By GREGG WYCHERLEY
Being at the wheel of an emergency vehicle does not give a driver a licence to drive unsafely, says the Auckland City police traffic manager.
Inspector George Fraser said all drivers, regardless of their occupation, were subject to the same road safety laws.
"Being at the wheel of a fire engine, a police vehicle or an ambulance does not give the driver a licence to drive unsafely or dangerously."
Mr Fraser made his comments after the conviction of a St John Ambulance officer who hit and killed a woman while he was on the way to an emergency.
Brendan McInnes was convicted in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday of careless use of a motor vehicle after he killed an 85-year-old pedestrian while driving at up to 95 km/h to a crash.
He was found not guilty on a more serious charge of dangerous driving causing death.
McInnes, aged 28, hit Mrs McGill while she was crossing Long Drive outside her St Heliers Bay home on December 22, 1999.
Since McInnes' conviction the St John Ambulance service has issued a plea for the public to get out of the way of its vehicles.
Some of its drivers have vowed not to exceed the speed limit when travelling to emergencies for fear of prosecution.
St John Ambulance drivers are not alone in facing problems while driving emergency service vehicles.
In the past five years, nearly 50 car crashes involving police have resulted in serious injuries and 10 deaths.
Mr Fraser said emergency service drivers had a responsibility to exercise care like any other driver, and police had a responsibility to investigate accidents.
They did this regardless of the occupation of the driver.
"In any fatal crash, police have a responsibility to ask the hard questions," said Mr Fraser.
"We did so when investigating the death of Mrs McGill.
"[We] found that the driver, McInnes, contributed directly to her death by the actions that he did or did not take when driving at speed on Long Drive."
McInnes had plenty of time to stop before hitting Mrs McGill.
The fact that he was driving an ambulance at the time did not absolve him from his responsibility to drive carefully.
"Evidence was given in court that McInnes had ample opportunity under emergency braking to avoid hitting Mrs McGill - if he had chosen to do so when he first noticed her on the road at least 150m away," said Mr Fraser.
"His vehicle skidded for 48m after he decided to emergency brake.
"He obviously left that decision too late.
"Mrs McGill died as a consequence of him not taking proper care."
Mr Fraser said many people had forgotten the death of Mrs McGill in the furore since the conviction.
"It seems many have failed to recognise that a woman was hit and subsequently killed by a man driving a vehicle carelessly, as proved in court by the prosecution case," he said.
All drivers, no matter what their occupation, were subject to the same road safety laws, said Mr Fraser.
"In the words of the crown prosecutor, when McInnes finally decided to emergency brake, he was travelling too fast, and did too little too late to avoid Mrs McGill."
Editorial: Let's hear a siren in all emergencies
Safety first, even in emergency
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.