Is a police car without lights and sirens classed as an emergency vehicle (ie. can it run red lights etc)?

Question

Somebody told me that a police car or firetruck or ambulance is only classed as an emergency vehicle if it has its lights and sirens going. So legally the driver of the vehicle can only break the speed limit or run a red light when the lights and sirens are on. If they are not on then the driver must obey all the road rules the same as me.

Can somebody please tell me if this is true becuase i see plenty of police cars in this area exceeding the speed limit without their lights and sirens on?

I'm in Australia by the way, the rules may differ around the world, but i'm interested to hear how it is where you are.

Thanks heaps wise Y!A people..

Wow quite a good response, thanks.

Just to add to my question now it appears that in most places police can speed without lights and sirens.

To the law enforcement officers, do you find that other road users, pedestrians particularly, have dificulty judging your speed when you are exceeding the speed limit without your lights and sirens? For example a person crossing the road may see your car in the distance and not recognise that you are a police car on route to an emergency and step out in front of you. How do you deal with this and minimise the risk to other road users and yourselves?

I probably should start another question, but what are the most important things to be aware of when exceeding the speed limit, how do you do it safely?

Thanks again everybody.

Answer 1

In the states (Nevada), a police vehicle is recognized as an emergency vehicle regardless if the lights & siren are on or not. The reason is that a police vehicle approaching a crime scene may need to approach without broadcasting his presence, yet may still speed. For fire & ambulance, the lights and sirens must be activated for the vehicle to have an emergency status.

Answer 2

Police Car Siren

Answer 3

I think it may depend on the state. Where I'm from, it is legal to go through a red light, etc IF you are en route to a higher call, even if you don't use your lights/siren. As an example, you hear there is a Domestic Violence situation - the most dangerous situation for Law Enforcement to enter btw - and by broadcasting lights/sirens, the offender can take drastic measures (shoot the spouse, barricade, come out attacking, etc). It's safer to not announce yourself until ready.

For Part 2 - Police still have to approach with caution in the event someone doesn't see them, regardless if they have lights and sirens. Steps such as slowing down at an intersection, flashing the lights briefly when going through the intersections, etc.

Answer 4

When you have your lights and siren on, you can proceed "safely" through red light intersections, and exceed the posted speed limit. Usually unmarked police cars are not supposed to do that unless they are in hot pursuit, and then they are supposed to relinquish the lead position as soon as a car with lights and sirens can catch up to them.

In answer to the second part of your question, I have had people get confused and get in front of me, stop in front of me, crash into the car next to them, and run up on the sidewalk (a bit of over kill). It is exciting to go with lights and siren,but scary because you have no idea what the drivers around you are going to do. Plus you and your partner are trying to prepare each other verbally for whatever emergency you are responding to, while listening to the radio to see if your dispatcher has any additional information on the crime, suspects, etc.
Firefighters have it worse. People see those big red trucks and just lose their minds.
Can I get a little public service plug in...? If people see an emergency vehicle coming with lights and sirens, please pull over to the side of the road and stop until the vehicle passes by. Thanks!

Answer 5

I'm in Ontario Canada, and the only time you must use lights and sirens is if you are going through red lights or stop signs.

You have to understand that we don't always use the lights and sirens even if we are speeding. Here in Ontario, other drivers must pull over to the right and stop when they are meeting an oncoming emergency vehicle, or if the emergency vehicle is coming up behind them. Sometimes if the traffic is light and you can get around the cars you don't need to force people off onto the shoulder to get where you need to go in a hurry by putting on your lights. Sometimes putting on lights causes more of a traffic jam instead of clearing one for you. People panic and slam on their brakes, and sometimes they stop in the middle of the road instead of pulling over. This causes more problems. I usually only will use my lights for a very high priority call. Most of our calls you need to get to fairly quickly but not quickly enough to use the lights and sirens.
I get paid by the hour and I don't need to speed for the fun of it!
If you see a police cruiser coming up behind you, don't do 5km/hr under the speed limit. Pull to the right lane if you can even if they don't have their lights on. Chances are they are trying to get to a call promptly and will very much appreaciate you getting out of the way.

Answer 6

Well i don't know about the down under but over here in the states we have to follow all traffic laws. Patrol Vehicles as well as U/C vehicles or under cover vehicles have to follow the motor vehicle laws regardless if they have lights and siren on or off. Even when responding to a Hot call or a high priority call. When responding with emergency lights and sirens you have to be extra cautious when crossing intersections.

The highest priority is to get home at the end of the night!

Answer 7

In FL, either the emergency lights or siren must be activated to qualify as an emergency vehicle. This allows us to go through traffic signals, etc.; however, we still have the responsibility to drive as though someone may not have seen the lights or heard the siren. An officer cannot help anyone if he or she does not arrive at the scene.

Answer 8

Don't know about the wonderful world down under

But a police car is not suppose to cross a red light without lights and siren. The laws vary in the US about what else they can or cant' do.

But of course many speed because they are in a hurry and no one can do anything about it. But there are many calls in the US where they are suppose to come with no siren or lights, but hurry, or they could be looking for someone and they will break various laws.

Answer 9

they do not have to have the lights and sirens on to be an emergency vehicle. It is wrong for them to speed with out at least there lights on but lots do it. the reason they have to have there lights on is to let people know there is an emergency and they need to get out of the way. lots of times the officer is on a call and needs to get there but the call dose not warrant them having the lights on and because the officers are trained to drive at high speeds they will to get to the call. but when they do that if they get into an accident they are at fault.

Answer 10

In most states it is still an emergency vehicle. As far as running a light signal w/o lights and siren..some service calls require this! One example is Burglary in progress (element of surprise).