Can the police break the speed limit without blue lights?
As far as speeding is concerned, Section 87 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 says:No statutory provision imposing a speed limit on motor vehicles shall apply to any vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes, if the observance of that provision would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used on that occasion. Police vehicles, whether marked or unmarked, are exempt from virtually all road traffic laws as long as to break them is operationally necessary. What that means is dependent on the circumstances and in each case that a police driver breaches a traffic law he or she may have to justify doing so, especially if there has been an accident. Ignore all of the interjections from our USA contributors – quite clearly the laws are different out there.
