40k when passing emergency vehicle with flashing lights

Micka · Member

40k when passing emergency vehicle with flashing lights

PeterX · Senior Member

Appears to be correct for NSW

roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/slow-down-for-emergency-vehicles/index.html

www.google.com.au/search

PeterX · Senior Member

www.qt.com.au/news/the-big-issue-with-controversial-40kmh-road-rule-f/3513209/

Whenarewethere · Guru

You are right, 40kph. South Australia 25kph!

I can't recall any advertising on Radio or TV. Also had people almost run into me.

Just a reminder on 1 & 1.5 metres for cyclists, next to no advertising on that either!

Knight · Senior Member

Micka wrote:
Looking for others thoughts on this rule? I was travelling over Easter in a110k zone dual lanes when we came across a police car with flashing lights on side of highway booking a fellow motorist. Given it was a double demerit point period and a decent fine for exceeding the speed limit, I slowed to around the 40k mark, this resulted in me getting quite a few blasts from following motorist and a few abusive language calls and finger signs.
Question is an I doing the right thing given the current road rules or should I just go with the flow given it was a $110k zone? This occurred in Northern NSW.

That is the correct procedure to slow to 40 kmh when passing a stationary emergency vehicle, police, fire brigade and ambulance. I understand that in SA the speed limit is 25 kmh.

It is a ridiculous law and can create dangerous situations mainly because too many drivers are impatient fools. Another example, when approaching roadworks and signs require vehicles to slow down to 80, 60 and then 40 kmh most drivers ignore until blocked by vehicles merging into one lane.

Jaahn · Guru

Hi smile

Yes the minster says BS but who pays the fines if you get booked.

Yesterday I was out with a learner driver and a police car went past us at an intersection with the flashing lights and then stopped on the side of the road. We went past slowly and after a while the police car drove off slowly with the lights still going and went off a side street. Why ?? because the officer thought it was a good idea I guess !! Looking for somebody or ? The cars coming up the street keep rapidly slowing down but is was a 60 Ks zone.

Jaahn

Whenarewethere · Guru

I have found cruise control probably at its most useful for road work speed limits! Stops your speed from gradually increasing.

I can't remember where it was last year but it was a very long 40 work zone with no workers, it went on forever with a very impatient person pushing me on, my car on cruise control based on the GPS 40kph.

At the end of the 40 zone behind a tree the police with speed camera!

2weis · Senior Member

when this law was introduced into SA the police decided to show they took it seriously and one of the first people booked was a QLD holiday maker
as a result of not knowing the NEW law she was booked for a relative high speed over the 40 kph,but legal speed for the road
apart from the fine (quite substantial)she had to have her vehicle (wizz bang) returned to qld find accomadation while she waited
fly home and resit her driving licence, she is still paying for this error now
while we all know ignorance of the law is no excuse how is an interstate tourist to find out this type of information

this is also to let people know of the full consequences that occour

vince56 · Senior Member

I keep saying it..... someone is going to end up with a truck in their back window with this law, it is dumb!
I have had two close shaves, one a truck who struggled to slow to 40 behind me, the other an abusive women who had to slow behind me, obviously increasing her travel time by a few seconds (and obviously ignorant of the law).

If the main carriageway is dangerous due to fast traffic why not instruct the offending driver to continue on to the next exit where a safe site can be found, what is the hurry to pull them over on the freeway?
As an ex-cop I can say that police are instructed to park behiind the offender's car in a staggered formation, ie, the cop car creating a safety zone whilst they are at the offending car's window.
I have never seen a situation where a traffic violation couldn't be sorted further down the road in a safer place!
Change this dumb law!

Whenarewethere · Guru

2weis wrote:
when this law was introduced into SA the police decided to show they took it seriously and one of the first people booked was a QLD holiday maker
as a result of not knowing the NEW law she was booked for a relative high speed over the 40 kph,but legal speed for the road
apart from the fine (quite substantial)she had to have her vehicle (wizz bang) returned to qld find accomadation while she waited
fly home and resit her driving licence, she is still paying for this error now
while we all know ignorance of the law is no excuse how is an interstate tourist to find out this type of information

this is also to let people know of the full consequences that occour

Each state in Australia is actually a different planet, the opposite of Europe!

