The head of the Bright SES has been frustrated by the behaviour of drivers, with volunteers involved in a near miss, and the response to another crash delayed by a motorist who failed to pull over their vehicle.
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Unit controller Roy Kennedy said the incidents, which occurred in the past fortnight, showed the need for drivers to be aware of their surroundings, especially around emergency vehicles.
In the most recent incident, volunteers were responding to a car rollover outside a home on Delany Avenue.
A woman's vehicle rolled, leaving her stuck inside.
A traffic block was set up around the scene but two vehicles drove through, putting the emergency service workers at risk of being struck.
It followed a crash that left a person trapped inside a vehicle at Eurobin the previous weekend.
The SES truck was forced to drive below 80km/h on the Great Alpine Road to reach the scene of the collision as another motorist failed to pull over a let the truck pass.
The driver of the crashed car was later airlifted to hospital in serious condition with various injuries.
Mr Kennedy said responding in a timely manner was vital for the SES.
The rescue squad cuts injured people from cars.
"It's definitely frustrating," he said.
"With the one at Eurobin, we found we couldn't get there quick enough because people wouldn't move over to let us go past.
"When we have the lights and sirens on, it's because there's an immediate danger to life.
"It means someone's life is potentially at risk.
"That makes it pretty hard when people don't move over for you."
Mr Kennedy said drivers failing to move to the left "happens more frequently than we would like.
"I think it's just because people aren't aware of what's going on around them," he said.
"If you drive as you're supposed to - checking your mirrors and being aware of your surroundings at all times - you can't miss an emergency vehicle.
"They're big, they've got signs and they've got sirens."
The driver inside the vehicle during the Eurobin incident on September 29 had to be cut from the vehicle.
The 81-year-old was in a serious but stable condition when he was airlifted to hospital with injuries to his neck, ribs, chest and pelvis.
The driver injured in Bright the following weekend had to be removed from her car during a protracted operation.
The 72-year-old drove over a rock in a garden bed, which caused the car to roll onto its side.
The vehicle's roof had to be removed by the SES volunteers before they could access the woman.
