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Irish Coast Guard via Facebook

'Lives could be lost' without immediate training for Coast Guard blue light driving

Opposition politicians have described the ban on driving with blue lights and sirens as a “backward” move.

THERE HAVE BEEN calls for an immediate roll-out of training for Coast Guard members after the organisation banned the use of blue lights and sirens in vehicles while travelling to incidents. 

TheJournal.ie revealed this morning that a directive issued to staff stated the risks associated with driving blue light vehicles on public roads “need to be mitigated” for the safety of volunteers and the public.

Staff and volunteers were informed that while drivers are no longer permitted to use blue lights and sirens while driving on public roads, they can use them when they are parked up.

Fianna Fáil’s transport spokesperson Robert Troy described the directive as a “backward” move and said it has caused “a lot of concern”.

To denigrate this service in any way flies in the face of the valuable role the Coast Guard provides. A two-tier emergency response service is in nobody’s interest. In the first instance, a plan needs to be put in place immediately for the roll-out of emergency driver training for Coast Guard Volunteers, to restore their full use of emergency lights and sirens.

Troy said this move demonstrates the need for the Coast Guard to be put on a statutory basis.

“Putting the coastguard on a legislative footing would ensure they receive more representation, more recognition, and ultimately the same protections afforded to the other blue light services.

“In June of last year I brought the Irish Coast Guard Authority Bill 2018 before the Dáil. The Bill will create a statutory Irish Coast Guard Authority and in doing so acknowledge the stellar work it already does and will ensure it will continue to be able to do it.”

‘Lives could be lost’

Green Party Senator Grace O’Sullivan, who is a volunteer with Tramore Sea and Cliff Rescue, said she had been speaking to Coast Guard volunteers on the ground.

“This is not good news as far as they’re concerned. It’s top-down bureaucracy that makes no sense when it comes to the day-to-day activities of emergency personnel trying to do their job.”

The Coast Guard HQ are claiming that this is about safety concerns and risks for the drivers and the general public, but if a volunteer is trying to make their way to an emergency situation and is stuck in traffic, lives could be lost.

Sources told TheJournal.ie the directive has caused controversy in the organisation and volunteers are concerned that they could end up stuck in traffic on the way to life-threatening incidents as other road users will not know to move out of their way. 

One said it will have “a very serious impact on operations”. 

“It’s not about blasting around on lights on sirens, it’s about making progression safely and this will stop units getting to incidents in a timely fashion,” they explained. 

Any unit in an urban area will be severely hampered by this. Response times will be very long with traffic on any sort of decent day or weekend, which is the likely times to get a call. People didn’t join to spend all the time training to sit in traffic and never make it to the scene to actually help the people that are in need.

Sources also pointed out that the directive made no mention of providing training so that this policy could be in-part reversed. 

‘Risks need to be mitigated’

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard said told TheJournal.ie that this latest instruction was issued as “a clarification in relation to the existing position as regards their use while driving on public roads”.

The policy mirrors best practice in other principal emergency services for untrained “blue-light” drivers. This notice in no way impacts on the Coast Guard’s status as a principal emergency service.

“They are the blue light services that respond to normal emergencies, that is, the Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service. A fourth principal emergency service, the Irish Coast Guard, is responsible for handling maritime emergencies in Ireland’s territorial waters, harbours and coastline.”

The department spokesperson said the risks associated with driving blue-light vehicles on public roads have been discussed with volunteers around the coast for some time, including at sectoral meetings and conferences.

“These risks need to be mitigated – particularly in terms of the safety of the volunteers, other road users and members of the public.”

The spokesperson said the issue of training volunteers and full-time staff to drive with blue lights and sirens is being addressed in the Coast Guard’s safety and risk work plan but no date was provided for its completion or the roll-out of training.

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Feb 20th 2019, 5:58 PM

    As unfortunate as it is it sort of makes sense. If you aren’t trained in blue light driving then you shouldn’t be allowed do it. Hopefully this will be tackled and all members get the appropriate training and the Coast Guard can get back to doing what they do best, saving lives.

