Video: Police car hit after turning in front of Canberra’s light rail

A dash cam has captured the moment a police car in Canberra was hit by the city’s light rail vehicle – just moments after activating its flashing lights and sirens.

In a video uploaded to social media platform Facebook by Canberra Drivers, the police car comes into view just a handful of seconds before the driver makes a right turn off Northbourne Avenue and onto Wakefield Avenue at almost midnight on Saturday January 6.

However, the right turn was made against a red light which was activated due to a light rail vehicle (also known as a tram) entering the intersection at the same time.

With no time to slow down, the circa-42 tonne carriage hits the police car and spins it around, before both vehicles come to a stop.

As reported by The Canberra Times, police claim the car’s driver had "observed the intersection to be clear of vehicles, before proceeding" – despite this evidently not being the case.

Neither of the police car’s occupants or any of the 50 people on board the light rail were injured.

The incident is currently being investigated and a report has been submitted to the national rail safety regulator.

When Canberra’s light rail opened in 2019, it was announced motorists found to have driven into the path of the tram would face fines of $464 and three demerit points – though this is likely to have increased due to inflation in the years since.

The incident occurred on the same weekend as the annual Summernats car festival, which takes place 10 minutes north at Canberra’s Exhibition Park.

Earlier this week, the head of ACT Policing called drivers who performed burnouts on public roads outside of Summernats unevolved and a “sub-species of the human race”, questioning the intelligence of the hoons.