It’s actually the police officer themselves that’s exempt from speed limits and traffic signals not the vehicle itself - the vehicle markings/blue lights are there to highlight the vehicle and as a warning/deterrent.
The markings are not a legal requirement for an officer to use their exemption and also this exemption can be used not just in emergencies but also in order to ascertain whether an offence has been committed.
Basically it boils down to can the officer justify using the exemption I.e.
To catch up to a motorist - justified
To keep your tea warm on way back to the nick - not justified.
And yes they get the NIP through the internal mail. (Well they used to anyway)
Edited to add - I’m pretty sure (can’t recall exactly) - needs have blue lights as a minimum to pull someone over, as without them the person being stopped has a reasonable excuse not to stop for the officer.
This all might have changed as I’m massively out of date now.
Harry Monk:
It might be Angus and his mate, in which case it’s legal.
I’ve often wondered if there’s a legal challenge to that, seeing as a marked car can only break the law in an emergency situation. Disabling speed limiters and using the outside lane etc to detect potential law breaking, is hardly an emergency
Tosh - there is no mention in the relevant legislation about police cars etc being marked in order for the exemption from speed limits, not stopping at red traffic lights and passing on the wrong side of a “keep left” to apply. Neither is there any requirement (in law) for it to be “an emergency”. I also think Angus and his chums would be struggling to find a legal exemption allowing them to use the offside lane on a Motorway (assuming the other lanes are running normally, no abnormal loads etc).
Trust me, they are not above the law. My step father was a pc for over 20 years. They can’t break any laws unless they are using blue lights responding to emergency calls. So unless the tractor unit has been declassified as a hgv, ie not taxed for commercial use etc, the speed limiter should be working. As said, to disable the limiter to overtake hgv’s on the off chance they’re up to no good, is pretty much entrapment
Harry Monk:
It might be Angus and his mate, in which case it’s legal.
I’ve often wondered if there’s a legal challenge to that, seeing as a marked car can only break the law in an emergency situation. Disabling speed limiters and using the outside lane etc to detect potential law breaking, is hardly an emergency
Tosh - there is no mention in the relevant legislation about police cars etc being marked in order for the exemption from speed limits, not stopping at red traffic lights and passing on the wrong side of a “keep left” to apply. Neither is there any requirement (in law) for it to be “an emergency”. I also think Angus and his chums would be struggling to find a legal exemption allowing them to use the offside lane on a Motorway (assuming the other lanes are running normally, no abnormal loads etc).
Trust me, they are not above the law. My step father was a pc for over 20 years. They can’t break any laws unless they are using blue lights responding to emergency calls. So unless the tractor unit has been declassified as a hgv, ie not taxed for commercial use etc, the speed limiter should be working. As said, to disable the limiter to overtake hgv’s on the off chance they’re up to no good, is pretty much entrapment
I’m not suggesting for a moment that they are above the law. I am challenging the assertion that there is any legal requirement for a police vehicle to be marked (or, as you’ve now added a bit more) for blue lights etc to be in use, or for it to be an emergency for the exemptions mentioned to apply. It doesn’t matter what rules your step father was required (by his force) to observe during his service - legally it’s not necessary. The exemption from speed limits applies to any vehicle (marked or otherwise, regardless of who owns it, whether or not it is fitted with blue lights) being used for police purposes and where observance of said limit would hinder that purpose. The same legislation also applies to vehicles being used for fire, ambulance etc purposes. There are similar provisions applying to red traffic signals and keep left signs. As I said, I don’t think there is any exemption from the motorway offside lane restrictions - although there is an exemption from the requirement for a speed limiter to be fitted. Using such tactics is not entrapment either - but that’s a whole new can of worms.
kjw21:
It’s actually the police officer themselves that’s exempt from speed limits and traffic signals not the vehicle itself - the vehicle markings/blue lights are there to highlight the vehicle and as a warning/deterrent.
The markings are not a legal requirement for an officer to use their exemption and also this exemption can be used not just in emergencies but also in order to ascertain whether an offence has been committed.
Basically it boils down to can the officer justify using the exemption I.e.
To catch up to a motorist - justified
To keep your tea warm on way back to the nick - not justified.
And yes they get the NIP through the internal mail. (Well they used to anyway)
Edited to add - I’m pretty sure (can’t recall exactly) - needs have blue lights as a minimum to pull someone over, as without them the person being stopped has a reasonable excuse not to stop for the officer.
This all might have changed as I’m massively out of date now.
It’s not the officer who is exempt - it is the purpose for which the vehicle is being used. It is difficult to imagine a situation where it might apply, but it is possible for a non-police member of the public to use this exemption. I’m thinking here of some highly improbable situation where a PC has arrested (say) a murder suspect and is restraining him on the ground but instructs a passing driver to “follow that car” (which contains another suspect) and call in to say where it goes. It’s never going to happen in real life, but it is arguable that the statutory exemption would apply.
@roymondo - surely in that situation it is the officer weighing up the justification for a member of the public to act and making the request? Justified I’m sure but are they actually exempt?
If it were the officer himself that got in the car, the exemption would follow him to that vehicle? Or in fact any vehicle, so isn’t what I said correct in that it’s the officer that holds the exemption not the vehicle?
(I’m going off distant memory so stand to be corrected)
looks like the inside lane is going to run off somewhere soon making it a 2+1 and happy days all round if you want to pass the elephant race in front of you…obviously your allowed in lane 3 with the must make boat button enabled and take your chance the rest of the time…
kjw21: @roymondo - surely in that situation it is the officer weighing up the justification for a member of the public to act and making the request? Justified I’m sure but are they actually exempt?
If it were the officer himself that got in the car, the exemption would follow him to that vehicle? Or in fact any vehicle, so isn’t what I said correct in that it’s the officer that holds the exemption not the vehicle?
(I’m going off distant memory so stand to be corrected)
No - I’m wrong. But not because the exemption goes with the officer (it does not, it goes with the purpose for which the vehicle is being used) but because the law has been changed so that it only applies if the driver has been trained in high speed driving or is driving while undergoing such a course. So in the contrived circumstances I described the driver would not be able to use the exemption from speed limits (unless he just happened to have had the training!). Sorry about that - it’s what comes from being “out of the loop” for 10 years!
smokinbarrels:
Not sure if this is legal or not? What does Trucknet think?
Then again, it could be just after a junction (hence the distance sign) and the truck on the right could have been waiting for the one in the middle to move over before he could pull in. Depends how far from the junction this is - the exemption doesn’t last forever.
smokinbarrels:
Not sure if this is legal or not? What does Trucknet think?
Then again, it could be just after a junction (hence the distance sign) and the truck on the right could have been waiting for the one in the middle to move over before he could pull in. Depends how far from the junction this is - the exemption doesn’t last forever.
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The white dotted lines are of equal length so any lanes for separate junctions would have either finished or not yet started.
Nothing at all if it’s an A-road, likewise if it’s a 4 (or more lane) Motorway. If it’s a 2-lane Motorway or dual carriageway, you could be looking at up to 2 years’ chokey or an unlimited fine.
