Quote:
Originally Posted by wanneroo
Actually a lot of the training now is to not use lights or sirens when getting somewhere as it has been found when people see the lights/sirens they freak and they stop in the middle of the road, block the median, block intersections, etc. I'm told it's quicker and safer to not use lights unless you need to clear someone ahead or an intersection.
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Emergency lights do several things:
First and foremost they serve as a means of alerting all vehicular traffic of conditions which require the general public to slow down and drive cautiously.
Second, they serve as a visual indicator to alert the general public that we are responding to some type of emergency situation which possibly necessitates disregarding SOME rules of the road. Once again doing so in a safe and effective manner.
Third, lights generally alert those who have thier stereos turned up to the point that all outside sound is muffled, even when they cannot hear the siren.
Fourth, it reduces liability, both on the part of the officer and on the part, of the Agency.
Fifth, I know of NO agency requiring a marked unit to run code without lights. The only exceptions I can think of are specialized response units, responding to incidents where lights and sirens would work as a hindrence rather than actually aiding the responding officers.
There are many more arguments for the use of emergency equipment, but these are some of the biggies. So having said this...
If an officer is driving with lights and sirens, should he be allowed to disregard the speed limit in order to expedite his arrival to emergency situations? Should they be limited to the actual speed limit, or should they be allowed to drive to the point of breaking both the speed limit and the traffic laws for thier respective states?
My reason for asking this is quite simple. I have known many officers who have lost thier lives responding to valid emergencies. During the media aftermath, they were armchair quarter backed and critiqued by those who were not behind the wheel and by those who have negative views on law enforcement. I would like to see what the general publics view on emergency police driving is. Any comments, both negative and positive are welcomed and I would love to hear arguments for and against this topic.
Before I close I would like you to know that police officers are five times more likely have accidents as opposed to any other driver on the road. We spend a large portion of our careers driving and as such, our chances for accidents increase dramatically.
Peace
Winter
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