If a police officer is running with lights blazing and siren screaming, are they governed by a maximum speed?

Question

I was driving down a relatively country road today, but it is narrow and there are residences among small fields of mostly cotton crops. A sheriff deputy came up behind me with lights and siren activated, so I pulled over onto what little shoulder I had to get out of the way on. When he passed me, he was really moving fast.

I understood it to be a rule in this area that a police officer with lights and siren activated could only travel a maximum of 10 mph over the posted speed limit, which on this stretch is 40 mph. Judging from my experience with being out of the car on the freeway changing a tire with cars going past me at 75 - 80 mph, that's about how fast I judged this guy to be going.

Is there a maximum speed they can travel, and if so, is there a penalty if they get caught exceeding it? I mean, whatever he was headed to was not a big enough emergency to either get himself or me killed on the way, was it?

EDIT: Teeby - if he gets himself killed on the way to the call, what good is he to anyone? I didn't make myself clear enough in the description. He was speeding to the point of being unsafe. If he almost hit me on that narrow road, what's to say he wouldn't have hit someone else on down the road?

Answer 1

I do not know of any State that sets a limit on how fast to respond to an emergency. In one of the more rare instances of sane government, they left that to the agencies.

Most agencies do have emergency response policies. But, again, few state a particular speed the responding officer must travel.

Generally, you see the phrase "reasonable and prudent" or something like it in the policy.

I don't mean to belittle your powers of observation but your estimate of his speed could be off by quite a bit. That's why police can not write a ticket without using some kind of speed measurement. Standing on the roadway, changing a tire, and guessing at the speed of a passing car does not qualify as a speed measurement device.

Answer 2

In my state there is no maximum speed a LEO can travel while running code, nor does my department have any maximum speed guidelines. The use of lights/sirens, and the speeds undertaken is based on what is safe and reasonable, as it the standard for what "deserves" a code run.

If you feel strongly about the officer's speed and driving contact his department and file a complaint. However, you are currently unaware of the call he was responding to, the regulations of his department, and have little formal experience at estimating speeds, so that although you may feel he was travelling at 75-80 mph, he might have been going at a speed vastly different.

Regarding penalties. If I receive a citizen complaint (as described) that's judged substantiated, I would probably get a "log entry", if it was more serious maybe some days off without pay etc.

However, in the example you describe I doubt he would be reprimanded as he did nothing wrong (at least by my department's guidelines).

Answer 3

It depends on the area. For example, someone in my state was killed in an accident with an emergency vehicle (cop car, ambulance, fire fighter) that was traveling at a high rate of speed with its lights and sirens on. The family of the victim later sued, but the court ruled that the emergency vehicle was not at fault because it had its lights and sirens on.

How do you really know that it "was not a big enough emergency"? I think it's pretty selfish to make that judgment when you have absolutely no clue what was really going on. For example, if a family member of yours has a serious heart attack where they are minutes away from dying, how would you feel if the cop or ambulance decided that "it's not that big of an emergency", so they take their time and your family member died?

Answer 4

Yes. The maximum allowed speed for an emergency vehicle is governed by common sense, the driver's skills, and the current road and weather conditions. With the exception of volunteer firefighters, who must obey all posted speed limits and traffic signs/devices even if their lights are on. The penalty for exceeding it is crashing. And the city, county, or state would be liable for any injuries or damages to other parties, although the cop himself won't face any punishment unless it was determined that he had no real emergency or that he was otherwise behaving recklessly.

Answer 5

Crazygurl, get a grip. Yes cops can speed, again as stated before with due regard. The lights and siren do not give them automatic authority to do what they want, this is called requesting the right of way, which is why we move out of the way. And cops that turn their lights on to go through a light or to do a u-turn might be headed to a call. They shouldnt have to wait for the light to get to call, or do you want them to get there 10 minutes later?

Answer 6

As far as I know, there is no "legal" maximum for an emergency vehicle if it has its warning signals activated. Each jurisdiction may have guidelines, and of course the driver of the vehicle has to use common sense for the road conditions, but I've never heard of a speed limit in these situations.

Answer 7

No set maximum. However, the law states they need to drive with due regard for the safety of other motorists.

Example: If my partner calls for code 3 back because he's is a fight, I am haulin' *** to him. That being said, if on the way I come up to a busy intersection, I'll slow way down so I don't wind up T/C'd out and not being able to help him.

Answer 8

I'm not sure about a maximum speed, but Who is going to clock him? And even if someone does, who will write the ticket? Cops don't write tickets for other cops. You can complain to the police captain or whatever group oversees the cops, but unless you can identify the car, it will go nowhere.

Besides, he may have been on his way to saving someones life.

Answer 9

Look at it this way if some one has or is breaking into your home an is assaulting your love 1 or you do you want them to drive 40 mph to get you help i think this answered your question>?Some drive a little fast but there trained to>?

Answer 10

Depends on state law as well as department procedures. In my former department we were restricted to 20mph over the limit with lights and siren and 10mph over the limit without lights and sirens.