OT legality of strobe lights on vehicles, plus rough ride

I'm sure each state has its own regulations about lights. I'm in Ohio and you can use yellow lights when you have an extended load, instead of having a red flag on the end of the load. Also when you are plowing snow. My son is a contractor and uses the light on his truck that way.

Dennis

check on the specifics with your local vol fire department. or even a full time one. here in GA there is a form to fill out where you have to provide your valid reason for wanting them. then it goes through an approval process and you get a permit (if granted). keep in mind there are laws/rules that apply and you would need to research those also.

Every State and municipality for that matter is or can be different and you need to check with them. A quick trip to the municipal building will answer your questions. Since the municipality did not remove them, it is probably not illegal for them to be there but I can't say what the usage rules (if any) might apply.

I've always thought anti-collision strobes, appropriately shielded to avoid blinding other drivers, would be a good idea.

A lot of school buses here in Ohio have them mounted on top of the roof at the rear. I notice the flashing and slow down long before I actually see the buses, especially in reduced visibility.

Aircraft have them and they have a lot more room to maneuver than auto drivers.

Anybody have any thoughts about these and/or the turn signals in the middle of trailers on 18-wheelers? Personally, I don't see how it could hurt.

I have used strobes in plow trucks for years. Red and clear in the back and clear in the front marker. But ONLY while plowing. With them turned off? I suppose they could be any color as long as they are not functioning or used off road or on private property. When you have them turned on is when the problem of color comes up. Usually red or amber in the back and amber to the front is okay. Take a look at what the tow trucks in you area use, or call the DMV.

Trucks tend to bounce going over speed bumps.

Roy

Thanks, Roy, DT, TBone, Christopher, John. I will check with my DMV. I suppose that as long as I do not turn them on, Ishould not have a problem.

I have a half ton pickup (also a dodge), but the one ton truck bounces insanely. Isuppose it is just due to strong springs.

i

It may also have bad shocks. While the ride should be stiffer with a 1 ton, I don't know about bouncy.

It is outright bouncy. I think that you have a good point about shocks.

i

If you get one good hit when it hits the bump, it's the stiffer springs. If it continues to oscillate after hitting the bump, then you have worn or inappropriate shocks.

One ton pickup's springs are - by my buttometer - a lot stiffer than half ton's.

Peter

I get one very good hit when the rear hits the bump.

By my buttometer, as well. I guess that if a one ton load was in the bed, the shock would be a lot milder. (not that I want to try it)

i

*IN GENERAL*, a yellow flasher is kosher anywhere, being considered nothing more or less than a "Hey! Look out! There's a vehicle here that you might not otherwise notice" warning. About half of the carriers at the paper I substitute-carry for use yellow strobes/flashers. Some of them are more or less permanent installations like a county truck or similar, others use the "Kojak"-style bubble that mag-mounts to the roof and plugs into the cig. lighter, then gets tossed in the back seat when not on the route. I have yet to hear of any of them catching even the slightest flack from anybody "official" about them, despite paper carriers being "highly likely to be stopped" targets around here (northern CA) because they and drunks tend to be about the only source of boredom relief available for the cops between roughly 2 and 6 AM.

Red, blue, or white flashers, on the other hand, are (or are nearly) universally reserved for cops, firetrucks, and ambulances, and putting one on pretty much any other vehicle (never mind being stupid enough to actually light it up in traffic...) is usually a quick way to get a free overnight stay (at least) in the local greybar hotel. Green seems to be in a "grey area", legally - Some places don't care. Other places will jump on you with both feet.

Check with the powers that be *WHERE YOU ARE* for the answer that's right in your case.

Thanks Don. I will check. I can always say that I sometimes use my truck to accompany WIDE LOADS.

i

Red or Blue lights would be a problem, because they are almost universally reserved for police and fire use only - even possessing the red or blue domes for those rotary beacons could be turned into an 'impersonating an officer' beef if they wanted to stretch it.

Amber lights are no problem if used properly - when the vehicle is used in emergency, construction or maintenance work, and they often stop in the middle of the road.

Go poke around at

and see what the rulesare. I'd say if you are worried get two flour sacks and cover up thebeacons for now, or you can sew up two nice light covers in heavycanvas or Naugahyde with a draw-string bottom for permanent use. I would have found it fast if they had the Illinois state site organized halfway decently... One nice thing about home, it's all easy to find online and cross referenced forty-seven ways.

Here's our law, look under "Lights and Lighting" for all the categories that are specifically allowed to have amber beacons - Disaster service workers, and a whole batch of various construction and maintenance vehicles.

But this is an important distinction - note that nowhere in the California codes is there anything that says you CAN'T have them if you don't fall under one of the permissive categories, just lots of categories that explicitly allow them. I can't see yours being that different, but you never know.

