Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Apr 1995

Vol. 451 No. 8

Adjournment Debate. - Emergency Vehicles' Traffic Code.

Miss Quill

I thank the Chair, for selecting this topic and the Minister for coming into the House to reply.

This matter arises from a recent District Court decision in which a District Court judge, speaking about emergency service drivers, stated, "They have no legal right to travel at excessive speed, overtake or crash traffic lights". He went on to state, "All of them, like any other driver, are bound by the rules of the road, they have no right to ignore traffic lights". Anyone who has had occasion to call out an ambulance in the event of a person having a heart attack or an accident at home, on the road or at work will be horrified by this decision because in all such cases time is of the essence and minutes, even seconds lost can sometimes lead to loss of life.

Hospitals and health boards are constantly thinking of ways and means to shorten the response time for their ambulances in expensive efforts to save lives. Any citizen who has had occasion to call a fire brigade in an emergency will be enraged at the prospect of a fire brigade vehicle having to take its place in a traffic jam while fire devours either person, property or both. The sorry spectacle of a Garda car compelled to observe the 30 mile per hour speed limit while giving chase to a suspect or criminal careering along the road at say, 60, 70 or 80 miles per hour reduces the law to ridicule.

This court decision makes a nonsense of common sense. All right minded citizens would confer on such drivers in such circumstances the moral right to use their discretion in terms of the traffic code, consistent of course with the safety of all other road users. I do not know of any citizen who would wish the driver of an ambulance, fire brigade vehicle or Garda car to be put in a position in which he or she had to face prosecution because of a conscientious effort to save the lives of others. I understood that provision for such circumstances was put in place when amending the section of the Road Traffic Act dealing with exemptions for emergency vehicles. Doubt has now been cast on that matter and it is of the utmost importance that it is clarified.

If the right exists, the Minister should confirm that and communicate it clearly to all concerned. If, on the other hand, the Minister's advice is that such a right does not exist, I appeal to him to introduce without delay an appropriate amendment to the Road Traffic Act to put that vital right in place.

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Howlin)

I thank Deputy Quill for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to clarify the relevant traffic regulations and to clear up possible misunderstandings about the position of emergency vehicles and the traffic code.

I should stress that I have no specific information about the particular court case to which the Deputy refers. Neither have I specific details of the reported comments of the District Court judge regarding the position of emergency vehicles where traffic laws are concerned. Like most people, I have only read reports of these matters in the newspapers over the past week. In any event, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on any particular court case or on comments attributed to a District Court judge. However, I am glad to take this opportunity to clarify the traffic laws in relation to the use of emergency vehicles.

There is a range of exemptions from traffic rules and regulations for drivers of emergency vehicles, that is, drivers of fire brigade vehicles, ambulances and Garda Síochána vehicles. Drivers of these vehicles are exempt from general and ordinary speed limits, special speed limits, and the built-up area speed limit. These exemptions are provided for in the regulations which prescribe the respective speed limits.

Apart from speed limits, there are a variety of exemptions for emergency vehicles from ‘road traffic rules and regulations. The Road Traffic General Bye-Laws (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 — S.I. No. 63 of 1993 — introduced a number of specific exemptions from prohibitions and restrictions imposed in traffic by-laws. These exemptions are wide-ranging and give drivers of emergency vehicles the flexibility they need, in so far as traffic rules are concerned, to do their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The exemptions from traffic rules are, of course, subject to the qualification that the use of the vehicle will not endanger the safety of road users. The House will appreciate that no driver could be allowed drive dangerously or without consideration for other road users. All road users have a duty of care and this duty of care on drivers of emergency vehicles is an essential element of the exemptions. I should add, however, that I fully appreciate the responsibility and care taken by the drivers of all classes of emergency vehicles for the safety of other road users, and their professional approach to their respective jobs.

I am satisfied that the various exemptions are operating satisfactorily. They give the emergency services the flexibility they need while at the same time retaining a necessary level of protection for other road users.

Taking the Deputy's advice and to eliminate any confusion that may have arisen, following the recent media reports of the court case to which Deputy Quill referred, I have made arrangements to remind the various emergency services of the provisions in the statutory instruments. I hope this will clear up any misunderstandings which may exist regarding the legal position of emergency vehicles vis-à-vis speed limits and the traffic code in general.