For RGP ‘blue light’ drivers, safety is paramount

Royal Gibraltar Police recruits have been undergoing ‘blue light’ training this week, with the force highlighting the stringent process recruits go through before getting their policing powers.

Blue light training involves passing a practical and theory examination before being allowed to drive an emergency vehicle at speed in response to an emergency call.

The Chronicle was invited to see the training in practice, with PC Peter Borge taking a recruit on a blue light run.

Mr Borge drove around the Rock with lights and sirens on, giving the recruit and the Chronicle a running commentary on what goes through a driver’s mind when sirens are activated.

Whilst driving, all surrounding traffic and pedestrians must be accounted for when making any movement on the road, ensuring the drive is as safe as possible.

Side streets leading to main roads, traffic lights, and areas where children are present and could run onto the road are all closely monitored, ensuring a safe drive when travelling to a crime scene.

Gibraltar’s various speed limits on different roads are also on the driver’s mind, helping them calculate their next move.

Mr Borge demonstrated the concentration needed when undertaking such a task in getting to a destination safely.

Daniel Ruffle, acting Inspector responsible for road policing in the RGP, told the Chronicle that officers undergo “rigorous training” to be able to drive a vehicle with its blue lights on in appropriate situations.

“It’s a whole week’s course, it’s pass or fail,” he said.

“We have about a 25% failure rate within the force, because of the stringent testing that we're doing.”

“The officer, when they're responding to a grade one [incident], which is an immediate call, which means someone's welfare or something serious is happening and crime is in progress, they'll be allowed to put their blue lights on.”

“The decision for the blue lights is made by the officer. They look at the situation that they're obviously facing, and then they can apply the blue lights and the sirens themselves.”

He told the Chronicle that officers are exempt from some traffic rules when using their blue lights on Gibraltar’s roads.

“One of them is the speed limit, one of them is [access through] pedestrianised areas, and the Upper Rock as well,” he said.

“All the other contraventions [of traffic rules] that they do, they have to justify the reasoning of why they're doing it.”

When using blue lights, officers are “always making a decision of what we're doing and the risk that not only they would put themselves into but clearly the members of the public”.

“If the risk of safety outweighs the risk of going anywhere, it's not done,” Mr Ruffle said.

“Safety is the number one priority in this.”

“But even though they have the exemption of the speed, if we're talking about heavy traffic, like down Rosia Road at half past eight in the morning, they may only be doing 25km an hour, but they're still making more progress than any other vehicle.”

“So, even though we have the exemption, not all the exemptions are always used all the time.”

“We are training to arrive safely,” he added.

“The officers have to justify everything they do, and if they're involved in a collision with their blue lights on, the emphasis is on the officer, why they were doing it, what happened, what put them into that situation to have an incident.”

Mr Ruffle highlighted that officers are put under strain and stress when responding to an incident that requires using blue lights.

He also told the Chronicle how drivers should react when seeing a police car with its sirens on.

“When they see an emergency service vehicle coming towards them, either from the front or the rear, the message is to act calmly,” he said.

“If the road is big enough, vehicles are to pull over to the side that they're on to allow enough space for the [emergency] vehicle to go past.”

“But, obviously, within Gibraltar, we have many narrow roads. So, we ask them to continue moving at the speed they're already moving and when it is safe and clear to do so, then pull over to allow that vehicle to come past.”