5a) Emergency Response

Emergency Driving:

• You may disregard certain traffic laws. When doing so, you must always exercise extreme caution to reduce the risk to civilians, other government employees responding emergently, and yourself.

• You should keep their emergency lights on, unless there is a valid reason not to.

• You should generally keep your siren on while driving through areas where traffic or pedestrians could interfere with the response

  • This is especially true during responses in narrow areas, around corners, through intersections and areas with sidewalks

• You must not break any other laws (such as 9.8 Reckless Endangerment), that could risk injury or death to others; unless they are facing a direct threat to their own life.

• When responding to an emergency, you may break traffic laws only if it’s done safely. You must:

  • Slow down at red lights to check for oncoming vehicles or pedestrians

  • Ensure intersections are clear when passing stop or yield signs

  • Maintain a speed that allows enough time to react and brake if needed.

• Driving up off-ramps and down on-ramps against the natural flow of traffic should be avoided where possible; however, it is allowed in necessary emergency situations. While doing so, officers should exercise extreme caution and utilize both lights and sirens, accompanied by a reduced speed where applicable. This specific procedure applies only to going up off-ramps and down on-ramps, and not for any other scenarios.

• Driving on the wrong way of a roundabout is permitted during an emergency or pursuit if the correct lane of travel is obstructed, or if following the natural flow of traffic would result in a significant delay or loss of visual on a suspect. While doing so, officers must exercise extreme caution, utilize both lights and sirens, and maintain a reduced speed to ensure the safety of all road users. The officer remains fully responsible for any damage or injury caused by this maneuver.

• When responding to an ongoing a non-life-threatening incident or pursuit where a sufficient amount of officers is already present, you should prioritise any hazards such as road traffic collisions that pose an immediate risk to the public, such as an abandoned vehicle on a highway.

5b) Pursuing a fleeing vehicle

When pursuing a vehicle, you must:

• Call for backup over the police radio, transmitting information on:

  • Vehicle description (e.g. car model, make, color, and body kits)

  • Current location and direction (From  →  To)

  • Suspected crimes

• Keep their lights and sirens on at all times to warn the public about the chase.

Use of Force during a pursuit must be done safely, with minimal risk to the public. When using force, the following should be considered:

• Location. Using force in a crowded area with pedestrians is generally not allowed.

• When using force to stop a vehicle, use the option that represents the minimal amount of force required to stop said vehicle.