[Tagging] Tagging Overtaking Restrictions

[Colin Smale]

  On 07/10/2010 01:03, Elena ``of Valhalla'' wrote:
> On 2010-10-06 at 21:20:08 +0200, Colin Smale wrote:
>> Some places but not all...At least in NL you are not allowed to turn
>> left or make a U-turn across a solid centre line, nor are you allowed to
>> cross the line to overtake anything at all.
> It's the same in Italy, but you can overtake if you are an ambulance
> or another emergency vehicle, so I believe it is worth to keep
> the different tagging.
I am not sure which "different tagging" you are referring to exactly.. 
Emergency vehicles usually have a blanket exemption from many traffic 
laws, often only when they are using their blue flashing lights and 
sirens. They can do pretty much anything anytime (as long as it is safe) 
if it's an emergency. I don't see the point in tagging that separately. 
This is a good example of where it would be useful to see the difference 
between a physical barrier and a continuous line. Having said that, 
sometimes they have dedicated bits of road with signs like "no entry 
except for emergency vehicles" - I think these will be tagged access=no 
emergency=yes.

Different jurisdictions have different definitions of "emergency" and 
"emergency vehicle" - that would be a whole different discussion. In the 
UK an ambulance driver was prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit 
while carrying live organs for transplant between one hospital and 
another. I think he was acquitted in the end, but it caused a lot of debate.