It all boils down to having a legitimate reason for /using/ them while on a public street or highway, like stopping behind an accident and providing assistance to the people involved.

IMHO I'd patch the paint but leave the orange stripes on the truck so the cop can see it's and ex-State vehicle, and the legality of the lights will never be an issue - unless you're dealing with a total asshat like Sheriff Buford T. Justice. And if the officer is out to hassle you and is looking for any chickens**t reason to give you a ticket, let it be the amber warning lights. That's an easy one to get a judge to dismiss.

If you want it to ride really nice, put a ton of dead weight in the bed. It'll smooth it right out... Yup, heavy rating, stiff springs.

Probably why it never got driven - it was issued to a department that never carried anything heavy (like the architects or engineers) and they never drove it because it rides like a buckboard when empty. Given a choice, they'd grab the keys to the sedan.

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fyi: these covers are also avail commercially at

Thanks. I read what I could find there, and like in CA, there are many situations when they are required, but I could not find any when they are forbidden. I could always say that I sometimes use this vehicle to escort wide loads.

I agree. I am not terribly worried.

Regarding patching the paint, you are touching an interesting question. What is the greyish stuff beneath the white paint, is it primer?

Is there some cheap solution like applying some crap remover, and then spray painting large areas?

Its bed is full of dried paint. I think that they used it to get to a location, deliver paint and whatnot, and then it sat there all day long waiting for road painters to finish.

i

That's the nature of the beast, then. You can try - within reason - lower tire pressures. That'll help some.

Peter

Depends a LOT on your locality. In NY strobes (or lights that flash in a strobe pattern) are illegal regardless of color if they are used on any vehicle not authorized as an emergency or hazard vehicle. Not sure how they are going to rule on LED style lights yet since so far nobody has asked.

For instance I am a fire police member. My vehicle can run one blue light for use while going to the station or to a call. Once on scene I shut down the blue light and have amber and red alternating flashers that get turned on to warn people about the incident ahead. The ambers are mounted in the front and both side windows the reds are in the rear and use the factory tail lights and a set of halogen lights mounted in the rear window.

1. No light, other than a white light, and no revolving, rotating, flashing, oscillating or constantly moving white light shall be affixed to, or displayed on any vehicle except as prescribed herein.
2. Red lights and certain white lights. One or more red or combination red and white lights, or one white light which must be a revolving, rotating, flashing, oscillating or constantly moving light, may be affixed to an authorized emergency vehicle, and such lights may be displayed on an authorized emergency vehicle when such vehicle is engaged in an emergency operation, and upon a fire vehicle while returning from an alarm of fire or other emergency.
3. Amber lights. a. One or more amber lights may be affixed to a hazard vehicle, and such a light or lights which display an amber light visible to all approaching traffic under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred feet from such vehicle shall be displayed on a hazard vehicle when such vehicle is engaged in a hazardous operation. Such light or lights shall not be required to be displayed during daylight hours provided at least two red flags visible from a distance of five hundred feet are placed both in or on the front of, and to or on the rear of the vehicle and two such flags are placed to each side of the vehicle open to traffic. Such lights or flags need not be displayed on the vehicle when the vehicle is operating, or parked, within a barricaded work area and said lights or flags are displayed on the barricade. The provisions of this subdivision shall not prohibit the temporary affixing and display of an amber light to be used as a warning on a disabled motor vehicle or on a motor vehicle while it is stopped on a highway while engaged in an operation which would restrict, impede or interfere with the normal flow of traffic.

Yep! I've owned several pickups---ranging from half to one ton. The one ton trucks are sprung heavily to handle the load. You'll be pleasantly surprised to find it rides quite nicely when you have it well loaded.

Harold

A couple of years ago, I was stuck in traffic on southbound 101 going up the hill out of Tiburon before dropping down through the tunnel and over the Golden Gate bridge. Traffic was completely clotted and no one was going faster than 3 MPH. I was in the left lane (not that it was doing me any good) when I saw a car with a red light coming up behind me. I, and all the other folks in the lane, merged into the next lane (not easy in the backup) to let this guy through. Hmmm... An older Chevy Malibu with a red light inside the car above his rear view mirror. Never seen a car or light set up like that used by the cops.

I got on my cell phone and let the Highway Patrol know of my suspicions. I stayed on the phone at the request of the dispatcher, gave her the license plate number of the car, and told her which lane the car was in. As this guy approached the toll plaza he turned the light off, but there were two CHP officers standing at the toll booth. One of them stopped the guy, got in the car with him and directed him to the parking lot, where other cops were waiting. The other found my car, leaned in the window and thanked me. The other cops in the parking lot hauled the driver out of the car and cuffed him. That was the last thing I saw.

Who knows what else he had done, but it struck me that the cops take gratuitous use of a red light pretty seriously.

Peter