WA Radio Scanner Users' Group

Can anybody tell me how fast a firetruck is allowed to go?? And why doses the little truck follow the big one I thought it would be faster then the big one and get there quiker

This has been discussed a few times before, essentially they go as fast as traffic/weather/road conditions permit. I haven't seen a fixed limit on max speed though from what I've heard the general concensus is 20kph over the designated speed limit. It's up to the driver though as ultimately they are responsible for the vehicle and any accidents that occur with it.

As for the big truck then little truck question, well that's a lot simpler. The station officer (guy in charge) sits in the passenger seat of the pump, if the light tanker was to go first then the crew would arrive at the incident with no crew leader. Secondly and just as importantly when it comes to structural, HAZMAT and Road crashes, all the essential lifesaving equipment are in the pump. If the pump arrives first and the light tanker is delayed by a couple of minutes the pump can be used and other preparations made for the rescue while the light tanker continues to the scene.

The term "safe and expedient" comes to mind.

WPXZBP wrote:The term "safe and expedient" comes to mind.

i do believe it is now "safe and reasonable" because if the driver has an accident then is was not safe or reasonable.

Only did my On-Road driving course two weeks ago.... lol

Trucks are limited to 100km/hr The LT have no limits on how fast they can go yet. (I am not talking about responding to a incident merely the capability of the vehicles.)

thats not correct for all buddy

Helitak_670 wrote:Trucks are limited to 100km/hr The LT have no limits on how fast they can go yet. (I am not talking about responding to a incident merely the capability of the vehicles.)

Nope, not true. Best educate yourself before making comment on things like this.

Firstly, the Scania pumps move much quicker than the Light Tankers (at least the V6's) and are much more visible in traffic.. People often miss the Light Tankers, so having a large truck in front of you is often a godsend.

In the code, it pretty much says you are exempt from the provisions if in the circumstances you are taking reasonable care and it is reasonable that the provisions of the code not apply AND that you are displaying a flashing blue or red light or sounding an alarm.

On the Trucks themselves, they are only limited to 100km/h under normal conditions AND if GVM is 12tonnes or more. The exemption that exists when travelling under Firecall conditions also exempts the driver from that heavy-vehicle speed limit - remember though that the above paragraph also applies. I'm told the speed limiters in the larger trucks are automatically disabled when the siren is activated (note this also applies to the towing a trailer 100km/hour limit, eg a Light Tanker with a rescue trailer).

Of course, its not always (if at all) safe to drive some vehicles over 100km/hour. It does come down to time, place & circumstance though. Food for thought though... you'll find that a fully loaded 3.4 or 4.4 *will* stop quicker than a Light Tanker travelling at the same speed.

Helitak_670 wrote: On the Trucks themselves, they are only limited to 100km/h under normal conditions AND if GVM is 12tonnes or more.

Not all of them are mate. I can guarentee that from a very reliable source (mate in the brigade)

ace of spades wrote:

Helitak_670 wrote: On the Trucks themselves, they are only limited to 100km/h under normal conditions AND if GVM is 12tonnes or more.

Not all of them are mate. I can guarentee that from a very reliable source (mate in the brigade)

Holy combined quotes batman! Not all of trucks may be physically limited per-se (particularly less recent ones), but under the law they should not be doing any more than 100kph when not making use of the 'exemption' under the Code.

ok quite a few of the trucks I have driven on fire call conditions I have not been able to get above 100km/hr (except going down a hill and I get 110km/hr) They are speed limited sirens and lights or not. So please inform me of which trucks because I would love to try it out.

I think what people are arguing about is the difference between the actual abilities of the appliances and having a device that limits the speed to 100km/h. (By appliance, for this post, I'm referring to anything bigger than a Light Tanker.)

Speed limiting devices are not fitted to any of the appliances that I have seen. That being said, I have seen very few appliances get over "the dollar mark" due to the masses involved.

As a side note, any trucks limited to 100KM/h (need to?) display a 100 Restricted sign on the back. No appliance that I've seen displays this.

yorky wrote:As a side note, any trucks limited to 100KM/h (need to?) display a 100 Restricted sign on the back. No appliance that I've seen displays this.

+ Buses

All BFS heavy appliances manufactured from approximately 2007- have as far as i know a governer which is disabled when the vehicle is travelling under firecall conditions. It only is deactivated when lights and siren are working, not just lights.

Any vehicle built prior to that as far as im aware wont have any restrictor. Light tankers dont have any restrictors.

So I guess they can do what they need to do but my next question is are the truck running big turbos or hotted up cause a truck went past me the other day and it was really quick. Impresive display of driving at that speed and man the airhorn is loud .
Are they like the cops with the better suspension and the fatter tune up