Plain-language version of the duties in the NWAS Driving Policy v3.5. Where the policy uses a vague or legal phrase, I've said what it actually means. This is a study aid, not the policy itself — the live intranet version governs.
Don't make one decision at the start of the journey and stick to it. Keep re-reading the road.
What "dynamic risk assessment" means: constantly updating your read of hazards — a parked van door opening, a junction filling with pedestrians, weather changing — and adjusting your speed, position or use of EWE as each one appears, not just at the start.
Using lights and sirens is your call, but the Trust expects you to use them on emergency responses.
If you choose not to, be ready to answer three questions afterwards: can you justify it, was it proportionate, was it reasonable. In practice this means: could you explain your reasoning to a supervisor without it sounding like you just forgot?
When responding, run both, day or night, for the whole journey — not just lights, not just sirens.
There are two named exceptions where you may drop the siren but keep the lights on: approaching a junction that's temporarily blocked by stationary traffic, and passing animals such as horses. Turn the siren back on the moment you're past it.
You can turn the siren off (lights stay on) only after you've actively thought about whether anyone nearby would benefit from hearing it.
This isn't a blanket "sirens off after 11pm" rule. If you're in a quiet residential street with nobody about, that reasoning might hold up. If you're anywhere someone could reasonably be around — town centres, especially — keep it on. You also have to factor in that drivers at night are more likely to be tired and slower to react, which cuts the other way (i.e. toward keeping the siren on, since people need more warning, not less).
Drive every junction and overtake as if the other driver has no idea you're there.
This is the policy explicitly telling you not to rely on your EWE working. It's a mindset instruction, not a technicality.
Lights and sirens are for: responding to an emergency, being at the scene, or warning people of your vehicle or a hazard. Not for beating traffic on a non-emergency job.
Misusing EWE deliberately is described as a criminal offence, not just a policy breach.
You must always be able to stop within the distance you can actually see is clear ahead.
This overrides everything else about speed. If you can't see round a bend, your "safe" speed is whatever lets you stop before whatever might be round it — regardless of the limit or the 20mph allowance below.
This is a hard ceiling set by the Trust — not a target, not something you're entitled to.
Example: 30mph zone → 50mph is the absolute maximum the policy allows, and only if conditions actually support it. The law itself (s.87 RTRA 1984) doesn't give you a number at all — it just says you're exempt from the limit if sticking to it would hinder your response. The Trust's 20mph figure is stricter than the law, and it's what you'll be judged against.
Not on your own judgement that something feels urgent. It has to be a call ICC has actually allocated as an emergency.
You may go through a red, but only in a way that doesn't force anyone else to brake hard, swerve, or change what they were doing.
What "give way" actually means here: if the only way through is for another driver to take evasive action, you haven't met the condition — stop and wait, or find another way through.
Only on an emergency call, only if sticking to the correct side would hinder you, and only if it's safe.
This exemption is tied specifically to that blue circular sign (the one on traffic islands and central reservation gaps). It does not cover one-way streets, No Entry signs, or driving against traffic on a dual carriageway with no island — those aren't listed exemptions at all.
If you're driving, hand comms to your crewmate whenever you can.
Keep any message short. Afterwards, you need to be able to say both that it was necessary and that you did it safely — two separate things, both required.
The only exception in the policy is dialling 999/112 yourself in a genuine emergency, if stopping isn't safe or possible.
A phone in a cradle is allowed only if you can operate it without picking it up — and even then, if it distracts you, you can still be charged with careless driving or failing to have proper control.
Any health condition, new medication, or "am I okay to drive today" moment — get advice from a doctor or pharmacist rather than guessing.
At least 15 minutes off every two hours of continuous driving is the recommended minimum.
Even if someone else prepped the vehicle, you're still legally responsible for checking it's roadworthy before you drive it.
Stop, give your name and address, the vehicle owner's details, the registration, and insurance details if anyone's hurt.
Call it in to NWASSC in Carlisle straight away, then complete the bump card and Datix report.
If you're a driver or named driver on any other vehicle, your personal insurer needs telling as well as the Trust.
The policy lists "Motorway Regulation" as one exemption item — it doesn't spell out the hard shoulder as its own rule.
