Speed limits
The speed limit on the straight desolate paved road that goes past our place is 80 km/hr. The people who use the road drive whatever speed they please and for the most part it works fine ….. until you...
Forum Discussion
Groover wrote:
From what I understand going over the speed limit legally requires the use of emergency lights except in specific instances. Those instances require the police to have a judge approved warrant with the time and route on it.
Completely absurd and not true at all.
First and foremost, you do NOT need a WARRANT to respond with lights and sirens. That is dictated by department policy. The idea that an officer dispatched to a shooting call would have to stop, write a warrant, find a judge and get it signed BEFORE he can turn on lights and sirens is beyond my comprehension of stupidity.
Second, check traffic law in your state. I know that in Maryland a police officer can exceed the speed limit to respond to "emergency calls" (which aren't defined) or to catch up with a suspected traffic violator. I can promise you that most people that call the police consider their needs to be "emergencies" to them, therefore does it meet the definition of an "emergency call"? In Maryland, I don't think police are even required to use lights and sirens while responding to an emergency. They can simply speed (assuming its an approved call), but that greatly increases their liability if they are involved in a wreck. Not sure how that conveys in Tennessee though.
