Fire engines given emergency call speed limits

Fire engines on emergency calls are being given a speed limit by the West Midlands Fire Service.

From now on, fire response vehicles will travel at no more than 45mph in a 30mph zone and under 80mph on motorways. A spokesman said that on average the service gets around 40 notes of intended prosecution from police per month. The action is to balance the benefits of cutting response times with the risk posed to the public by large vehicles travelling at high speeds. At present the fire service vehicles record around one accident per day, ranging from very minor knocks to serious incidents.

The Association of British Drivers have condemned the plan. ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries said, ” It is hard to imagine anything more stupid than training an emergency driver, then imposing a meaningless and arbitrary speed limit. ”

Do you think emergency services should have their own speed limits? Will it improve safety? Post your comments and thought son the News discussion board by following the link on the right.