Are police officers, fire fighters, and ambulances responding to emergencies required to slow down?

minx64

They are supposed to slow down some...technically when responding to an emergency they shouldnt be going more that 15 mph over the speed limit...but in reality that doesnt happen too often...remember that someone is having an emergency and help maybe needed rather quickly to save a life...most states have laws that when an emergency vehicle is coming to an intersection with a red light on their side they are to stop and continue sounding sirens/lights before they finish going thru the intersection...if you see one blowing thru a red light then they are at fault and would be held accountable for it in court if there was an accident from it...as for school zones...when school is in session they should slow down while in the school zone..but each state has their own laws and then tere are the federal laws that govern emergency driving laws and training such as EVOC....

shadowman

they can go fast as long as they do it safely. Thats the purpose of emergency lights and sirens.

malroymck

When traveling at a high speed, they must still take a line of safety. The emergency that they might be going to, might be you.

busdriver26002

yes, how ever the sireons are to warn you they still must give way to people already crossing

Aries24

I believe that although the vehicles you mention are responding to a (shout) emergency they are required to take every care and slow down at general road hazards i:e traffic signals,roundabouts,zebra crossings etc this would of course include School Zones if the school is in use & children are coming or leaving school.

merigold00

They are always required to drive with due regard for the safety of others. Different states may have different laws, but here in AZ they can speed, as long as it is safe...

cedarpointmedic1

Emergency vehicles are required to follow all the local street laws and regulations. We have to stop at red lights and wait for the intersection to clear, and we have to drive at a reasonable speed taking into account road conditions and traffic hazards. Just because we are running lights and sirens does not give us permission to drive excessively fast. As for school zones, our operators slow down when there are children present or heavy traffic in the area. This is just common sense. If we drove excessively fast or recklessly, we'd end up causing a bigger problem than we already have, and putting the public and ourselves at risk. Speeding to a scene might get you there a little faster than going 5 or 10 over the speed limit, but it will more likely get you, your squad, or the public injured or killed.

justanotherengine

If there's an Ambulance moving in my direction, he get's the road ! There's probably a really big problem going on, ya know like someone dying in the back, and they are trying to get them to the Emergency room, use ya head, who cares if they're speeding through a school zone, It's an "EMERGENCY", hence the screaming sirens and lights, so all bets are OFF, and GET THE HELL OUT OF THEIR WAY.....FAST, I've gone through red lights, jumped dividers, and drove up onto side walks to clear the intersection for an Ambulance, no cop in the world will give you a ticket for breaking the law, to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle. ! !

annie

no, they just run them over.

The AntiChrist

Read your state's Motor Vehicle Laws and find out.

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