Privately-Owned Vehicles

Your organization relies on the services of volunteers to respond to an emergency scene via their own personal vehicle which is equipped with blue or red courtesy lights.  We recommend the following standard operating guideline which the organization should adopt and enforce if they permit volunteers to respond in their own personal vehicles.

• Annually the organization should verify that the individual volunteers have personal auto liability insurance with appropriate liability limits which protect not only the volunteer but also your organization.

Insurance and Inspection

Your organization relies on the services of personnel to respond to an emergency scene or to the station via their own personal vehicles.

Recent court rulings have determined that employers can be sued for employee commuting accidents.  Consequently, it is important to ensure that all personnel have adequate liability insurance on their private vehicles.  Although most states require that vehicles be insured, many uninsured vehicle accidents still occur. 

We recommend the following guideline which your department should develop and enforce if they permit personnel to respond in their own personal vehicles:

Annually, your organization should verify that individual personnel have personal auto liability insurance with appropriate liability limits which protect not only the individual but also your organization.  This can be achieved by obtaining a copy of each individual's insurance certificate annually, or by having their insurance agent submit a certificate.  This could be done in conjunction with other annual issues, such as respiratory protection questionnaires, or verifying drivers’ licenses.

Since your organization allows response to calls for service with POV’s, your organization should consider a vehicle safety survey to be conducted at least on an annual basis.  The purpose of which should be to evaluate the POV’s road worthiness & basic safety equipment.  Items such as lights, turn signals, glass, windshield wipers and tire condition, should be some of the items considered.  The VFIS POV Safety Inspection form is a good guide for this purpose which follows in the next section.

Personnel must understand that first and foremost, he or she must arrive at the emergency scene safely in order to be of any help to the public.

Privately-Owned Vehicle Practices

Most volunteer emergency service departments rely heavily on the ability of their members to respond to calls, either to the scene or the station, in their personal vehicles. While this is essential to the organization’s ability to react to emergencies in a timely manner, there are also inherent risks.

Motor Vehicle Laws
The most significant risk associated with allowing volunteers to respond in their personal vehicles is that they may operate them as if they are emergency vehicles. All too often, this leads to accidents. While motor vehicle laws vary from state to state, all states address this issue similarly: personal vehicles are not emergency vehicles and are not permitted the same, if any, exemptions to motor vehicle laws. For example, while licensed emergency vehicles are allowed to exceed the posted speed limit, move against the normal flow of traffic and proceed through a negative  intersection control device, personal vehicles driven by volunteers are required to obey the state motor vehicle code.

Courtesy Lights
Some motor vehicle codes address the use of blue or red “courtesy lights.” Basically, these are a visual request asking other drivers to allow you to pass them upon your approach. They are not a demand for right of way, nor do they permit the driver to illegally pass or speed up to overtake any vehicle.

Alternative Solutions
Your organization may wish to reduce or eliminate the risks associated with members responding in their personal vehicles by looking at alternative ways of getting personnel to where they are needed. For example, the creation and use of regular duty crews (members staffing predetermined shifts) would eliminate the need to have large numbers of volunteers responding to every call. A duty crew could staff at least a full first unit response, which can usually handle most calls.

Standard Operating Procedures
If your members are going to continue to respond to calls in personal vehicles, your organization should reduce the risk of death or injury to them and to the general public by developing and enforcing standard operating procedures (SOPs). These procedures should include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Volunteers responding in personal vehicle must obey their state motor vehicle code with respect to courtesy light and siren privileges.

2. Courtesy lights must not be used by volunteers as a license to operate their personal vehicles as if they are emergency vehicles. All courtesy lights should be approved by the chief of the department and a written permit issued. The permit should include the “rules of the road” that apply.

3. Volunteers responding in personal vehicles should never exceed the posted speed limit.

4. Volunteers responding in personal vehicles should come to a complete stop at all stop signs and red traffic signals and must wait for normal right of way before proceeding.

5. Procedures for at-the-scene parking/staging should be included in all SOPS.

6. Individual volunteers must have personal auto liability insurance with appropriate liability limits that protect not only the volunteer but also your organization.

7. Personal vehicle response should not occur with non-members in the vehicle (this includes family, friends
and children)

Once they are developed, SOPs should be included in all new-member orientations and driver training sessions. Every member should receive a written copy of your SOPs and sign off that they have received them and understand them. In addition, your organization should develop written enforcement and progressive discipline guidelines for any member
who violates your procedures.

When your volunteers respond to calls, they need to understand that, first and foremost, they must arrive at the emergency scene or the station safely in order to be of any help to the public.

DISCLAIMER: This is a sample guideline furnished to you by VFIS. Your organization should review this guideline and make the necessary
modifications to meet your organization’s needs. The intent of this guideline is to assist you in reducing exposure to the risk of injury, harm, or
damage to personnel, property, and the general public. For additional information on this topic, contact your VFIS Risk Control Representative at
(800) 233-1957.

Available Resources

• Privately Owned Vehicles Video
• Personal Vehicle Safety Checklist
• Personal Vehicle Response