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    Mute Dot Com
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    Feb 20th 2019, 8:03 PM

    @Jason Ebbs: How many lives will be lost as the coastguard sits in traffic, Totaly stupid.

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Feb 20th 2019, 8:59 PM

    @Dot Com: yep agree. Needs sorting ASAP.

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    Mute Joe Bloggs
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    Feb 20th 2019, 10:07 PM

    @Jason Ebbs: According to the Coast Guard, they weren’t driving outside of the rules of the road; they would turn lights on to get people out of the way, but that was it. If that is the case, there’s no need for specialist training.

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    Mute An bhearna
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    Feb 20th 2019, 10:56 PM

    @Joe Bloggs: The use of audible and visual warning devices is to warn other road users of your presence, not to “get people out of the way”. A coastguard driver using blue lights and sirens whilst claiming to be driving within the rules of the road is a contradiction in terms.

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    Mute DavidOReilly
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    Feb 20th 2019, 6:34 PM

    Have to say I live on the coast and 12 Klm from R117 HQ ,saw lots of coast vehicles going to incidents,but never saw them with blue lights flashing. Non story I think.

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    Mute Link
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    Feb 20th 2019, 11:49 PM

    @DavidOReilly: Very much a non issue, the requirements were brought in to force 4 years ago. Plenty of volunteer groups had a number of members with what’s known as “blue light fever” and would take serious liberties when at the wheel.
    Retained fire fighters (the majority of fire service personnel) respond to a call in their own vehicles and are obliged to follow the rules of the road when responding to a call. What’s the difference?

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    Mute Alan Barry
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    Feb 20th 2019, 6:59 PM

    All well and good for Mr Troy to say training for volunteers must be rolled out, but the practicalities of a Monday to Friday full-time course for volunteers will have to be considered – these people have jobs in addition to their volunteer roles.

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    Mute jo tribbiani
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    Feb 20th 2019, 7:34 PM

    Under Section 87 of the Road Traffic Act, the Coast Guard are not listed as a “ Emergency Service Group “. They are permitted to have blue lights on their vehicles but can not avail of the exemptions associated with Section 87. This is the same for the Irish Prison Service

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    Mute John Tobin
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    Feb 20th 2019, 9:20 PM

    The Prison service escorts under part B of that act.

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    Mute jo tribbiani
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    Feb 20th 2019, 10:06 PM

    @John Tobin: Under direction of An Garda Siochana means a Garda has to be present in the vehicle at all times or present at each junction the vehicle travels through. Can you name a Garda that will give a Prison Officer who has not received sufficient training and can not avail of such exemptions permission to drive in such a manner? This clearly contradicts Part B which states “ Where such use does not endanger the safety of other road users “ i.e no training and not legally covered. Should a serious accident occur will the Garda involved accept responsibility.

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    Mute Joe Bloggs
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    Feb 20th 2019, 10:08 PM

    @jo tribbiani: How do you know what level of training Prison Service drivers have?

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    Mute Joe Bloggs
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    Feb 20th 2019, 10:10 PM

    @jo tribbiani: It doesn’t mean that a garda has to be in the vehicle, either.

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    Mute jo tribbiani
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    Feb 20th 2019, 10:18 PM

    @Joe Bloggs: How can they have training to drive with blue lights when they are not listed in Section 87.

    They’re not an emergency service group therefore they are not entitled to the exemptions as outlined in Section 87.

    Refer to Part A of Section 87 where is the reference to the Irish Prison Service and the Coast Guard??

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    Mute Maximus Decimus Meridius
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    Feb 20th 2019, 6:36 PM

    Common sense ain’t all that common!

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    Mute Sean Considine
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    Feb 20th 2019, 9:28 PM

    Well if guards can’t blue lights with proper training don’t see while volunteers should

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    Mute jo tribbiani
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    Feb 20th 2019, 7:31 PM

    Under Section 87 of the road traffic act, the Coast Guard are not listed as a “ Emergency Service Group “. They are permitted to have blue lights on their vehicles however they can not avail of the exemptions associated with Section 87. This is the same with the Irish Prison Service

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