No person shall operate an ambulance or rescue vehicle in a manner not conforming to the motor vehicle laws and regulations of this state and city as such laws apply to motor vehicles in general, unless in compliance with the following conditions:
A. Orders From Physicians: The person operating the ambulance shall be either responding to a bona fide emergency call or specifically directed by a licensed physician to disregard traffic laws in operating the ambulance during and for the purpose of the specific trip or journey that is involved.
B. Sirens And Flashing Lights: The ambulance or rescue vehicle shall be equipped with a siren producing an audible signal of an intensity of one hundred (100) decibels at a distance of fifty feet (50') from the siren, and with a lamp or lamps emitting an oscillating, rotating or flashing red beam directed in part toward the front of the vehicle, and these lamps shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet (500') in normal sunlight.
C. Warning To Pedestrians And Other Drivers: The aforesaid siren and lamp or lamps shall be in operation at all times when it is reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof during such trip or journey.
D. Speed In Excess Of Limit: Whenever the ambulance or rescue vehicle is operated at a speed in excess of forty (40) miles per hour, the ambulance shall be operated in complete conformance with every other motor vehicle law and regulation of this state and city, relating to the operation of motor vehicles, as such provision applies to motor vehicles in general, except laws and regulations pertaining to compliance with official traffic control devices or to vehicular operation upon the right half of the roadway.
E. Special License Plates: The ambulance shall display registration plates identifying the vehicle as an ambulance.
F. Responsibility Of Emergency Response Drivers: The foregoing provisions do not relieve the driver of an ambulance or rescue vehicle from the duty of driving with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor do such provisions protect the driver from the consequences resulting from the reckless disregard for the safety of others. (Ord. 2015-29)