In Massachusetts, police officers, under the regulations set by the police department, have the authority to proceed through red lights while actively pursuing another vehicle, provided they exercise due caution to ensure public safety. This privilege is granted under state traffic laws that recognize the unique responsibilities of law enforcement during emergencies. When responding to situations such as vehicle pursuits, officers are permitted to temporarily disregard certain traffic signals or rules to prioritize the apprehension of suspects or the resolution of critical incidents. However, they are still required to prioritize the safety of all road users, maintaining a balance between swift action and minimizing risk. The following is the story of one of our cases for a police officer injured in a car accident while on his way to an emergency call with his emergency lights and sirens activated.
The Motor Vehicle Law
The law that applies in this situation to any fire truck, state police vehicle, or any other emergency vehicle displaying emergency vehicle lights is MGL Chapter 89 Section 7B which states “may drive such vehicle at a speed in excess of the applicable speed limit if he exercises caution and due regard under the circumstances for the safety of persons and property, and may drive such vehicle through an intersection of ways contrary to any traffic signs or signals regulating traffic at such intersection if he first brings such vehicle to a full stop and then proceeds with caution and due regard for the safety of persons and property, unless otherwise directed by a police officer regulating traffic at such intersection.” So the next time you see red emergency lights or ambulance lights or any other emergency equipment driving down the road, you will know the law that applies to those mounted blue lights.
A Police Officer We Helped After An Accident Running A Red Light
On a cold, dark winter morning Officer Jones is in his marked police cruiser in pursuit of a vehicle. He has the emergency lights and siren of his police vehicle activated as he approaches a four-way intersection with a red light. In Massachusetts, police vehicles are authorized to display blue lights when responding to emergencies. He stops for the red light and checks for oncoming traffic which has stopped to yield to his emergency vehicle. He enters the intersection which he is legally authorized to do even though the light is red and is almost through it when he collides with a vehicle coming from his right in the far right lane. The other vehicle was operated by David Smith at a high rate of speed. Mr. Smith did not slow down as he entered the intersection, even though the emergency lights of Officer Jones’ police car must have been visible to him because it was still dark at that time of morning, and the siren was audible. Massachusetts law requires drivers to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle like a police cruiser when its emergency vehicle lights and siren are activated, but Mr. Smith failed to do so. Mr. Smith’s failure to follow this important Rule of the Road caused a bad crash with extensive damage to both vehicles and serious injury to Officer Jones.
Officer Jones was transported from the scene by ambulance to a local hospital. Thereafter, he followed up with his primary doctor, attended physical therapy and received multiple steroid injections. The road to recovery lasted almost a year and caused him to miss months of work before he was able to return.
Smith’s insurance company initially placed equal blame on Officer Jones and Smith. Thankfully, the company changed their position once I presented his claim and spoke with the adjuster handling the case. It only took a few weeks to settle the case for Smith’s $100,000 policy limit.
In order to protect the privacy of the injured person, all names have been changed. Any resemblance to the names of real persons, past or present, is merely coincidental and not intended.
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We Have Helped Emergency Responders In A Variety Of Cases Like This
It is extremely common unfortunately for drivers in their personal cars not to be paying attention to the road and to cause car accidents with either the police, a fire truck, or any other emergency vehicle with its lights activated, because they are looking at their phones or anywhere but the road. We have represented countless officers with specifically colored lights like oscillating red lights going on top of their cruisers when a vehicle operator who is not looking turns right into the cruiser with display flashing.
The laws surrounding emergency lights make it clear that when an fire truck lights are going any flashing red light is seen, the other drivers must stop and pull over to the right. When this happens the emergency vehicle often has to go into the oncoming travel lane to get where they need to go as fast as possible. One of the most frequent car accident types we see in this environment is a driver who is not looking at the security vehicle lights that are flashing or listening to the siren whaling and simply turns left directly into the path of the emergency vehicle.
Of course the opposite can also be true. No matter what different colored lights are flashing on an emergency vehicle, they still must follow the law. When someone is in their personal vehicle and driving in accordance to the rules of the road, if someone speeding for law enforcement purposes is not using reasonable care based on the law, then that officer will be responsible for the crash.
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