Police lights and sirens in civilian car

"Harrycarry250" (Harrycarry250) 10/20/2014 at 18:19 • Filed to: None

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Looking at Alex Roy's M5 I have always wondered about his lights and sirens... How illegal is that to have all that gear that replicates an emergency vehicle?

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:23

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Pretty sure if you got pulled over and a cop found all that stuff they would be bringing you in on impersonation charges, although I'm not sure if they would stick.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:25

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Criminal impersonation in the first degree is a class E felony. - See more at: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THR…

CB > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:25

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Very illegal, at least here in Canada.

JGrabowMSt > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:27

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Depends on if he uses them to impersonate an officer or not. If the car was truly a retired police interceptor vehicle, and sold with them, it's not illegal to leave the in the car. It's only truly illegal to use blue and red strobes unless you're a first responder of some kind. Fire/EMS typically have only blue strobes, police have white/red/blue for various uses.

But again, the only truly illegal use would be impersonating a law enforcement officer. My coworker got in deep shit for putting blue and red strobes into his old ford explorer. But he's the kind of idiot who thinks that he's being cool by doing that. Otherwise, many landscaping trucks around me have tiny light bars with just white strobes. Perfectly legal to have and use them, and I think it's a good thing too, often you may not see them, but the strobe on the truck gets your attention quick.

It would also apply to people who own retired EMS vehicles (ambulances and such). Perfectly legal to have and drive that kind of vehicle, just not legal to use it just to get through traffic being a dickhead.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:30

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Very illegal.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:37

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The man who drove across the entire USA at an average speed of over 90 is probably not super worried about laws.

That being said, and as others have pointed out...

Very illegal.

Pedro Rafael > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:38

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Here in Brazil a few years ago people used to buy sirens to look like undercover cop cars so the others would open the way during traffic jams

lone_liberal > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:41

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Back in the Dark Ages, when I was in high school, a friend of mine bought a used patrol car and fitted it with red and blue Christmas-style lights in the grill. A cop stopped him and made him rip it all out right there on the side of the road.

I'll take 911 RS for $5000 > Harrycarry250 10/20/2014 at 18:59

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In VA you can have red lights, but if you flip on (/anyone notices you have) the blue you'll get tagged for impersonating a police officer, and that isn't fun.

Dusty Ventures > JGrabowMSt 10/20/2014 at 19:28

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The strobe colors vary by state. In Massachusetts for example (and most of New England) it's the reverse of what you described. Fire/EMS is red/white, Police are blue/white without red. And here you can get ticketed for simply having the red/blue lights on the car. For example, a friend bought a retired ambulance and started driving it around. He got a ticket for still having the red lights on it. He was told he would have to remove them or change the lens color to yellow/black. Yellow and white are legal for anyone here.

Strange Noises Alou > JGrabowMSt 10/20/2014 at 19:43

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which state do you live in? only place I can think of offhand where blue is allowed for anything but police is New Mexico. their public works vehicles flash blue and orange. this includes highway department, snowplows, etc.

JGrabowMSt > Strange Noises Alou 10/20/2014 at 19:50

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Only white is legal, for everyone. Around here, lots of first responders have blue strobes in their cars, but they have identifying plates that mark them as first responders, and whether they're fire or EMT.

My coworker just had a waterproof LED strobe bar that he put in his grill, not an actual LED light bar.

Rico > Harrycarry250 10/21/2014 at 12:22

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What if you install a police style intercom in your car to tell idiots on the road they are idiots? Is that illegal?

biker > I'll take 911 RS for $5000 10/30/2014 at 21:21

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the last I knew having the lens was ok, provided there wasnt any wiring or bulb socket, & couldnt be made useable easily. so you could have a blue lens in vehicle, but in no way can it be made opperational, the same for the red unless had reason to have it, as in EMS, for example.

also the same goes for a siren, its not ilegal to own, only to use while in motion, but perfectly fine if it an alarm that is disarmed while moving, I have a friend that has a electric motor driven siren as an alarm on his truck, & neighbors called police, however police cant do anything because its an alarm, & its wired correctly, & the nosey neighbors called when he was testing during his installation. if people had not been messing with his truck & stealing gas, he probably wouldnt have bought something like that.

guys driving slow moving vehicles, wreckers, tow trucks, farm equipment, alot of times have a yellow strobe. or yellow white / clear

biker > Rico 10/30/2014 at 21:23

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I would say that you have a normal CB with the intercom button, & external PA speaker mounted under hood, & no idea of the legalities in different locations. not uncommon around the redneck areas around here.