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Local Emergency Light Laws
I was just wondering what the laws of your state say for POV's to have emergency lights and sirens. I live in Maine where we have very strict laws in reference to POV's and emergnecy lights, you can have two red or white lights in the grill OR 1 in the window if it is not obstructing your view. You have no special laws for responding and people do NOT have to pull over for you if they dont want. Also your not aloud sirens. I've been giving thought to moving to another state and I am hoping to see about your local rules and regulations.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joe Brosius on
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In NC volunteers can have red lights.
The public is not required to pull over, they do so out of courtesy. Most do.
Only Chiefs are allowed by law to have sirens in their pov.
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Permalink Reply by Jared Rahr on
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In wisconsin, a volunteer can have red/white lights and sirens if the department says you can. if you have just a light and no siren, people are not required to pull over for you. but most still do. if you have both, you are to be treated the same as any other emergency vehicle. but we at our department still obey all traffic laws and stop at every red light and stop sign. the problem with some is when they get siren-itus. which is basically they stop thinking about averything except getting to the station. they will someday ruin lights for us all.
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Permalink Reply by Amber-23 on
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In Oklahoma were not allowed anything either. But if we were, In this "you hurt me...so I'm fixin to sue you" Day in age, I still wouldn't use them. I don't want that kind of liability. If you are just in the fire service to put alot of expensive lights and sirens on your own personal vehicle or just to drive the big shiny red truck, than you need to re-evaluate the reasons why you are doing it. Especially if the only reason your moving out of state is because you can't use them.
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Permalink Reply by Matt on
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Here in SC the rules on lights and sirens are split up by the county policies. Such as Newberry County you run red and white lights and sirens. But in Lexington County you can only run red and white lights when you arrive on the scene in your pov and you can only use the siren in certain situations. Such as traffic is backed up bc of an accident and you need to get to the scene.
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Yea i think each station can alter the rules a little bit but as far as a majority of the stations they cant run the lights responding to a call. My station is trying to change our policy to be able to run lights when you are in view of the station to let the other volunteers know there's someone coming.
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Permalink Reply by BillySFCVFD on
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Interesting Matt that local municipalities are setting traffic codes. Usually they are set by the state and the locals just enforce them. TCSS
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Permalink Reply by Cody W. Nelson on
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In my city, volunteers are not allowed to run lights or sirens within the city limits. This is because most POVs do not have 360 degree visiblitiy. The many volunteer departments in the county make up the own policies on if they can have them and when they can use them. The department I volunteered for allowed them, but if you were ever caught running them in the city limits of Lubbock, the fire chief actually took them off your vehicle himself. And there was a good chance you weren't apart of that department any longer.
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Hey Tommy,
Sounds more like a VFD policy then a law. TCSS
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Permalink Reply by FIRE BEAR on
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well here we can have all the lights we want to have but no siren and we have to obey all the state driveing laws we use a blue light and we have to have a signed paper from the cheif to have them
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Below is what I found on DE vehicle codes. So many states' written codes are hard to read and interpret. Here in TX many subsections of the the transportation code contradict each other on the use of flashing lights.
DE Vehicle Code excerpt.
§ 4356. Use of flashing lights.
(a) Any motor vehicle used by a fire chief, assistant fire chief, fire engineer, fire police officer and Chief EMS officer may have placed upon such motor vehicle flashing blue and white lights. Such flashing blue and white lights shall be used by the fire chief, assistant fire chief, fire engineer, fire police officer and Chief EMS officer of any regularly established fire company or ambulance company only in the performance of their duties. The white lights permitted under this subsection shall be embedded in, or otherwise associated with the activation or operation of, the headlamps and/or the flashing turn signal lights of the vehicle.
(b) A police vehicle, a volunteer fire company-owned vehicle or a City of Wilmington bureau of fire-owned vehicle may have placed upon such vehicle flashing blue and red lights or flashing blue, red and/or white lights. (21 Del. C. 1953, § 4357; 53 Del. Laws, c. 13; 61 Del. Laws, c. 155, § 1; 62 Del. Laws, c. 165, § 2; 68 Del. Laws, c. 37, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 20, §§ 1, 2.)
§ 4356A. Use of revolving or flashing green light.
Any motor vehicle used by a fire department or police department and emergency vehicles of state, federal, county or municipal departments, or public service corporations as are designated or authorized as emergency vehicles by the Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security, may be equipped with a green revolving or flashing light for use only when the vehicle is in service at an accident, fire or disaster scene to signify a command post to which fire and police officials may report for instructions or orders, or for use on hazardous material response vehicles traveling to such scene on the request of the fire department or the police department. Such green revolving or flashing lights may only be used on a vehicle for the purposes and in the manner stated in this section. (63 Del. Laws, c. 365, § 1; 75 Del. Laws, c. 89, § 281(c).)
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You're right Tommy but I wonder what we would find if we looked up the laws at the end of the paragraph. Law makers, you gotta love 'em. TCSS
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