Search Legislation

Advanced Search

Deregulation Act 2015

Deregulation Act 2015

2015 CHAPTER 20

Commentary on Sections

Section 50: Road traffic legislation: use of vehicles in emergency response by NHS

237.This section, together with Schedule 9, amend various pieces of road traffic legislation, to remove potential restrictions on the effective response to emergencies by NHS ambulance services. Road traffic legislation contains a number of provisions which provide that vehicles used for specified purposes (for example, fire and rescue authority, ambulance or police purposes) are not subject to certain restrictions.

238.The restrictions this section and Schedule remove relate to speed, double parking, parking on dropped footways, parking in darkness, leaving a vehicle unattended with the engine running, stopping on double white lines, width of load, fitting and use of lamps, reflectors and sirens, pedestrian crossings, keep left/right signs, light signals, white lines, box junctions, zig zag lines, bus stop and bus stands clearways.

239.The amendments enable a wider range of vehicles than traditional ambulances to be used to respond to an emergency when they are providing a response to an emergency at the request of the NHS ambulance service. For the purposes of this section and Schedule, NHS ambulance service means (a) an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust established under the National Health Service Act 2006 which has a function of providing ambulance services; (b) an NHS trust established under the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 which has a function of providing ambulance services; and (c) the Scottish Ambulance Service Board.

240.The amendments made by the section and Schedule have the same extent as the legislation amended. This means that the amendments form part of the law of England and Wales and Scotland, with the exception of the amendments in the Schedule to the Traffic Management Act 2004 which form part of the law of England and Wales only.

241.The section and Schedule come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which the Act is passed.

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Impact Assessments

Impact Assessments generally accompany all UK Government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector, civil society organisations and public services. They apply regardless of whether the regulation originates from a domestic or international source and can accompany primary (Acts etc) and secondary legislation (SIs). An Impact Assessment allows those with an interest in the policy area to understand:

  • Why the government is proposing to intervene;
  • The main options the government is considering, and which one is preferred;
  • How and to what extent new policies may impact on them; and,
  • The estimated costs and benefits of proposed measures.