Hoping someone on this board can satisfy my curiosity.
What is the general police policy on using lights and sirens?
In other words: can an officer use his patrol car's lights/sirens at his discretion when on duty, or is there a rule that they're only to be used conducting a traffic stop or enroute to an emergency call?
What prompted me to ask this question was an instance last week, where I was passed by a marked police car at reasonably high speed (ie. 80-90kph in a 50 zone) without any lights or sirens. It didn't really bother me at the time -- this was on a major road that can easily be driven safely at 80kph -- but 2 minutes later, I saw the same officer pulling someone over in what appeared to be a routine traffic stop.
Was he breaking the rules by blatantly speeding without lights/sirens? Or is that allowed if the officer deems it safe/necessary?
Thanks in advance!