It was in connection with an emergency call this summer that a police patrol overtook just before a bend. This happened on the E6 just before Olsborg in Troms, and was filmed by Truls Simonsen who was driving in the first car they passed. – I was a little scared when I saw the other car coming towards me. It was a disgusting experience, Simonsen told news this summer. However, oncoming traffic did not experience the overtaking as dramatic. – Not a criminal offense The video was posted on social media where it has been seen and commented on many times. Several reacted to the overtaking, and believed that the police broke §3 of the Road Traffic Act since they did not have their blue lights on. The overtaking was reported, and now the Bureau has come up with its conclusion. The case is closed without investigation. They have not investigated the overtaking because they believe it is unlikely that police employees have acted criminally. What should you do when the police make an emergency call: You must help the emergency vehicle forward. You should stop, move to the side, or both. You can also show that you have seen the emergency vehicle by using brake lights or turn signals, or by placing the car to the side Source: Section leader for the patrol in Tromsø, Yngve Vidding. The Bureau writes that police employees are also bound by the Road Traffic Act, but that considerations of traffic safety must be weighed against the importance of the mission. “The specialist unit believed, on the basis of the information in the case, that there was no reason to believe that a criminal offense has occurred in the present case”, they write in their decision. Has led to internal discussions Head of Midt-Trom’s police station district, Ole Johan Skogmo, says the Bureau’s decision is as expected. – First and foremost because – as was also revealed in the media – oncoming traffic did not experience the incident as dramatically as it appeared on the video, says Skogmo. The reason why the blue lights were not used is because the patrol carried out an average measurement of a car at high speed. If the blue lights had been used, the driver would have become aware that there was an emergency vehicle behind the car. Leader of the Midt-Troms police district, Ole Johan Skogmo, says the closure is as expected. Photo: Øystein Antonsen / news – Having said that, we have taken the attention it created with us. We have discussed internally in relation to when we should make use of the opportunity we have to call out and overtake without a blue light, and when we should use it in the public interest anyway, says the police inspector. Skogmo says these assessments will form the basis for future assignments in similar situations. – I have great confidence in our employees and how we will solve similar tasks in the future, he says.
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