Bill Text: NJ A2085 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes guidelines for operating authorized emergency vehicles in emergency situations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-17 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee [A2085 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A2085-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes guidelines for operating authorized emergency vehicles in emergency situations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the operation of authorized emergency vehicles in certain cases and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section, "emergency operation" means the operation, or parking, of an authorized emergency vehicle when that vehicle is engaged in: the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law; the response to and transportation of a sick or injured person, blood or blood products or organs for transplant, when the situation involves an imminent health risk or medical exigency; or a response to a police or law enforcement call, alarm or fire or any other call for assistance or the rendering of aid at the scene of an accident, disaster, actual or potential release of hazardous materials or other such event.
b. The operator of an authorized emergency vehicle, when involved in an emergency operation, may:
(1) Stop, stand or park the vehicle, notwithstanding the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes to the contrary;
(2) Proceed past a steady red signal, a flashing red signal or a stop sign, but only after the operator has slowed or stopped the vehicle to insure the existence of a right of way sufficient for safe operation and the safety of others;
(3) Exceed the maximum speed limit, provided the operator exercises all due regard for the safety of others and does not endanger life or property; and
(4) Disregard signs and regulations governing the direction of traffic movement and turning in specified directions, provided the operator exercises all due regard for the safety of others and does not endanger life or property by disregarding those signs and regulations.
c. The exemptions authorized under the provisions of subsection b. of this section shall apply only when an audible signal by bell, horn, siren, electronic device, exhaust whistle or other approved means is sounded from the authorized emergency vehicle involved in an emergency operation and that vehicle is equipped with, and displays, at least one lighted red lamp that, under normal atmospheric conditions, is visible in every direction from a distance of at least 500 feet.
d. The exemptions authorized under the provisions of this section shall not relieve the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall it protect the operator from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish statutory guidelines governing motor vehicle operation with respect to the emergency operation of authorized emergency vehicles. Under the provisions of the bill, the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle would, in an emergency situation, be permitted to disregard statutes and regulations governing stopping, standing and parking, stop signs and signals, speed limits, and traffic movement.
Emergency operation is defined in the bill as "the operation, or parking, of an authorized emergency vehicle when that vehicle is engaged in: the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law; the response to and transportation of a sick or injured person, blood or blood products or organs for transplant, when the situation involves an imminent health risk or medical exigency; or a response to a police or law enforcement call, alarm or fire or any other call for assistance or the rendering of aid at the scene of an accident, disaster, actual or potential release of hazardous materials or other such event."
The exemptions would be authorized only in the enumerated emergency situations and would apply when the authorized emergency vehicle sounded an audible signal and displayed at least one red light that, under normal atmospheric conditions, was visible in every direction from a distance of at least 500 feet. The exemptions would not relieve the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to exercise all due regard for the safety and property of others, nor would they protect the operator from the consequences of the operator's reckless disregard for the safety and property of others.
