Another traffic fatality to discuss...
 

http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/...x/-/index.html

Almost 2am, police officer "looking for a drunk driver" that was reported enters intersection with his emergency lights, etc, on even though the light is red for him. He T-bones a car, killing the woman in the passenger seat, and seriously injuring the driver. The passenger had been at a bar, and called her 19 YO sister to pick her up so she'd not drive home possibly drunk.

This is inexcusable. I'm fine with emergency vehicles being able to run lights, but they need to slow/stop, and check before they do so, period. The guy should be charged with negligence, and as much as I hate lawsuits, I think my city should be reamed to the point that employees allowed to run lights are deathly afraid to do so. The ability to ignore lights when absolutely needed comes with the responsibility not to kill innocents.

I see cops and firefighters go through lights all the time during the day, but they always slow and make sure it's OK to do so. This guy probably figured the road was empty at 2am, and didn't bother to check. He should always "bother."

Iirc when on an emergency run red lights should be treated as a give way.

He probably did get lax and think nobody else would be about, but that's no excuse. :nope:

As you said, it was 2am. He probably believe the intersection cleared. But, a 0200 most bars are letting out. This was a DUI call. Not a B&E or armed robbery. Why the lights and high speed?

Here in MD the emergency vehicle must stop at intersections. Too many t-boned vehicles and hurt people.

He says the lights were on. Do we know this? Sounds to me he's trying to make excuses.

Thought it was standard procedure for emergency vehicles to slow and check at intersections even while running lites, etc... There is no excuse for this, by the look of the wreck, the officer was going fast.

Yes, emergency vehicles are only allowed to break road rules if it is safe to do so.
Lights and sirens are only warning signals not drive as you like passes.

True, but there are department established rules concerning certain types of road ways, intersections and types of calls dictating how to handle the response in a vehicle.

Yes, the emergency vehicles have right of way, but if you are entering an intersection at ~100kph, and the cop is going 120 or 130, there is simply no time to react. The police don't need to run lights at high speed unless they are heading to a gunfight in progress or something, and even then the handful of seconds lost by slowing to check don't matter.

The officer says his lights were on. The passenger is dead, and the other hapless driver has a spinal injury, no idea is she's even conscious.

What a terrible waste. Killed woman was in the NG, too.

Department protocol for emergency response will determine the officers future. I'm still of the mind that 120 mph is not protocol for a DUI call.

I used KPH for our friends overseas :)

That is certainly the current position/protocol regarding the emergency services in the UK.

74 mph is still very fast for a DUI call. He was probably slowing some for the intersection as well.

Yeah, I was guessing his speed, but the limit on that road varies between 40 and 55, and regular traffic usually moves about 60-65. Was a guess on my part. The other road (girl's car) is 50 mph, as I recall, and regardless, they had a green light.

Clearly from the wreck the APD truck was moving pretty fast.

Whatever the case, it is a horrible accident. I wish accidents like this did not happen.