Lights & Sirens when speeding?

[sharky959]

Aren't police supposed to have their lights and sirens on when they go over the speed limit? Cops often shoot through my neighborhood super fast without either lights or sirens and it seems like an accident waiting to happen. I'm sure they know what they're doing, but some knucklehead is bound to stroll in front of their car while they're doing that and get squished, and that's bound to trigger a lot of paperwork.

[BigDogatPlay]

It will indeed trigger a lot of paperwork if that happens. And if the officer involved is found to be in the wrong it can have career impacting implications.

There is no requirement that an officer use lights and siren. VC 21055 is the exemption to the rules of the road for authorized emergency vehicles. In paragraph (b) of that section it indicates sounding the siren "as may be reasonably necessary".

The companion section VC 21056 is where the real meat of the exemption is.....

21056. Section 21055 does not relieve the driver of a vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway, nor protect him from the consequences of an arbitrary exercise of the privileges granted in that section.

It comes down to due care and caution still must be exercised. And some agencies have pretty detailed code 3 policies that command a higher level of action when responding to an emergency than the Vehicle Code stipulates. Agency policy can always be more restrictive than the underlying statutory law, and in code 3 crashes both factors will be weighed.

[ldsnet]

If it seems excessive and repeating bahavior, have a chat with the shift Sargent for your area. He (or she) will probably be very interested to hear her officers are bombing through a neighborhood street on a daily basis.

If the department gives you the run-around instead of a path to the Sargent, then you can file a formal complaint. Car numbers (on the roof and usually back bumper or trunk lid depending on the department) and dates and times will help greatly in determining who is doing this.

[verapakill]

Many departments have a policy that you have to be approved by a WC to go code. There are many times when you are not approved to go but you still have to get there in a hurry so unless needed the dont turn on their lights or siren.

[9mmepiphany]

If you'd even been in a squad car running with the siren blaring, you'd understand why a lot of officers prefer not to unless they need it to clear traffic

[ksleo204]

I can't say about out there, but here you're not exempt from anything without your emergency equipment running! Even then you still have to give due regard to public safety when running hot. I'm not going to say it doesn't happen, but if you were to get in a wreck or hit a pedestrian, well you would be in a lot of trouble. However, even with everything running...you still have people that just drive along like nothings happening behind them! It's mostly an issue of the fact that alot of people just don't pay attention to what the heck is going on around them!

I agree with a post above though. If this is the case, then I'd be getting with supervisor and the shift supervisor is the best place to start. If that doesn't work go higher in the chain until somebody will listen. However, it really won't do much good if you just go and say that the police are speeding. I would definately recommend that you at least have a car number or something to go with your story, if you really want the issue resolved.

[fullrearview]

SOME times it's much safer to leave them off... People do stupid things when they see the lights... Sirens are pretty much useless until the cop goes by or if your a ped.

YMMV

[Tacobandit]

There are scenarios where a cop will speed and NOT run lights and sirens, if you are responding to a bank robbery or a violent crime they will often cut out the lights and sirens blocks before arriving as the siren will alert the suspect of PD responding, so they might use it intermittently or maybe they are trying to catch a violator, or they might be responding to an officer assistance call etc.

[sharky959]

Thanks for your answers. I thought it was a requirement, but it sounds like it depends on the situation. I trust their judgement. I'm glad that they didn't run the sirens every time they blow by my place at night (FD loves to make their presence known for miles), and the full red and blue lights probably aren't necessary, but I think it would be appropriate to have the intermittent yellow lights on just so people know to get out of the way. From inside my apartment, I can tell a police car by the sound of the engine, but a pedestrian or driver that is not paying attention could have a very bad day. Stay safe.

[thefiveoh]

Anytime the rules of the road are going to be violated, a peace officer must have both lights and siren activated.

It is not code 3 driving unless both the lights and siren are on. Agencies have lost law suits on the basis of a police officer driving with only lights on and causing an accident.

Minus the presence of a situation requiring code 3 driving and/or enforcement action, a peace officer is required to follow the rules of the road. My agency, for example, will issue write ups when an officer flagrantly violates the rules of the road without reason.

[Mr310]

If you'd even been in a squad car running with the siren blaring, you'd understand why a lot of officers prefer not to unless they need it to clear traffic

I didn't think it was bad at all. We had the windows down, too.

[socalblue]

Anytime the rules of the road are going to be violated, a peace officer must have both lights and siren activated.

It is not code 3 driving unless both the lights and siren are on. Agencies have lost law suits on the basis of a police officer driving with only lights on and causing an accident.

Minus the presence of a situation requiring code 3 driving and/or enforcement action, a peace officer is required to follow the rules of the road. My agency, for example, will issue write ups when an officer flagrantly violates the rules of the road without reason.

Actually not. CVC 21055 (b) requires a forward facing red light & sounding the siren as reasonably necessary.

Of course "reasonably necessary" is wide open to interposition ...

[SVT-40]

Anytime the rules of the road are going to be violated, a peace officer must have both lights and siren activated.

It is not code 3 driving unless both the lights and siren are on. Agencies have lost law suits on the basis of a police officer driving with only lights on and causing an accident.

Minus the presence of a situation requiring code 3 driving and/or enforcement action, a peace officer is required to follow the rules of the road. My agency, for example, will issue write ups when an officer flagrantly violates the rules of the road without reason.

Wrong......

Seriously, then tell me just how do you pace a speeding vehicle? Kind of hard with your lights and siren on.....

Those who are not LEO's should really refrain from tossing in their opinions here. This is not the off topic forum.

[BigDogatPlay]

Wrong......

Seriously, then tell me just how do you pace a speeding vehicle? Kind of hard with your lights and siren on.....

Those who are not LEO's should really refrain from tossing in their opinions here. This is not the off topic forum.

Perhaps the poster (who says "my agency" in his post) has the misfortune to work in an agency with an extremely restrictive code 3 policy and that is his only frame of reference? Benefit of the doubt, if nothing else.

You and I know the VC says sound the siren as reasonably necessary, and we've always used our discretion on firing up the pretty lights, but some agencies do take the all or nothing approach. I made 95% of my stops with just the excuse me lights going to the rear and forward steady red / blue on, very rarely did I actually fire up the rest of the lights and enable the siren. Rolling code I often would only put it all on at intersections unless the conditions warranted otherwise. But around where I live every stop I see the switch is slid all the way over and all the stuff is on these days.

Sirens.... I was never so happy as when the mandate came down that removed the speaker from the roof and put it on the front bumper. Made it possible to actually drive code with the window down.

[Databyter]

Wrong......

Seriously, then tell me just how do you pace a speeding vehicle? Kind of hard with your lights and siren on.....

Those who are not LEO's should really refrain from tossing in their opinions here. This is not the off topic forum.

There are some exceptions, but not too many.

The opinions being tossed are largely accurate and informative and on the topic of the OP's question. He's not talking about pacing, he is talking about speeding.