Police car bullying its way through red light.

tbourner

Most of you people need to watch this:
http://www.beestonmedia.com/screening/BLAproof03
Especially from 1:20.

You cannot cross the white line at a red light, for ANY reason. You cannot break any road rules just because there's a blue light behind you. If an emergency vehicle is pressuring you to break the law THEY are in the WRONG! Emergency vehicles are only allowed to break 3 laws themselves - speed limits, traffic lights and keep left signs.
The OP is correct.

mchale

A spokesman for the camera partnership added: "There is a system in place for motorists who feel they have extenuating circumstances – they can opt to take their case to a court of law. If magistrates agree the circumstances are valid, the appeal would be upheld.

"If Mr Freeman decided to change his position and plead guilty to the offence, that is a matter for him."

Ambulance drivers are trained to get through heavy traffic in emergencies and the service warns motorists to stick to the Highway Code.





Maybe if driver had not given up, he wouldn't have got 3 points

Paradigm

mchale wrote: »

Maybe if driver had not given up, he wouldn't have got 3 points

Possibly so but

But the real bill for the episode is much higher for the 36 year old father-of-five from Intake, Doncaster, because he took three days off work for the appearances before Doncaster Magistrates, adding another £300 to his expenses.

There comes a point where the average guy has to pull the plug due to the cost... the authorities don't have this restriction!

cyclonebri1

Dave101t wrote: »

your allowed through red lights to make way for emergency vehicles responding to a call.

I'm afraid in law you are not, unless intructed to do so.
No it doesn't make any sense which is why these things appear on camera.

No one set of rules can be correct for every occassion

bingy_burge

An emergency service can sit there and bully you through a redlight but its not a defence if you are proscuted and people have been done for the offence despite it.

It depends on the organisation such as force or ambulance authority policy.

The met police and devon and cornwall both have a strict policy that they are to stand siren down when progress can only be made when forcing other road users to mount kerbs or run redlights.

Next door avon and somerset police have traffic officiers so called but I am not going to rant about application of system and planning on here. Anyway have seen them do it and only last week they tried it on me for all the good it did them. I am sorry but no emergency service driver should be risking a life to save a life and its red light for a reason. Your unlikely to have the training niether audiable and visual warning equipement to be negoiating red lights.

The only time you should run a red light is if a uniformed police officier gets out the vehicle and instructs you to and even if you don't i know of no court in the land that has proscuted someone for that.

This may help:

http://www.bluelightaware.org.uk/

thelawnet

Paradigm wrote: »

To be fair I don't think anyone here has an issue with going through a red light to let services through....

Well it's rather dangerous to go through red lights, so I'd rather not, personally. Last time I was in this situation, I heard sirens blaring from a while back, left the right lane free, which I would normally have used, but then an idiot 4x4 driver came and occupied it, he ended up going through the light and nearly getting taken out by a cement mixer coming off the A3.

sarahg1969

Dave101t wrote: »

your allowed through red lights to make way for emergency vehicles responding to a call.

No you're not.

If you receive a summons for driving through a red light and you did so, there's no point pleading not guilty. You need to plead guilty and plead with the mags not to fine you or endorse your licence. You've still committed the offence, though.

The only time you are allowed to go through a red light is if you are specifically instructed to do so by a police officer (verbally, not by use of lights or sirens, as I understand it).

tbourner

I think the officer needs to be in uniform, and using the correct hand signals standing on the junction. Hand signals in the car behind you don't count (especially the hand signals you're likely to get if you don't move out the way!! ).

darkwarrior

Paradigm wrote: »

You can still be prosecuted for driving through a red light!



The exception being if you are instructed to do so by someone with the appropriate authority such as a uniformed police officer. Is a copper in an unmarked car sounding his horn being "instructed to do so"? I dunno.

Positively disgusting

marlot

Dave101t wrote: »

your allowed through red lights to make way for emergency vehicles responding to a call.

No you're not. Unless directed by a police officer in uniform. And that doesn't mean a police car behind you flashing his lights and sounding his siren.