One particular method for giving way to emergency vehicles in busy traffic has become a trending topic on Chinese social media recently.

In a widely shared demonstration video, an ambulance sounded its alarm while driving in the middle of a jammed three-lane road. In order to allow the ambulance to get to hospital as soon as possible, the two vehicles in front of the ambulance turned 45 degrees simultaneously in opposite directions so that the ambulance could keep moving forward.

Many Chinese netizens have been impressed by the video and regard the method one of the must-have skills of drivers in 2020.

Similar cases have happened in China. On the New Year's Day 2020, a fire truck on duty in central China's Yidu City was caught behind two cars waiting for a traffic light. The cars soon realized the situation and immediately turned 45 degrees to let the truck pass.

On January 3, an ambulance driving on a jammed highway in southwestern China's Chengdu City was taking a 68-year-old patient to hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding. As in the previously mentioned case, all the vehicles ahead adopted the driving method, giving way to the ambulance so that it only took the emergency vehicle four minutes to move past the heavy traffic of around three kilometers.

However, some have questioned the feasibility of this method in China's traffic as there might not be enough room for cars to perform the maneuver.

In response to this concern, a traffic police officer told Qilu Evening News that it can indeed be difficult for cars to turn 45 degrees if there is not enough space between them. Yet, he encouraged drivers in such situations to try their best so as to make way for emergency vehicles.

Some netizens are concerned that adopting the method might force their cars onto the other side of the road, thus violating traffic rules.

An official from the traffic police department told Qianjiang Evening News that the priority in this kind of critical situation was to save lives. It is drivers' duty to give way to emergency vehicles. Therefore, they would not be penalized.

Besides turning 45 degrees, there are other methods to adopt in related scenarios. If an emergency vehicle is driving in the opposite direction and there is no barricade in the middle of the road, drivers should slow down. If the vehicle is to make a turn and borrow the lane, drivers should stop their cars to clear the road.

In normal traffic where all cars are moving, drivers should not change lanes. Instead, they should slow down so that the emergency vehicle can overtake safely.

Ever since the method became a hot topic, people in China have been actively sharing it on social media, meaning that many more drivers will be aware of it and be able to imitate it should the occasion arise.

"There were similar videos from other countries, and some people thought it would never happen in China, but now they see that it's already been happening," one netizen commented on Weibo.