Emergency vehicles speed-cut law dangerous, says RAA

A NEW law forcing motorists to slow without warning from 110km/h to 25km/h when passing emergency vehicles may cause crashes, the RAA says.

A NEW law forcing motorists to slow without warning to 25km/h near emergency vehicles may cause crashes.

The RAA's senior manager of mobility and safety Wendy Bevan said in difficult conditions or on bad roads, motorists could lose control or rear-end cars braking in front of them when attempting such a rapid speed reduction.

"We want everyone to be safe but there are issues there if people come around a bend in a 110km/h zone and suddenly there is an emergency vehicle there," she said.

"They are asking people to slow down up to 85 km/h immediately and if they don't, lose their licence, which is an enormous price to pay. This is not like a road-work situation where there are a number of speed reductions and warnings."

The law change is backed by the State Government and Opposition, which want to cut the maximum speed when passing an emergency service vehicle from 40km/h to 25km/h when its emergency lights are flashing.

The idea has been welcomed as overdue protection for emergency workers by the South Australian Ambulance Service, Metropolitan Fire Service, State Emergency Service, the Country Fire Service, ambulance, fire, CFS, police and SES unions, and the Fire and Emergency Services Commission.

Road Safety Minister Jennifer Rankine said the Government and the Opposition had referred the law to a parliamentary inquiry because of undisclosed concerns raised by Police and the Transport Department.

Ms Bevan said the threat of loss of licence under the Bill would give people even more reason to brake heavily.

She also said it required reduced speed when passing emergency vehicles but not workers attending an emergency.

The change has pitted emergency service workers against University of Adelaide road safety experts.

Scientist Craig Kloeden, from the university's Centre for Automotive Safety Research, said the 25km/h limit should be used with warning signs.

"Another concern is having a 25km/h limit imposed for an extended time on high-speed roads," he told the inquiry.

"If electronic speed-limit signs were used, they could have a number of selectable speed limits that could be chosen by those at the scene."