Report for the Minister for Home Affairs
Request to remove the Road Traffic Law exemptions that currently apply to the Coastguard vehicles
On 1 May 2007 the former Minister for Home Affairs made a Ministerial Decision (MD-HA-2007-0034), which approved the use of blue flashing beacons by Coastguard vehicles when attending maritime emergencies.
The Ministerial Decision was made subject to the proviso that the Coastguard drivers were not to be subject to the exemptions under the following Articles of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956, which apply to other emergency vehicles:
Article 21 – Limitation of speed
Paragraph (6) states that “The provisions of this Article and any Order made under this Article shall not apply to any vehicle on any occasion when it is being used for fire service, ambulance or police purposes, if the observance of those provisions would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used on that occasion”
Article 40 – Use of footways and cycle tracks
Paragraph (2)(f) allows a driver to drive or park on a footway or cycle track if he can prove to the satisfaction of the court “that the vehicle or animal was on the footway or cycle track for the purpose of saving life or extinguishing fire or meeting any other like emergency”
Article 55 – Prohibition on leaving of vehicles on roads in positions likely to cause danger or obstruction
Paragraph (1) allows a driver to leave a vehicle in such a position as it causes danger or obstruction “if he or she proves to the satisfaction of the court that the vehicle or trailer was at rest on the road in compliance with the requirements of Article 52 (Duty of driver of vehicle in case of accident) or for the purpose of saving life or extinguishing fire or meeting any other like emergency”
Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968
Article 30 of the Order sets out exceptions for drivers of vehicles used for fire service, ambulance or police purposes and provides that they shall not be convicted of an offence under Article 74(1)(b) of the Law for failure to conform to various road traffic signs, traffic lights and yellow lines.
At the time that the Ministerial Decision was made in 2007, the rationale given for not extending these exemptions to the Coastguard vehicles was that the ‘current driver training levels are not as high as the Fire, Ambulance and Police emergency services’.
On 19 January 2015, the Deputy Coastguard approached the Law Officers’ Department to enquire whether it would be possible to review the exemptions to the Road Traffic Law (as set out above) that apply to the Coastguard vehicles.
The reasoning provided by the Deputy Coastguard for removing each exemption is set out below:
Article 21 – Limitation of speed
In order to ensure that the Coastguard service meets its service requirements and response times the Duty Acting Harbour Master must attend the Coastguard operations centre or incident scene as soon as possible to manage the search and rescue (SAR) effort. Adhering to Jersey speed limits of 15, 20, 30 and 40 miles per hour can seriously affect the time taken for the Duty Harbour Master to reach the Coastguard operations centre or scene, particularly during more serious incidents.
In the United Kingdom the SMCs of Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres are permanently based at their respective operations rooms and are supported by teams of mobile Coastguard officers e.g. Coastal Rescue Team (CRT). The situation in Jersey is quite different in that the Duty Harbour Master carries the SMC role 24/7, unsupported by other mobile assets, for a week whilst on standby and therefore may have to attend from home or elsewhere.
The SMC is under pressure to attend at short notice to emergencies and being limited to certain speeds increases response times which has implications for the safety of life at sea.
Article 40 – Use of footways and cycle tracks
The topography and infrastructure of Jersey is such that many coastal areas are only accessible by tracks and footpaths. There are large stretches of coastline which are only served by these type of tracks e.g. access to the cycle track along Victoria Avenue is often required when using the Coastguard 1 vehicle, as are tracks on the North coast to access view points and coastal areas.
Article 55 – Prohibition on leaving of vehicles on roads in positions likely to cause danger or obstruction
When on scene it is likely that the Coastguard 1 vehicle will need to be parked in an unrecognised parking area or track. When arriving on scene it is unreasonable to expect the Duty Harbour Master to find a parking space, of which there may not be one, whilst managing an SAR incident.
Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968
As outlined with speed restrictions, obeying all traffic signals causes a significant delay in response.
As detailed above, at the time that the Ministerial Decision was made in 2007, the rationale for not extending the exemptions that are applicable to other emergency services to the Coastguard vehicles was that the ‘current driver training levels are not as high as the Fire, Ambulance and Police emergency services’.
The Deputy Coastguard has advised that all four Assistant Harbour Masters are qualified Institute of Advanced Motoring Advanced Drivers. They have now all passed the driving training programme provided by a certified training organisation (CTG International Group) to raise their driving qualifications to those of the Jersey Airport Firefighters.
CTG International state on their website: “Central Training Group Limited are the UK’s premier advanced driver training company. We specialise in all aspects of advanced training for the Emergency Services throughout the UK, Europe and Worldwide. We are currently providing blue light driver training and support for Fire and Rescue Services and Ambulances Services, including for more than 40 major Airport Fire and Rescue Services in the UK and Ireland, to assist in the implementation of new blue light training standards to their Officers, Watch-based Instructors and Crews alike.”
The fully approved, accredited and documented blue-light driving course that the Assistant Harbourmasters have undertaken comprises the following sections:
The Advanced Driving Module:
- Pre-course driving licence checks (to ensure legal compliance)
- Roadcraft and Highway Code written tests
- Learning styles profiling or behavioural aspects of driving
- The principles of advanced driving
- Understanding driver fatigue
- Daily vehicle checks
- Advanced vehicle handling and skid control
- Vehicle Instability or "Roll-over"
- Core basic driving skills (non blue-light)
- Core advanced driving skills (non blue-light)
- Advanced driving testing, evaluation and verification - this element must be successfully passed before the candidate is permitted to proceed on to the blue-light driving phase of the training.
The Blue-light Driving Module comprises of the following additional sections:
- The principles of response-level and blue-light driving
- Daily vehicle checks, including the use of all audible and visual warning devices
- Understanding the Legal Exemptions for Emergency Vehicles
- Emergency driving skills on rural roads
- Emergency driving skills on urban roads
- Emergency driving skills during the hours of darkness
- Emergency driving skills during multi-vehicle operations
- Completion of all course documentation
- Blue-light driving testing, evaluation and verification - this will be in the form of an independently-verified Advanced Driving Test which is completed on blue-lights.
Jersey Coastguard is the first point of contact for any sea rescue, including 999 calls. Statistics for the past few years show that the attendance of the Coastguard vehicles at emergencies in a timely manner is essential:
Year | Total incidents | People assisted | People saved from imminent danger | Vessels assisted | Vessels saved from imminent danger |
2012 | 174 | 269 | 16 | 85 | 5 |
2013 | 159 | 163 | 30 | 64 | 8 |
2014 | 140 | 107 | 28 | 59 | 11 |
Opinion of the States of Jersey Police
The opinion of the States of Jersey Police has been sought as to this proposal. They have advised that they have no objection to the proposal, provided that the Assistant Harbour Masters have received the correct training, accredited by RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). It has been confirmed by the Coastguard that the training delivered to them was RoSPA accredited.
Recommendation
Because the Assistant Harbour Masters have passed the advanced driving and blue-light driving course, and because it is essential that the Coastguard vehicles are able to attend at emergencies in a timely manner, I believe that the exemptions in the Road Traffic Law that currently apply to the Coastguard vehicles should be lifted and that the Minister should ask the Executive Officer, Home Affairs to liaise with the Transport and Technical Services Department and the Law Draftsman’s Office over the necessary changes to the Road Traffic Law.
Executive Officer
Home Affairs
gov.je