Emergency vehicles are vehicles such as those operated by the police, fire departments, or emergency medical services. Although the people driving these vehicles save countless lives, they may also cause accidents when responding to the scene of an emergency.
According to Tennessee Emergency Vehicle Statutes, emergency vehicles do not have to follow general traffic laws while responding to emergencies, and all other vehicles must yield the roadway to them. These laws allow emergency vehicles to do things such as drive through red lights or ignore the speed limit.
Despite seemingly having free reign of the roadways, emergency vehicle operators can rely on these laws only in particular situations. For one, the emergency vehicle must actually be responding to some form of emergency. Additionally, the emergency vehicle must have both its sirens and its emergency lights turned on for these laws to apply.
Even when they comply with these requirements, emergency vehicle drivers cannot always rely on these statutes to absolve them of liability for an accident. Drivers of emergency vehicles still have a duty to exercise due care when responding to emergencies. Specifically, the driver of an emergency vehicle has a duty to drive with due regard for the safety of others. The Emergency Vehicle Statutes will not protect an emergency vehicle driver when their actions display a reckless disregard for the safety of others.
The most common types of accidents involving an emergency vehicle include:
- Accidents involving passenger cars and police officers responding to a call
- Accidents involving automobiles and ambulances going to the scene of an emergency or transporting patients to the hospital
- Accidents involving police officers chasing a suspect which results in an accident with another automobile
- Accidents with firetrucks responding to a fire or accident scene
If you have been injured by a fire truck, ambulance, or police car in an automobile accident, it is important to be aware that Tennessee law states, even if emergency vehicles are using their lights and sirens, they are not relieved from driving with due regard for the safety for all persons using the highway. Specifically, a driver of an emergency vehicle is not protected by the law if the driver acts with either knowledge that serious injury to another will probably result or with reckless disregard for the possible results. Tennessee law establishes that a question to be asked by either a judge or a jury is, “What would a reasonable, careful emergency driver do under all the circumstances, including that of the emergency?”
Collisions with police cars, fire trucks, or ambulances are especially dangerous. This is because often, while responding to a call, police officers, ambulance drivers, and firefighters are driving at high speed in response to a call. However, the failure of emergency response personnel to drive with due regard for the safety of everyone on the road can result in serious injuries or the death of other motorists.
