Request By:
Mr. Len Embry
Chief of Police
City Hall
Auburn, Kentucky 42206
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of this office interpreting KRS 189.940(3), which reads as follows:
"(3) The driver of an emergency vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or of a police vehicle in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law and giving warning required by subsection (1) of this section, may drive on the left side of any highway or on the opposite direction of a one-way street provided the normal lanes of traffic are blocked and he does so with due regard for the safety of all persons using the street or highway. "
Subsection (1) of KRS 189.940 provides that emergency vehicles are exempted from the traffic laws when the drivers thereof are operating the vehicle's warning lights and are giving audible signals by siren, bell, or exhaust whistle.
Your question is whether the driver of an emergency vehicle would be liable for an accident occurring when traveling the wrong direction on a one-way street when the alternate route is not blocked.
The operator of an emergency vehicle should travel the wrong way on a one-way street only when the circumstances make it necessary to do so. Each case will have to be judged on the particular circumstances of the case. It should be recognized, however, that circumstances can change rapidly in regard to traffic on the streets. If the operator believes that the street is blocked as far as being able to travel the direction allowed and if he has his lights flashing and his siren sounding, he would be justified in proceeding the wrong way on the one-way street with due caution. We think caution would dictate that he should travel at a slow speed and give oncoming traffic ample opportunity to get out of his path. An operator so operating his vehicle should not be cited for a violation of the traffic laws.
In regard to the personal liability of the operator for any accident in which he may be involved with his vehicle, we offer the following:
"In most jurisdictions emergency vehicles, such as police cars, fire department vehicles, and ambulances, are exempted generally from the operation of traffic regulations or rules of the road. However, the grant of such special privileges to emergency vehicles is generally construed as not to relieve the operators thereof from the duty of exercising due care toward other travelers to avoid injury to them or to avoid damage to property on or along the way. The operator of an emergency vehicle on an emergency call is required to exercise the care which a reasonably prudent man would exercise in the discharge of official duties of a like nature under like circumstances. The failure of the operator of an emergency vehicle to exercise such care renders him, or his employer, liable for injuries or damages proximately resulting therefrom." 7 Am.Jur.2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 357.