The madness has started!

[boredmatrix]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23482627-5006301,00.html


so who'd be the first person to front up to court to refute the case (at the expense of the company) when it happens to them?

[chook]

yep madness well sounds like they have the solution too

[uniden]

No wonder Mr Yemma has a declining popularity in the polls.

[Firey9119]

does that mean that we all are going to be stoping at all red lights and sticking to all speed limits now?

as we all know what happens over the border ends up happening here!!
so glad im not  a driver yet

[Robert-Robert34]

However, the infringements are now passed all the way down to the drivers, who have to prove they were responding to emergencies.

Thats easier said than done all they have to do is show the goverment or court a transcript or log book entry of the emergency they were responding to at the time of being caught speeding

Theres a couple of things which would help out real well and thats voice recording every bit of activity that goes on in the drivers cab on the way to an emergency and using a helmet cam to show the actual location of the incident as well

[Red Message]

So far it has been put down to an "Administrative Error" that some firies had received the infringement notices. Normally it hits the Zone commanders office, gets fired back to the RTA and pulped. Speeding and blowing red lights  whilst not turning out is another thing altogether.

I would suggest the whole thing is a little bit of a media beat up.

[bittenyakka]

i take it a zone is just an area of NSW that helps with organization similar to CFS groups?

[Pipster]

It would seem that it is only the police officer who get fines sent to them individually...the other services normally deal with the fine at HQ level - eg check to see if the vehicle was on an call at the time, and certify that to be the case, and return the fine, with a stat dec stating that.  Fine then withdrawn.....

Pip

[SA Firey]

This is also why SAAS new fleets have a LED front and rear, which stays on to indicate they are on a Priority 1 or Cat 1,2 job when running cameras :wink:

[Katrina]

I got the impression they are being sent out to thegroup involved anyway and it is up to them to say that they were on a priority call at the time, sounds a bit of a joke if it is getting past along to the driver or was there a case where the truck should not have gone through the light and did so and that is why it has been passed to the driver???

[Red Message]

Bittenyakka, you're right on the money. NSWFB has Regions, comprising of Zones, which are a collection of stations.  so really Zones -> CFS Groups.

Katrina, the issue is that to the firies knowledge all paperwork was filled out and correct, yet they then received the infringement notices at home. In these instances they were responding to fire calls. If you break the road rules whilst not responding to an emergency, then you do have to pay the fine - something I totally agree with.

[chook]

The New South Wales Government has moved to ensure firefighters do not receive fines for traffic offences while rushing to emergencies in fire trucks.

A number of NSW firefighters had been issued with fines by mistake, but the State Government says these fines have now been cancelled.

NSW Emergency Services Minister Nathan Rees has told State Parliament that previously firefighters were issued with fines, which were later waived if the Fire Brigade could show they were responding to an emergency.

But he says the procedure has now been changed so the fines are not issued in the first place.

"As of yesterday, the process has been changed," he said.

"Legal advice from the Fire Brigade I received yesterday is clear that since the vehicle is engaged in an emergency response there is no offence committed by drivers picked up by speed or red light cameras."

From ABC News - the Madness is over :wink:
cheers

[SA Firey]

Amen....common sense finally kicks in :-P