Eaglemax · Guru

I think where interstate laws differ, large signs at borders need to spell it out eg "40kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"

Dougwe · Chief one feather

YEP! $40kmh it is Micka. If you are in NSW as we speak there is double demerit points and a hefty fine over Easter so take it easy. That applies to even if you are from interstate and get caught doing the wrong thing on NSW roads, you still lose the double points.

Not only all that but as well even I just got back from Young shops here in NSW and Police everywhere checking motorists. I got pulled in for a breath test on way in and AGAIN on way out, same cop. I mentioned it and he said hang on, came back and did a drug test instead on me with a smile on his dial. I reckon every Police officer in Young was out and about.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

Hewy54 · Senior Member

Eaglemax wrote:
I think where interstate laws differ, large signs at borders need to spell it out eg "40kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"

Great idea, but should read "25 kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"

Tony Bev · Guru

I have also seen other motorists only just stopping behind me, when I slow to 40/25 KPH, depending on which State I am in
I wonder what would happen to their insurance claim, if the police report mentioned that they were driving without due care and attention, or words to that effect

I think that it may be a police blitze, this Easter

I live in a quiet area, (not a lot of trafic), 11 am Good Friday morning, went through a police blow in the bag check

My last beer was about six weeks ago, while I was in Victoria

I politely (with a smile), told the lady police officer, that as I was not a drinker, her machine should show about minus seven, if it was working correctly

After blowing in the bag, I cheekly asked what the numbers were, she told me (with a cheeky grin), minus seven

So there we have it, the police (in my opinion), are as human as the rest of us, and like the rest of us, probably recriprocate in the manner that we/they are spoken to

Whenarewethere · Guru

Hewy54 wrote:
Eaglemax wrote:
I think where interstate laws differ, large signs at borders need to spell it out eg "40kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"
Great idea, but should read "25 kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"

If the 40kph / 25 kph was genuinely about safety, signs would have been at the borders from day one.

Also an A4 attached to every car & licence renewal notice as well.

It is plainly obvious that this is another revenue raising exercise first & foremost.

Where is the public awareness program, I haven't seen one!

Hewy54 · Senior Member

Whenarewethere wrote:
Hewy54 wrote:
Eaglemax wrote:
I think where interstate laws differ, large signs at borders need to spell it out eg "40kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"
Great idea, but should read "25 kph limit past emergency vehicles in SA"
If the 40kph / 25 kph was genuinely about safety, signs would have been at the borders from day one.
Also an A4 attached to every car & licence renewal notice as well.
It is plainly obvious that this is another revenue raising exercise first & foremost.
Where is the public awareness program, I haven't seen one!

Obviously revenue raising.

Who cares about the safety of our emergency services operators anyway?

What a stupid comment!!!!!

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

There are dozens of driving laws that vary from state to state.
If you took the time to read them all as you crossed the border you would probably crash off the side of the road.
It is YOUR responsibility to know what the laws are wherever you drive, no on elses. Ignorance is no excuse.
Cheers,
Peter

Long Weekend · Guru

Like Micka I slowed down to 40km/h going down the Hume in NSW last January. And like Micka I also had horns blown and fists waving from others behind me.

When the inevitable happens with a serious rear ender right in front of the emergency vehicle who is going to get the blame: the driver slowing down when it clearly wasn't safe to do so, or the one running into the vehicle in front - who can claim they didn't see the emergency vehicle and had no idea why the vehicle in front suddenly slammed on the brakes.

Murray

-- Edited by Long Weekend on Saturday 20th of April 2019 03:21:40 PM

Recoup · Guru

Not a bad idea but, it is a stupid law , when you come to a 40 km zone you get plenty of warnings , but when you see a flashing red light , no warnig, just hit the brakes and hope nobody hits you in the back . cheers

blaze · Guru

if you don't see the flashing lights in time to slow down you should hand your licence in, oh I forgot they might be on a blind corner, well you should/most likely only doing 60kmh so slowing to 40 would take not much more than foot off the throttle. it is so easy to come up with excuses for inattentive driving
cheers
blaze

Recoup · Guru

blaze wrote:
if you don't see the flashing lights in time to slow down you should hand your licence in, oh I forgot they might be on a blind corner, well you should/most likely only doing 60kmh so slowing to 40 would take not much more than foot off the throttle. it is so easy to come up with excuses for inattentive driving
cheers
blaze

I don't have any problems seeing the flashing lights , it is the one behind me , I block his view with my van , cry

Whenarewethere · Guru

The answer is to drive at 80 kph on the Hume Highway etc so you don't have a nasty concertina effect.

