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Blue Light Violations in New Jersey
Just out of curioisty, I know that the emergency light laws for the state of New Jersey dictate that only 2 blue lights can be used when responding but I know several people in my firehouse alone that have more than 2 and/or are over the voltage limit. A friend of mine told me that there's a limit to the number of Led's allowed and the candle power they produce. What I want to know is what the punishment is for violating these laws or even if the police care.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John on
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I don't know about NJ but most cop's don't care so long as you don't look like a UFO and don't abuse your authority.
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Permalink Reply by Sparky3317 on
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Most cops in MA dont bother you. Now if you do get caught for some reason like some people have you can get fined and even have your permit revoked
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Most police agencies don't have an issue....that is UNTIL some jackass abuses it...then we all get to hear about it....We actually had a probie who was speeding through a work zone reach down and turn on his blue lights when he spotted a State Police Trooper on the side of the road.......the "OH SHIT" factor hit the max of ten...He got stopped and the Trooper reported it to our Chief.....That man is no longer a "probie"; in fact he is no longer in our Department.....and this was in New York State.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Herdman on
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In WV only PD can run Blue's. Fire and EMS is Red/White.
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I know....LOL...I was traveling through WV and came across an MVA...so I pulled over, turned by light bar on and went to see if I could help.....When LEO got there they weren't amused....I had to do some fast explaining..then they saw my plates that had New York Volunteer Firefighter on them and they let me go.....
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Permalink Reply by Paul Dudan on
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In New Jersey the magic color is Red. Most Police here run red and blue, as well as some Fire and EMS agencies. Its in the State Code so its what we run.
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As already mentioned a permit may be revoked, but there may also be fines associated with a violation. Be respectful and follow all laws when using blue lights because police will still issue a ticket if you are speeding or blow a stop sign even if the intersection is empty(It has happened in my dept). Also to say that most police don't care may be true, but it is not a given. My fire chief was pulled over by a State Trooper in town while responding to an alarm in his POV with a red light on the dash. Once the situation was explained and permit shown, the chief responded to the scene.
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Permalink Reply by John Karl Ambrusch, III on
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It's the same in PA; 2 for 360 deg. coverage. It's a summary citation by the state police; but I'm sure that companies have their own policies in place as well.
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Permalink Reply by Russ on
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this is one of my favorite subjects because evey time the cops go on a blue light JHAD it allways gets messy. The laws for lights and volunteers vary from state to state (OHIO YOU'RE MY FAVORITE!) and after reading the origional post i have to laugh when i see subjects as "voltage" as a regulated subject. What were they thinking when they wrote the law? did a volunteer threaten to put a reactor in his car to power a 100.000 million CP bulb? When i was a vollie they regulated the wattage of the bulb. (i allways wondered how a cop would measure that in the field). i got tagged once for having more than one light because he said "a mirror assembly" on a "whelen responder" constituted more than one light. i beat it because the law regulated amout, candlepower and placement. it didnt regulate mirrors (stop laughing it WAS a slow week in the courthouse).
like many others have said, its not an issue until somebody abuses it. in florida (vollies use red) most departments have not banned the use of volunteer lights (they just dont issue permits). i only use my reds when i'm parked for safety and to mark the scene. i have allways seen the use of volunteers and lights as simply someone going to the firehouse nothing more and i do admit it gets taken to extreams by some. i see that as a sign of dedication and while there need to be controlls (ohio has the right idea) unless abused, dont screw with it.
2 lights in NJ? wow,when i left NY you were allowed only 1 blue (which was routinely ignored) and no more than 25CP (which was again ignored)
just for a laugh: in the 1980's florida changed their laws reguarding red light use for vollies to 1 light visable from all four sides of the vehicle. "IT GOT PRINTED AS" one light "on" each corner of the vehicle and was sent out that way. LOL some guy actually did it is it was a laugh to see. (i had a picture of the car but lost it)
how will the law change to recognize LED technology? cant wait to see how that ends up?
to answer your question, in florida state law says that red light misuse results in dismissal from the fire company (most folks got tossed then voted back in) because the law didnt specify the time they had to be out and that they could not be voted back in so most of the time it happened in the same meeting (god bless america)...in NY it used to be dismissal from the FD but i never saw it happen. great subject, it took me back... i'm gonna mount that twin sonic on my motorcycle now
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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Do you really need a light? If you're in that rural of a place that you respond from home then I doubt you have that bad of traffic. Yes, we use them in my department, but that's because we have the 2nd worst traffic in the nation behind LA. For the most part we rarely get above 25-35mph even when there isn't much traffic. We usually need the lights and siren just to idle through the gridlock. Seems like a waste of money in most volunteer departments except for on the rig.
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Permalink Reply by Rich on
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http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2004/Bills/A3000/2998_I1.PDF
Here is the link to the NJ law....51 candle power? That's funny. My LED blue light must have 10 times that, it lights up the street and still people refuse to pull over (that's a courtesy here in New Jersey). Unauthorized use fine is $100, abuse by the owner of the permit is $50.
I was in NC once and was asked nicely by the local LEO to cover or remove my blue light, as blue was for law enforcement only. Same when I lived in Florida. Red for volunteers, blue for cops. But it seems that that line is crossed everywhere as I've seen blue, red and white on every type of emergency apparatus from Jersey to Florida.
Simply put, you can have your permit revoked and/or have a fine for abusing your blue light here in NJ.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Steenberg on
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Hi Rich and All,
The blue light law was updated in 2005. It removes the reference to candlepower among other things. The update, as signed by the governor, is attached. You will still need to cross reference it to the motor vehicle code (Title 39).
Here's what the State Code currently says about blue light specs (to those out of state, the law distinguishes specs and permits for red and blue lights):
39:3-54.9 Specifications.
3.Emergency warning lights shall be removable or permanently attached, of the flashing or revolving type, equipped with a blue lens and controlled by a switch installed inside the vehicle or shall be blue of the light bar type, in accordance with the specifications prescribed by the chief administrator.
L.1977,c.223,s.3; amended 1979, c.71, s.2; 2005, c.218, s.2.
39:3-54.10 Placement of motor vehicle, types of lights.
4.No more than two emergency warning lights shall be installed on a vehicle. If one light is used it shall be installed in the center of the roof of the car, or on the front of the vehicle so that the top of the emergency warning light is no higher than the top of the vehicle's headlights, or in the center of the dashboard. It may be a low profile light bar of the strobe, halogen or incandescent type, or a combination thereof. If two lights are used they may be placed on the windshield columns on each side of the vehicle where spotlights are normally mounted, or on either side of the roof at the front of the vehicle directly back of the top of the windshield. Under no circumstances may one light be placed on the roof and one on the windshield column in the spotlight position. Light elements shall be shielded from direct sight or view of the driver.
L.1977,c.223,s.4; amended 1979, c.71, s.3; 2005, c.218, s.3.br />
Here is the link to the motor vehicle code (Scroll down to title 39):
http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=17201936...
Regards,
Matt - Attachments:
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05 blue light law.pdf, 10 KB
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