, 'OK, if I go this way maybe I can change, maybe I can do this," said Houston EMS squad driver Michael Cornitius.

After 13 years behind the wheel, Cornitius is used to the race against time, but it's different for him.

If you are late, you're just late. If he's late, someone could die.

"That one second that they are missing, we could be there in that one second and help them sustain life," said Cornitius.

"Very frustrating. You are upset because you want to do the job the best you can," said Cornitius as he tried to get through bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The seconds ticked by.

"If this person would get off the road I might be able to get there and make a difference in the life of somebody," he said.

Every day, every run, Houston EMS vehicles tangle with drivers who fail to yield, seemingly oblivious.

What is it that people do most often that they are not supposed to do? "Stop. Get out of the way. Pull to the right side. Get out of the way. Do it safely," said Cornitius.

If you think you log some mileage, last year in Houston EMS response units ran on more than a 250,000 calls.

That is more than 640 emergencies on average every day, all of them requiring a fight with traffic.

"Ideally we want to be there when every call is made. As soon as we receive the call we wish we could be on scene, but we can't," said Cornitius.

Not with this kind of traffic in the way.

Often there is no choice but to go around.

"We generally to go to the left side. But everybody would help us out if they would go to the right side and stop, because there are times even though we look like we are going straight, that we might have to turn at the next intersection," Cornitius said.

Slowing down is not enough, stopping is the law.

State statues are clear: "On the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle using audible and visual signals, the operator of a streetcar shall immediately stop the streetcar clear of any intersection and remain there until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed."

The risk is an accident.

"At least every day there are instances where something comes up where you could say that was a 'close one', "said Cornitius.

Every day, as the squad works its way through 1-45 traffic, some guy moves in, just feet from the bumper of the speeding EMS vehicle.

"This is an accident waiting to happen," said Cornitius.

Houston Fire Chief Phil Boriskie is a even-keeled guy and not much gets a noticeable rise out of him.

This situation does.

"Here, he is tailgating my ambulance and then passing them by when the opportunity presented itself. This is a classic example of where tighter regulations would be beneficial," he said, viewing the video.

But regulations aren't effective if people don't comply.