Flashing lights over a crest off the side of the highway back to Sydney. I was really lucky that I had more than the 2 seconds standard distance behind me with the following car.

A death trap waiting to happen!

blaze · Guru

Recoup wrote:
blaze wrote:
if you don't see the flashing lights in time to slow down you should hand your licence in, oh I forgot they might be on a blind corner, well you should/most likely only doing 60kmh so slowing to 40 would take not much more than foot off the throttle. it is so easy to come up with excuses for inattentive driving
cheers
blaze
I don't have any problems seeing the flashing lights , it is the one behind me , I block his view with my van ,

he is to close to you if he cant read the road in front of you

cheers

blaze

Eaglemax · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
There are dozens of driving laws that vary from state to state.
If you took the time to read them all as you crossed the border you would probably crash off the side of the road.
It is YOUR responsibility to know what the laws are wherever you drive, no on elses. Ignorance is no excuse.
Cheers,
Peter

Peter

I've been studying road regulations for over 40 years as part of my professions pre retirement.

I was aware of the 40kph emergency services drive by law when many weren't and have adhered to it on the Hume, our nearby freeway while others buzz past doing their 115kph.

But as pointed out it is 25kph in SA. So, if I'd visited SA prior to 5 minutes ago and I did my 40 kph drive by...I could have got booked.

What your rigid statement suggests is there is no room for human error. In regards to the law there isnt, in regards to human behaviour there is.

...it's called making mistakes. Only humans make mistakes.

My point is, do you read every road traffic regulation in a state you are visiting ? If you say "yes" then you are one of less than 2% of drivers most of which are police.

A bit unrealistic in my view.

Whenarewethere · Guru

The real problem is that too few people are aware of the change in road rules.

It's the same with the 1.5 metre gap rule for >60kph. It is a real problem on a road near me which is 80kph & truck loads of cyclists.

Narrow road & cyclists in both directions & uninformed people tailgating in both directions.

More public awareness programs needed! Not difficult stuff!

TheHeaths · Guru

Been past 3 lots of Police with flashing lights in SA over the past 2 days of the holiday. 2 were on an Expressway, and one on a normal country road. Was unable to slow immediately to 25 kms, but it was obvious I was slowing as we went past. Down to 40 - 45 kms in all cases, viewed by officers as I went past, and in NO instance was there an issue.

I maintain that as long as you are making an effort, MOST officers will be reasonable in their policing of the law. My opinion, and I may be mistaken, but experience with the law over the past 12 months here has been no different. Incidentally, have had no issues with motorists around me and any adverse hand or hooter signals.

Recoup · Guru

blaze wrote:
Recoup wrote:
blaze wrote:
if you don't see the flashing lights in time to slow down you should hand your licence in, oh I forgot they might be on a blind corner, well you should/most likely only doing 60kmh so slowing to 40 would take not much more than foot off the throttle. it is so easy to come up with excuses for inattentive driving
cheers
blaze
I don't have any problems seeing the flashing lights , it is the one behind me , I block his view with my van ,
he is to close to you if he cant read the road in front of you
cheers
blaze

I give up , you win smile cheers

dabbler · Guru

It's all very well to suggest these laws are dangerous but are following drivers really paying sufficient attention to the road, conditions and traffic when the vehicle in front brakes suddenly and they don't or can't react quickly enough ? It's our responsibility to expect the unexpected whatever might happen to the root cause. These laws are intended to make emergency services personnel safer. Surely no-one thinks that is a poor idea ?

Whenarewethere · Guru

I can see that fully automated cars will be easily fooled by idiots who want to create an incident with something as simple as a flashing light.

dabbler · Guru

Autonomous vehicles rely on a host of different sensors to make "single" decisions. It's more than likely emergency vehicles will include transmitters that advice all nearby vehicles and yhey respond accordingly. In some places it might include a redirection, in others a staged slow-down. Autonomous vehicles need to be prank-proof before they will be acceptable.