Coastguard rescue teams cannot break the speed limit when responding to an emergency – even if they have blue lights on.
Simon Fell, MP for Barrow and Furness, has written to the Government to request that is reviewed so response times can be quicker.
His plea comes after he visited Furness Coastguard for a tour of the base and to present the Queen’s platinum jubilee medals to crew members.
Under the current law, HM Coastguard Crew are not permitted to drive in the same fashion as other emergency services and have speed monitoring devices fitted to Coastguard vehicles.
Mr Fell said: “When it comes to the nature of the Coastguard’s emergency response, minutes matter.
“Not being able to drive in the same way as paramedics, police officers, and firefighters when responding to an emergency costs valuable minutes when the coastguard are called out.
“Indeed, I believe that speed limiters have recently been fitted to vehicles, meaning that they must observe the speed limit when blue lights are on.
“This results in the very strange sight of vehicles pulling into the side of the road to allow the coastguard to pass when their lights are on and then falling into convoy behind them as they continue to drive at 30mph or even 20mph as per the speed limit in the area.
“Quite rightly, the station officer at Barrow tells me that minutes matter when responding to a call to search for someone stuck in quick sand, or having got themselves stuck out at sea and cut off by rising tides. Unfortunately the current restrictions are preventing them from gaining as many minutes as they would like.”
The MP has asked the Government to review the law so that Coastguard volunteers can drive with the same blue light rights as other emergency services.
