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Dear Mr Mills, Thank you for your email regarding the speed limit around emergency vehicles. In NSW, there are already significant penalties for drivers who drive at a speed or in a manner dangerous to emergency personnel. In 2013, the NSW Government amended the Road Transport Act to make it clear that a Court can consider the presence of obstructions or hazards on the road, including stopped emergency vehicles and personnel, when determining whether a driver has driven negligently. If negligent driving causes death or grievous bodily harm, the penalty may include large fines and/or imprisonment. If negligent driving does not cause death or harm, the penalty includes a $439 fine and three demerit points. There are also safety and enforcement issues which may preclude an effective enforceable speed limit reduction around emergency vehicles. A reduction to a 40 km/h speed limit without an advanced warning creates considerable risk. These include the risk of losing control and rear-end crashes from sudden and excessive braking, which would be exacerbated on higher speed roads, such as those with 100 or 110 km/h speed limits. Furthermore, the NSW Police Force have advised that measuring vehicle speed over a short distance is challenging. Police responding to an incident may not be able to address passing motorist speed. In consideration of the road safety risks associated with introducing further regulatory changes, NSW has maintained a non-regulatory approach to encourage drivers to slow down around emergency vehicles. As part of the ‘Towards Zero’ approach, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has developed the ‘Slow Down Give Us Space’ campaign to support positive and safe driving behaviour around emergency vehicles. More information is available at roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au. TfNSW promotes the campaign and key messages via social media, key stakeholder partnerships, and key events, such as Yellow Ribbon Week. The Breakdown Safety Glovebox Guide also advises drivers to slow down well below the posted speed limit around breakdown situations. I hope this information has been of assistance to you. Yours sincerely, Ruth Customer Feedback Transport for NSW Please do not respond directly to this email as this email address is not being monitored. To provide more feedback, please call 131 500 or use the Transport Info feedback forms: http://www.transportnsw.info/feedback.