Commentary on Sections Section 50: Road traffic legislation: use of vehicles in emergency response by NHS
237.This section, together with Schedule 9, amend various pieces of road traffic legislation, to remove potential restrictions on the effective response to emergencies by NHS ambulance services. Road traffic legislation contains a number of provisions which provide that vehicles used for specified purposes (for example, fire and rescue authority, ambulance or police purposes) are not subject to certain restrictions.
238.The restrictions this section and Schedule remove relate to speed, double parking, parking on dropped footways, parking in darkness, leaving a vehicle unattended with the engine running, stopping on double white lines, width of load, fitting and use of lamps, reflectors and sirens, pedestrian crossings, keep left/right signs, light signals, white lines, box junctions, zig zag lines, bus stop and bus stands clearways.
239.The amendments enable a wider range of vehicles than traditional ambulances to be used to respond to an emergency when they are providing a response to an emergency at the request of the NHS ambulance service. For the purposes of this section and Schedule, NHS ambulance service means (a) an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust established under the National Health Service Act 2006 which has a function of providing ambulance services; (b) an NHS trust established under the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 which has a function of providing ambulance services; and (c) the Scottish Ambulance Service Board.
240.The amendments made by the section and Schedule have the same extent as the legislation amended. This means that the amendments form part of the law of England and Wales and Scotland, with the exception of the amendments in the Schedule to the Traffic Management Act 2004 which form part of the law of England and Wales only.
241.The section and Schedule come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which the Act is passed.