In an effort to assure firefighters that their ability to respond to emergencies is not hindered by policy, Austin Fire Department Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr on Aug. 28 clarified the department’s newly revised policy on the safe driving of AFD vehicles. The revision – which changed existing policy to require firefighters to bring trucks and other official vehicles to a complete stop at any stop sign or red light before proceeding into an intersection and required drivers to stay within posted speed limits – was a matter of concern for members of the firefighters union. Union President Stephen Truesdell said the changes could cost lives, especially in outlying areas of the city where emergency response times are longer. Kerr responded that the changes were made in keeping with best practices. She also pointed out that although language allowing responders to drive up to 10 miles over the speed limit had been taken out, the discretion to do so in appropriate circumstances had been added in by a caveat stating that nothing in the policy was to be considered “a substitute for discretionary judgment and experience.”
In the wake of the controversy, Kerr last week tweaked the policy language again, this time spelling out that drivers may exceed the speed limit by 10 miles per hour “only after” taking into consideration weather and road conditions, traffic and pedestrian congestion, traffic flow, visibility, “nighttime response,” the posted speed, and “all other conditions that may pose a danger to the responders or to the public.” Notably, she also removed the caveat language and replaced it with a notice that officers must use discretion, judgment, and experience during emergency response “within the confines of this policy.”
AFD spokeswoman Michelle DeCrane emphasized that the changes to the policy were not “revisions” but rather only clarifications.
Read the updated policy in full: New AFD Safe Driving Policy (PDF).
This article appears in September 4 • 2009.