The legal basis (reg 16, Motorways Traffic Regulations 1982) covers using a motorway outside the normal rules where necessary to give or get help after an accident or emergency, causing as little danger to other traffic as possible, or simply because you're on ambulance duty. That's broad, but it's not a blank cheque — hard shoulders can have broken-down vehicles and people standing on them.
Access, including reverse flow when standing traffic blocks the normal route, is set out in bulletins agreed between the Trust, police, Highways England and fire. If you're unsure, contact ICC — don't improvise.
Even for an incident on the other side, you need police or another authorised agency to direct you there first.
If you're first at a motorway incident — deliberately or by chance — you're expected to already know how to park safely there before you arrive, not work it out on the spot.
Unmarked cars shouldn't routinely arrive first at a motorway incident. The exception is if the police or another agency has already protected the scene before you get there.
Don't follow the vehicle in front through a red light or past a hazard just because they did. Assess every hazard yourself and make your own call — their decision doesn't transfer to you.
If you're the response car crew and you're told to stay with the patient in the back of the ambulance, you're not allowed to then drive the response car under emergency conditions to follow it — even if you're trained to.
You can use a bus lane during its hours of operation only when ICC has deployed you to an emergency response. There's no exemption at all for non-emergency journeys — patient transport included.
These aren't about you if you're driving a normal Trust ambulance or response car on an ICC call — but worth knowing if you work alongside these roles.
First responders, staff responders and allied co-responders — none, in any vehicle. Voluntary ambulance car drivers — none. Doctors' co-op vehicles with green lights — none, under any circumstances.
A doctor's vehicle with full emergency equipment can get exemptions, but only if the driver did a recognised course within a valid registration period and was deployed by ICC — it's not automatic just because the equipment's fitted.
The Trust simply doesn't permit motorcycle response, full stop.
If you're trained to respond in a response car, that doesn't authorise you to respond in an ambulance, or vice versa. Each vehicle type needs its own sign-off.
Only staff who've completed the full ERD programme and are registered as high-speed drivers can use the speed exemption. If you're not registered, the 20mph allowance isn't available to you regardless of the call.
This is a driving competency review measured against the High-Speed Driving Regulations Codes of Practice.
This applies even if you moved to a non-operational role but still do occasional operational shifts.
It also covers driving below the posted limit but faster than the conditions actually allow — so you can be judged against this standard even while technically under the speed limit.
Check lights, wipers, tyres, steering, exhaust, horn, wheel nuts — every shift, regardless of "make ready."
Legal minimum tread is 1.6mm. Trust policy is: report at 3mm, change at 2mm. Don't wait until it's legally illegal — report it well before that point.
Check the rear/side steps, ramp and tail lift are stowed and all doors properly shut before driving away. The rear communication door being closed is a structural safety feature in a collision, not just tidiness.
If a door becomes faulty mid-shift, you can temporarily secure it and drive to get it fixed — but only after you've actually assessed the risk of doing so, not as a default.
Even damage that isn't yours — found at the start of a shift — goes on a Datix RTC form straight away.
9+ penalty points between checks moves you to 6-monthly checks.
You pay for it, and it's your responsibility to book it — not something that happens automatically.
If you don't declare a health condition that affects your driving, the Trust's insurance is invalidated the moment you drive — not just a disciplinary issue, an insurance one.
You need to read a plate at 20m in good daylight (20.5m for old-style plates). If you need glasses or lenses to manage that, you must wear them every time you drive, and carry spares where you can.
All drivers, passengers, students, observers — belted, every time the vehicle's moving.
The only acceptable exception is when the patient's condition genuinely requires it — e.g. active life-saving intervention. "It's a short journey" or "we're in a rush" don't count.
As the driver, you have the right to refuse to move until everyone's secure.
Check the Safe Transportation of Children Policy for the specifics — this document doesn't cover it in detail.
Secure them in the rear with a harness and belt where possible, ideally where they can still see their owner.
Every single exemption above only exists if you're not endangering anyone. If claiming it would mean driving dangerously, you don't have it — full stop.
This is the filter to run everything else through. "Am I exempt from the rule" and "am I driving safely" are two separate questions, and passing the first never answers the second.