TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES
DRIVER AND VEHICLE STANDARDS
LAW DRAFTING INSTRUCTIONS – EXTENSION OF ROAD TRAFFIC LAW
EXEMPTIONS TO COASTGUARD VEHICLES
Background
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 exemption contained within the Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968, nor 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
- Article 40 – Use of footways and cycle tracks
- Article 55 – Prohibition on leaving of vehicles on roads in positions likely to cause danger or obstruction
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’.
Jersey Coastguard approached the Minister for Home Affairs and asked to have the exemptions to the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 and the Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968 (as set out above) extended to them.
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:
The States of Jersey Police, the Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for Transport and Technical Services are supportive of the extension to the Coastguards of the exemptions under the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 and the Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968, that apply to the other emergency services. On 14 April 2015, the Minister for Home Affairs made a Ministerial Decision agreeing that the exemption of the Coastguard from the exemptions in the Road Traffic Law should be lifted (MD-HA-2015-0026) and that liaison should take place with Transport and Technical Services over the changes.
Rationale for extending the exemptions to the Coastguard vehicles
The reasoning provided by the Deputy Coastguard for extending each exemption to the Coastguard when attending an emergency 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 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 Search Mission Co-ordinators (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. 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 a search and rescue 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’.
However, all four Assistant Harbour Masters are qualified Institute of Advanced Motoring Advanced Drivers and they have also recently 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. The training is accredited by RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). The current driver training levels of the Coastguard staff are therefore deemed to be as high as the Fire, Ambulance and Police emergency services.
Amendments required
When responding to an emergency, it is intended that the Coastguard vehicles will be subject to the same exemptions as the other emergency services (Police, Fire and Ambulance) from the provisions of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 and the Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968.
In order to make the Coastguard subject to the same exemptions, we believe that the following changes will need to be made to existing legislation:
Article 21 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 - Limitation of speed
An amendment is required to Article 21(6) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956, the provisions of which will need to be extended to include the Coastguard, as it currently reads:
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 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 - Use of footways and cycle tracks
We believe that the provisions of Article 40(2)(f) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 do not need to be altered to cover the Coastguard vehicles, as when responding to maritime emergencies they can be said to be ‘saving life’ or ‘meeting any other like emergency’.
Article 55 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 – Prohibition on leaving of vehicles on roads in positions likely to cause danger or obstruction
Again, we believe that the provisions of Article 55(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 do not need to be altered to cover the Coastguard vehicles, as when responding to maritime emergencies they can be said to be ‘saving life’ or ‘meeting any other like emergency’.
Article 74 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 – Penalties for neglect of traffic direction
An amendment is required to Article 74(3)(a), the provisions of which will need to be extended to include the Coastguard, as it currently reads:
The Minister may by Order provide that a person shall not be convicted of an offence under paragraph (1)(b) for failure to conform to the indication given by any such sign as may be specified in the Order, if he or she proves to the satisfaction of the court –
(a) that the vehicle which the person was driving was being used for fire service, ambulance or police purposes;
Article 30 of the Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968
An amendment is required to the heading of Article 30 of the Traffic Signs (Jersey) Order 1968 to include the coastguard. The heading currently reads:
Exceptions for drivers of vehicles used for fire service, ambulance or police purposes
Resource Implications
Law Draftsman’s time
Action Required
The Head of Driver and Vehicle Standards to forward the drafting instructions to the Law Draftsman’s Office.
Written by: | Head of DVS and Inspector of Motor Traffic |
Approved by: | Director of Transport |
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