Minnesota laws, they are a'changing.

This legislative session has brought about several alterations to laws regarding driving conduct in the presence of emergency vehicles.

Mower County Sheriff Barry Simonson says the laws which "allow emergency vehicle drivers to call in license numbers of drivers who get in their way have been extended to ambulance and fire trucks, so if you impede on an ambulance or a fire truck with it's lights on, you can be cited."

"School bus drivers have always had the ability to tag drivers who drive through the stop arm, but now ambulances and fire trucks can do the same to people who get in their way when they have their lights on," he adds.

Violators who do not know the changes to the law or did not notice the emergency vehicle will be charged with a petty misdemeanor. Those who intentionally fail to yield will be charged with a misdemeanor. This change will go into effect Aug. 1.

A provision of the same law, which has been in effect since April 6, also allows emergency vehicles to drive through red lights or stop signs with either flashing the vehicle's lights or sounding the siren. Currently, the laws require emergency vehicles to have both their lights flashing and their sirens sounding when passing through an intersection.

"This should make it easier to sneak up on burglars," Simonson says. "If someone is burglarizing a house and they hear a siren three blocks away, they have time to run. Now, they won't have as much time to react."

According to Simonson, another transportation law that will go into effect Aug. 1 is one which will allow the driver of a funeral home motorcycle or vehicle to use a flashing red light to warn drivers that a procession is following. "That'll be handy because funeral processions have always had the right of way, but lately people haven't been getting out of their way, either because they don't care or they don't know it's a funeral procession," Simonson says.