police car vs civil. car

[MrClark1983]

Hello everyone I have a question. Let’s say you’re driving and a police car runs a stop sign or red light with no lights flashing and no siren and hits a car. What happens to the officer and the person driving the other car? Does the person get a ticket or does the officer get in trouble or something?

[SRT936]

Depends. I've seen it happen around here and the officer that ran the stop sign got a citation for Failure to Stop. I've also seen officers cited for Failure to Drive with Due Concern. Its a citation that only cops, firefighters and other emergency responders can get. Beyond that the officer can also face disciplinary action by their department.

On the flip side, the civilian could also receive a citation if there are circumstances that helped lead to the collision. It all depends on the individual situation.

[SgtCHP]

Hello everyone I have a question. Let’s say you’re driving and a police car runs a stop sign or red light with no lights flashing and no siren and hits a car. What happens to the officer and the person driving the other car?

Someone is probably going to get hurt!!!

[e-man]

Police on duty have to follow the vehicle laws like everyone else. There are exceptions that say when we can violate the laws BUT if they are done without regard to others and in blatant violation than we get cited, suspended, lose pay, maybe vacation time, maybe even get stuck on foot for a month, open us up to civil lawsuits if the other people are hurt.
Want me to continue?
There are times when we can run silent, like a bank alarm or holdup alarm when we are close, but once again we need to do it safely.
Did ya get hit by a police??

[MrClark1983]

thanks for the replys everyone. Well I know you guys can run silent depending on the call. Anyways i've almost gotten t-boned once by and officer in the town I live in, he had a stop sign (plus no lights maybe a silent call i do not know) and I had to swerve the 2nd time to avoid contact with his car. But I was just wondering what would have happen and what not. If any of you guys have more answers to give just lay out on here or something.

[mrshish]

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Whoops, wrong thread.

[SgtScott31]

thanks for the replys everyone. Well I know you guys can run silent depending on the call. Anyways i've almost gotten t-boned once by and officer in the town I live in, he had a stop sign (plus no lights maybe a silent call i do not know) and I had to swerve the 2nd time to avoid contact with his car. But I was just wondering what would have happen and what not. If any of you guys have more answers to give just lay out on here or something.

If the emergency vehicle (police/fire/EMS) is not running emergency lights then they are held to the same standard as any vehicle on the road. If they are running with lights/siren, they are still exptected (by state law and policy) to drive with "due care." If I got hit by an emergency vehicle who ran a stop sign (w/o lights) then I would expect them to be charged just like anyone else.

[MrClark1983]

Thats what I thought. Every summer I travel and I spend most of my travel time on the local roads and the interstate and on GSP, so I tend to see alot of MVA's and have seen them in process as I drive by. I've watched a pick up truck come flying pass me just inchs from me going the wrong way on the interstate and smacking someone head on right behind me and while we're all doing 70 75mph. but every once in a while i'll see a police car folded in after hitting an object or another car so thats why I asked what happens when a cop is involved or not.

[cst.sb]

Sometimes we mess up. For the most part our cars are our officers and we are in them for hours and hours. And like everyone else, we make mistakes. The main difference most of us are held to a higher level of accountability. Which means when we screw up, we admit it, take our lump (in this case probably a VT) and move on. We don't under normal circumstances dispute our ticket.

However, there are times when you can sneak through stop signs without your lights, but you have to be able to legally justify it. And you have to ensure that it is safe to do so. So, if there was a collision, it was obviously not safe to do so.

[MrClark1983]

I can uderstand you guys are in your police cars for hours on end and i bet it can get tiring too. If I where to get hit by an officer, i'll be more understanding then some body driving there own personal car. I won't get sue happy as in I don't beleave in sueing somebody who protects our streets nor will I ever sue some body crashing there personal car into my car. Thats why we have insurance to protect us. But as always, everyone should be paying attention to the road.

[pujolsfan146]

Did ya get hit by a police??

LOL. I am also curious as too your question.

[MrClark1983]

LOL. came pretty close, so i was just wondering thats all.

[JLH81]

LOL. came pretty close, so i was just wondering thats all.

I know from my internship, we did things such as speeding, rolling stop signs, etc. But in all reality, unless there is an accident, who is going to cite the officer. Although Officer's are technically suppose to abide by the laws, I often wonder how many really do, haha... I mean, just this morning, I had a copper in front of me. At quite a few stop signs, he didn't use turn signals, he was speeding, didn't signal to switch lanes. Not that I am arguing this, or mad, but my main point is, who is going to cite him

[JLH81]

I know from my internship, we did things such as speeding, rolling stop signs, etc. But in all reality, unless there is an accident, who is going to cite the officer. Although Officer's are technically suppose to abide by the laws, I often wonder how many really do, haha... I mean, just this morning, I had a copper in front of me. At quite a few stop signs, he didn't use turn signals, he was speeding, didn't signal to switch lanes. Not that I am arguing this, or mad, but my main point is, who is going to cite him

Fellow LEO's, please don't take offense to this. I really am not trying to create a huge thing here. I am just simply saying, that although cops are held to the same laws as civilians, usually another copper won't cite them, atleast while they're on duty. Also, I am not saying that ALL LEO's do this kind of stuff, but some definitely do, and I think most civilians on this board could testify to that. However, like in every department, there are always the bad seeds that don't follow directions I suppose. But, I feel as long as they do things in a safe manner, then it's all good. I've never had a close call with a cop, and everytime I see them, they're usually driving nice and slow through towns, etc...

[Dave5404]

I know from my internship, we did things such as speeding, rolling stop signs, etc. But in all reality, unless there is an accident, who is going to cite the officer. Although Officer's are technically suppose to abide by the laws, I often wonder how many really do, haha... I mean, just this morning, I had a copper in front of me. At quite a few stop signs, he didn't use turn signals, he was speeding, didn't signal to switch lanes. Not that I am arguing this, or mad, but my main point is, who is going to cite him

Ha ha. Only REAL LEOs can post in this section. Not interns.

And do not call me a "copper" unless you are one as well.