complying with traffic lights (including pedestrian controlled crossings and red X matrix signs)Įven where a statutory exemption exists, the police driver must always give due regard to their driving manner and behaviour.These exempt emergency vehicles driven by qualified and authorised personnel from: These exemptions are set out in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 and the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982. Qualified and authorised members of statutory services and/or other organisations prescribed by the Department of Transport (DfT) have specific exemptions to lawfully undertake their duties. The main Act is the Road Traffic Act 1988. There are various aspects of legislation which cover police driving and in particular response driving. The term ‘police vehicle’ is used generically where possible and applies to any vehicle used for a policing purpose. The use of the terms ‘drive’, ‘driver’ or ‘driving’ in this document apply equally to ‘ride’, ‘rider’ or ‘riding’. The development and maintenance of police driving-related curricula and supporting resources is the responsibility of the College of Policing, with support from the national Police Driving Strategic Group, (chaired by the NPCC police driving lead) and the Police Driving Practitioner Group. This guidance is developed collaboratively by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Police Driving Lead.
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Use of legal exemptions are an everyday occurrence for drivers and, where applied, the driver must be able to readily and proportionately justify their actions in the pursuance of their duty.
The public, police officers and police staff need assurances that, where necessary, driving incidents are investigated with a fair and balanced approach to the circumstances, taking into account the driver’s training and experience and the relevant legal requirements while applying the NDM. There may, however, be occurrences where a police driver’s behaviour or their decision making is called into question. The national decision model (NDM) underpins all decision making for operational officers, planners, advisers and commanders, allowing them to manage their response to a situation in a reasonable and proportionate manner. Police drivers should take responsibility for conducting themselves professionally and setting an example in the way they drive or ride. As such, all driving activity must be carefully considered and managed by the force.
Introductionĭriving a police vehicle (especially a marked/liveried one) will inherently result in exposure to areas of high-risk activity, nearly always conducted in view of the general public. This authorised professional practice (APP) relates to the use of police vehicles (including those on hire or lease) for operational purposes.