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The argument is not missing in any discussion about 30 km/h: if you lower the speed limit on a road, the fire brigade and ambulance also slow down.
Because in principle the speed limit also applies to them. In addition, structural measures, which often occur in 30 km/h areas, make it difficult to drive fast. And it also took longer for the militia firefighters to reach the depot to begin their mission. The canton of Zurich recently warned that speeds of 30km/h on main roads would have a “serious” impact on blue light organisations.
Traffic is crucial
While the speed limit of 30 km/h already applies on many streets in urban areas, it sounds less alarming when asked by the observer. For example, in the city of Freiburg, where since November 2023, around 60 percent of the streets – including some main streets – have had a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour. “We can say that so far we have been able to intervene in all emergency situations within a reasonable time,” say the cantonal police and the Freiburg fire brigade. However, it is still too early for a definitive judgement.
Above all, traffic density is crucial for the speed at which a fire engine or ambulance can move. If there is a lot of traffic, the speed limit will not affect driving time. However, under ‘ideal conditions’, i.e. when the streets are empty, the cantonal police expect at least 30 extra seconds per kilometer. However, this mainly applies to the traffic-calmed neighborhood streets, and less so to the main streets, which are designed for free traffic, even at 30 km/h.
About the longer travel times for militia firefighters, the Freiburg fire brigade writes: So far this problem has not been identified or analyzed, but in theory it does exist. If speed limits of 30 km/h were introduced everywhere in the city, measures might have to be taken so that the fire brigade could still be on site within 15 minutes of receiving the alarm – that is the performance target of the Freiburg fire brigade.
You can get to the depot faster by bicycle
Speed 30 entails certain disadvantages for the fire brigade and ambulance, but it does not really affect their operational capacity. A study commissioned by the Canton of Lucerne comes to the same conclusion as the report by practitioners from Freiburg.
Because the streets in city centers are often busy, many firefighters now cycle to the depot. Even though, as is common in Lucerne, the speed limit on most streets in the city is 50. The study also refers to a ruling by the Graubünden Administrative Court. It was decided that it would be “justified” if the journey to the fire brigade headquarters was extended by less than a minute, because the speed limit was 30 km/h. And nothing more can be expected.
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This article was first published in the paid offer of beobachter.ch. Blick+ users have exclusive access as part of their subscription. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch.
In case of emergency, faster than allowed
The investigation by the Canton of Lucerne also clarifies everything about possible fines for ambulance and fire truck drivers. In principle, they are allowed to violate traffic rules in emergency situations, i.e. exceed the speed limit, without committing a criminal offense. The condition is that they switch on the warning signal and exercise the necessary caution while driving, i.e. take into account special circumstances such as school children.
And even if a blue light driver violates the duty of care, he will not be punished under the speed system. Authorities should reduce his sentence because he ended up traveling too fast due to an emergency. Whether the speed limit on a road is 30 or 50 plays a minor role.
The Freiburg cantonal police wrote the final word in response to the observer’s question: “Will it ever be possible to evaluate the effects of 30 km/h on the blue light organizations? Probably not.” Too many elements would influence whether an operation goes well or poorly. The other way around: Whether a speed of 30 km/h in a place makes sense or not hardly depends on the fire brigade or ambulance.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
