Debate about possible penalties for blue light accidents at the police station

“At the moment, there is only one case pending for review and possible disciplinary assessment by the human resources department,” the state police directorate said on Sunday in response to a query. The “Kurier” had previously reported on a ruling by the Supreme Court (OGH), which, in connection with an accident caused by a police vehicle, had concluded that it was not permissible to enter an intersection at all if the entire traffic situation could not be seen from the stop line.

“Problematic in practice”

“In practice, the restrictive legal situation is quite problematic. In particular, in connection with recent case law, almost every emergency journey would be reduced to absurdity, since in urban areas, due to poor visibility, it is usually necessary to cautiously approach the intersection,” ÖAMTC traffic lawyer Matthias Nagler criticized this interpretation in the “Kurier”.

Fines of up to 1,000 euros?

There is talk of possible fines of 1,000 euros that Viennese police officers who have an accident could face in the future under disciplinary law. “During patrol duty, accidents often occur during emergency operations. Drivers of emergency vehicles must of course observe the relevant road traffic regulations (in particular Section 26 of the Road Traffic Act) as well as the applicable service regulations regarding the driving of service and emergency vehicles,” said the State Police Directorate on the issue.

From the beginning of the year to the end of June, there were 14 traffic accidents in Vienna involving personal injury involving a service vehicle. Eleven of these were operational journeys, and in six of these cases the crash occurred when entering an intersection at a red light. In accordance with the Interior Ministry’s guidelines, only those traffic accidents in which the employees themselves are at fault or partially at fault are recorded, the State Police Directorate said in response to a query.

Criticism from the police union

If a disciplinary order is issued in the specific case, which is currently being examined by the human resources department, the person concerned would have the right to appeal against the decision of the authority, the State Police Directorate stressed. Criticism comes from the police union. “From our point of view, each case should be assessed individually. Under what circumstances the accident actually occurred, whether there have been several such incidents. And what is also important to us is that it is handled fairly uniformly across Austria and that colleagues in the Vienna State Police Directorate are not disadvantaged,” said Gerhard Zauner from the Christian Trade Unionists’ Group (FCG) on Saturday evening in the ORF program “Wien Heute”.