The Law of Driving Under Emergency Conditions

Evidence from the blog site, 'Australian Emergency Law' suggests that nothing causes more concern and debate than a discussion of the rights and responsibilities of emergency service volunteers when driving emergency vehicles on urgent duty. This article will look at the law in Victoria and consider what the legal rights are, responsibilities and exemptions for the drivers of State Emergency Service (SES) which vehicles when responding to an emergency. The paper will give a brief introduction to some fundamental legal issues before identifying the relevant rules set out in Victorian law. It is hoped that this paper will help remove some of the myths around the rules relating to driving emergency vehicles. Of course this paper cannot take the place of formal legal advice and anyone who is after specific advice and, in particular, anyone who has been charged with a driving offence, should seek competent legal advice on their particular circumstances rather than rely on the general discussion that is contained here