Provided 6-17-16 1516 RTKL 0181 PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL DISTRICT Office of School Safety SUBJECT: I. Directive #10 SAFE OPERATION OF PATROL VEHICLES POLICY A. The School District Police vehicle must be under complete control at all times. Therefore, it must be operated with the purpose of preventing accidents, injuries, and property damage during routine operation. To reduce the possibility of an injury during a collision and to maintain control of the vehicle after impact, shoulder restraints/seatbelts will be worn by the vehicle operator and all passengers. 1. Under normal operating conditions and while responding to calls for service, personnel operating school police vehicles will strictly adhere to and obey all traffic laws and operate the vehicle in a safe and courteous manner. 2. When operating a vehicle under emergency conditions, SPO will be alert and obey all traffic laws. He/she will operate the vehicle in a safe and defensive manner. SPO will be prepared for the UNEXPECTED. 3. To operate a School District vehicle, the employee must possess current and valid operator’s license. It is the individual employee’s responsibility to maintain that operator’s license. If the employee’s license is lost, revoked, suspended, or is not valid for any reason, the employee must, without fail, notify his immediate supervisor IMMEDIATELY. 4. All accidents and/or vehicular damage to School District vehicles are to be properly documented. The Operator of the vehicle will then notify his/her immediate Supervisor. *NOTE: See Appendix “A” for detailed information. 5. When schools are in session, school police officers will operate their patrol vehicles slowly and cautiously, and turn their vehicle dome lights on when traveling through a school safety zone during student arrival and dismissal. Arrival hours are: 7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.; Dismissal hours are: 2:00 p.m. -3:30 p.m. If the time of school arrival and dismissal is adjusted, the activation of the patrol dome lights will apply. 1 - 10 B. Parking the School District Vehicle. 1. The Operator of the vehicle will put the transmission selector lever in the “park” position, engage the emergency brake, and then turn the engine off. He/she will roll up the windows and lock the doors, removing the keys from the ignition before leaving the vehicle unattended. 2. School District Vehicles will be parked in a legal manner, unless an emergency exists. However, the vehicle must not create hazardous condition nor impede the flow of traffic. C. Safe Operation of Vehicles 1. Any indication of faulty and/or unsafe equipment will be reported to the on-duty supervisor and recorded/submitted on a Vehicle Inspection Report-form SP-17. 2. The right of way can never be assumed or taken. Pedestrians always are to have the absolute right of way. 3. Pursuits will not be initiated by School Police. 4. SMOKING is NOT PERMITTED in any School District vehicle. *NOTE: Appendix “A” Attached. 3-4-04 Revised 11-19-10 BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF SAFETY EXECUTIVE OFFICE of SCHOOL SAFETY 2 - 10 PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL DISTRICT Office of School Safety Directive #10 June 2015 APPENDIX “A” SUBJECT: I. SAFE OPERATION OF PATROL VEHICLES ACCIDENTS INVOLVING SCHOOL DISTRICT VEHICLES A. The operator of a school district vehicle involved in any vehicular accident either attended or unattended will: 1. Immediately notify School Police Radio Dispatcher ) from the scene, giving conditions. Philadelphia Police will be notified. If there are any obvious injuries to anyone, request Fire Rescue be sent to the scene. The presence of a School Police Supervisor must be requested at accident scene. 2. Allow the vehicles to remain in their post-accident position as much as possible. When a dangerous situation or serious delay to traffic necessitates the removal of the vehicles from the roadway, SPO must mark the post-accident position if possible. SPO will use a non-permanent marking crayon or will scratch the surface with a sharp object, such as a screwdriver to denote the “point of rest” position for later use by police investigators. 3. Parked, unattended school district vehicles that are struck by a vehicle that has left the scene, should not be moved until the Philadelphia Police have arrived on location. 4. SPO must inform the other operator(s) involved that he/she is not permitted to make a statement to them. SPO must avoid any unnecessary conversation related to the accident. 5. Incident Reports and a SP-16 will be prepared and submitted. Copies of those reports will be submitted to the pertinent Commander. A nonbus accident report and the Vehicle Accident Questionnaire will be completed by the operator and submitted to the immediate supervisor with copies distributed to the pertinent Divisional Commander. 6. A copy of the police incident report (75-48) will be obtained. If an AA-45 form was required to be completed by Philadelphia Police, that report will also be obtained. 7. Should the operator of the School District vehicle be incapacitated, the first School Police supervisor on the scene will be responsible for the issuance and preparation of reports and all necessary modifications. 8. All accidents that involve an employee operating a vehicle assigned to the Office of School Safety will be investigated and evaluated by the Accident Review Board as determined by the pertinent Commander. 3 - 10 II. UNREPORTED DAMAGE TO SCHOOL DISTRICT VEHICLES A. The pertinent Commander will be responsible for the investigation of all unreported damage to School Police vehicles (including undercarriage and frame damage). *NOTE: Attachments, Non-Bus Vehicle Accident Report- TO-46 Vehicle Accident Questionnaire- (20 Questions) 3-4-04 Revised 11-19-10 JUNE 2015 BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF SAFETY EXECUTIVE OFFICE of SCHOOL SAFETY 4 - 10