Can police cruisers break the speed limit without lights/siren?

[mmouse]

Yesterday I was on the DVP obvserving the 90 limit (more or less) when a police cruiser speeds past everyone in the right lane doing 120-130 WITH NO siren or flashing lights on.

I am curious if they are legally allowed to do this? If they are responding to a call or in pursuit of whatever surely they should put their little lights on.

 

[ruck]

Yes they are because they are the cops.
Who's going to report them?

 

[MojoRisin']

Yes they can, I bitch about that to my neigbour who thinks Cops are gods gift to this earth....excuse me (PUKE!) and he says that its necessary sometimes as sirens might give them away if they are trying to get somewhere quick but dont want to give themselves away to the criminal. Now I respect and appreciate a policepersons work but i just hate Cops that think they are above all else and act that way. This guy I know is one of the worst hypocrites i know and breaks the law and cheats on his wife and is just a plain dickhead yet because hes a cop he feels and act sooooo superior. Thats why i love pissin him off..legally of course

 

[ruck]

you see the jackasses all the time....i even saw a cop car speeding in the right shoulder....with no light or sirens

Actually I can vouch for this kind of action. They are usually on a call to go somewhere quickly. If they are on the shoulder, they don't need sirens or lights. Nobody is supposed to be driving on the shoulder expect for broken down vehicles and emergency crew.

 

[chris123]

Actually no. They are governed by the rules of the road. Good luck in issuing a speeding ticket, though.
What really pees me off are Cops putting on the party lights to go through intersections on reds, then shutting them off. Abuse of privilge and unneccessarily dangerous, no?
Also parking in no parking zones, normally in front of down town diners.

 

[joebear]

Yesterday I was on the DVP obvserving the 90 limit (more or less) when a police cruiser speeds past everyone in the right lane doing 120-130 WITH NO siren or flashing lights on.

I am curious if they are legally allowed to do this? If they are responding to a call or in pursuit of whatever surely they should put their little lights on.

THe answer is yes, as long as there are in a lawful execution of their duty, otherwise no for any other purpose.

 

[vollendam]

no they are not

offficers must maintain speed limits just the same as public . also they cannot speed even to fast chasing someone head office has to approve the chase. i once won a case because i made an illegal left turn he did the same and pulled me over ....more charges had followed but i wont talk about that . any how in court my laywer got him to admit that he had also done the same and what he did was illegal upon pulling me over , anyhow there were athoer things but i won the case off all charges . u see they think they can break all the laws but court had him tongue tied in the end

 

[oldjones]

This kinda question can quickly sink to Clintonisms: "…depends what you mean by allowed". There's a law against it. It's a dumb thing to do, their superiors likely have told them not to do it, and if there was a specific mention of an exemption in the law, some TERBian would have quoted it. So I'd bet: No, they're not allowed.

But as was said: Who's going to pull them over, and issue a ticket, or even tell the sergeant, and given the range of plausible excuses the constable could offer, what traffic court judge would convict if there was a ticket? So I'd say: Yes they're allowed.

If it was unsafe, you could and should phone the local cops. We don't want cops thinking they're above the law, especially if they're a danger. Undoubtedly they've all been told since their first day "the public will notice every bad thing you do, and resent it", which no good cop wants. Who knows, maybe they've been just waiting for the bad apple doing the driving to get one more black mark so they can bounce him or her.

 

[Gawd]

They can park where ever they want to... on the curb, in the middle of the road, on sidewalks, fire lanes, ambulance bays, etc.

What you should be asking is if media/television vehicles are allowed to do the same... since they do!

 

[Pedro Sanchez]

offficers must maintain speed limits just the same as public . also they cannot speed even to fast chasing someone head office has to approve the chase. i once won a case because i made an illegal left turn he did the same and pulled me over ....more charges had followed but i wont talk about that . any how in court my laywer got him to admit that he had also done the same and what he did was illegal upon pulling me over , anyhow there were athoer things but i won the case off all charges . u see they think they can break all the laws but court had him tongue tied in the end

Not only are you an idiot, but you're a babbling idiot.

 

[red]

my brother's a cop and he likes to drive over old people at crosswalks

 

[red]

I told him people may forgive that- its the backing up over the body a few times that may rankle

 

[covered-one]

speeding cops

I was riding my motorcycle down the 401 and a local cop from my town sped by me. I sped up and followed behnd him and he was doing 180. When I got to where I was going a called local PD and talked to the staff sgt. THe cop was going to provincial jail to pick up a prisoner. He asked how I knew how fast he was going ???.. I said if 180 was ok for them it's great for me too....

 

[thompo69]

The actual law

Section 128(13) of the Highway Traffic Act states that:

(13) The speed limits prescribed by this section or by a regulation or by-law passed under this section or set under section 128.0.1 do not apply to,

(a) a fire department vehicle as defined in section 61 while proceeding to a fire or responding to, but not returning from, a fire alarm or other emergency call;

(b) a motor vehicle while used by a person in the lawful performance of his or her duties as a police officer; or

(c) an ambulance as defined in section 61 while responding to an emergency call or being used to transport a patient or injured person in an emergency situation. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 128 (13).


It is only when an emergency vehicle is passing through an intersection in contravention of the law that it is required to have both lights and siren going (see section 144 of the HTA).

 

[rbf]

Middle Lane Mortgage Society

120-130 in the right lane -- well, that's because just about all the slow drivers are in the middle lane and next to nobody's in the right lane.

 

[Keebler Elf]

If it really bugs you, try to get the plate # and phone it in. If the cop's supervisor gets a bunch of calls about illegal driving, he'll probably do something about it.

But if you're not willing to do anything but bitch about it, save your breath.

 

[21pro]

I shit you not, but an old neighbour of mine who was a cop came home one day with a speeding ticket.

The funny thing was that he told me that he had to beg the officer to give it to him. I guess cops don't normally issue tickets to other cops or something I asked why he wanted the ticket... he said it would make a good framed artifact to put up on his wall in his basement bar.

 

[baltimoron]

(b) a motor vehicle while used by a person in the lawful performance of his or her duties as a police officer; or

What if the cop is not wearing his uniform? I've seen cops driving their cruisers while wearing civilian clothes, parking their cruisers outside their apartment for the night (like it's their personal car), using the cruiser to pick up dry cleaning, buy groceries, etc.

 

[thompo69]

What if the cop is not wearing his uniform? I've seen cops driving their cruisers while wearing civilian clothes, parking their cruisers outside their apartment for the night (like it's their personal car), using the cruiser to pick up dry cleaning, buy groceries, etc.

Well, whether a cop is in uniform or not, he's still a cop. Some cops are plain clothes, and some cop cars are unmarked. The issue isn't how they are dressed, or what the car looks like, it is whether they are carrying out lawful duties. This would not include picking-up their dry cleaning over their lunch, but would include them running down the guy they see robbing the store down the street from the dry cleaners. As for what's up with them parking their cruisers at their places, that's an issue to raise with the local detahcment.