§ Miss HoeyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the regulations for the police, ambulance, and fire services, relating to the use of sirens and high speed. [39782]
§ Mr. MacleanControl on the use of sirens is provided by the published Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 which state that sirens may be used by vehicles belonging to the recognised emergency services at any time when
172Wit is necessary or desirable to do so either to indicate to other road users the urgency of the purposes for which the vehicle is being used, or to warn other road users of the presence of the vehicle on the road".In addition, there is a statutory exemption from compliance with speed limits in section 87 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The exemption applies to police, fire and ambulance service vehicles when observance of speed limits would be likely to
hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which the vehicle was being usedat the time concerned. Any further controls are operational matters for individual police forces, fire brigades and ambulance services.