Emergency Vehicles - 22 January 2008
Recent feedback from some of our officers has revealed that often drivers are confused about what to do when they see an emergency vehicle approaching from behind displaying warning lights and sirens. Police and other emergency vehicles often face the need to get to incident locations quickly whilst taking due care on approach. Our way of making all road users aware of this urgency is to activate warning devices common to all emergency vehicles. When in the path of an approaching police vehicle under lights and sirens, drivers must move out of the way as soon as it is safe to do so. This should be done by slowing your vehicle calmly and steadily whilst moving your vehicle to the left hand side of the road or off the road completely, clearing a path for the emergency vehicle.
Under the Australian Road Rules, drivers are obligated to give way to a police vehicle or other emergency vehicles displaying warning lights and sirens. Failure to do so may result in a $159 fine and a loss of three demerit points from your licence. If police have activated warning lights because they wish to speak with you, then the police vehicle will follow your vehicle to the left-hand side of the road and pull in behind your stopped vehicle. I ask you to be aware of police and emergency vehicles on the road, as one day it might be you that we need to help in a hurry.
Michael Phelan
Chief Police Officer