AN ACT relating to vehicle lights.

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AN ACT relating to vehicle lights. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 189.920 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) All fire department, rescue squad, or publicly owned emergency management 4
agency emergency vehicles and all ambulances shall be equipped with one (1) or 5
more flashing, rotating, or oscilla ting red lights, visible under normal atmospheric 6
conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front of the vehicle, and 7
a siren, whistle, or bell, capable of emitting a sound audible under normal 8
conditions from a distance of not less than five hundred (500) feet. This equipment 9
shall be in addition to any other equipment required by the motor vehicle laws. 10
(2) All state, county, or municipal police vehicles and all sheriffs' vehicles used as 11
emergency vehicles shall be equipped with one (1 ) or more flashing, rotating, or 12
oscillating blue lights, visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance 13
of five hundred (500) feet to the front of the vehicle, and a siren, whistle, or bell, 14
capable of emitting a sound audible under normal co nditions from a distance of not 15
less than five hundred (500) feet. This equipment shall be in addition to any other 16
equipment required by the motor vehicle laws. 17
(3) By ordinance, the governing body of any city or county may direct that the police or 18
sheriffs' vehicles in that jurisdiction be equipped with a combination of red and blue 19
flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights. 20
(4) (a) All public safety vehicles shall be equipped with one (1) or more flashing, 21
rotating, or oscillating yellow lights, visible under normal atmospheric 22
conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front of the 23
vehicle. Yellow flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights may also be used by 24
vehicles operated by mail carriers while on duty, funeral escort vehicles, and 25
church buses. 26
(b) In addition to the lights required in paragraph (a) of this subsection, a 27
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wrecker may be equipped with one (1) or more flashing, rotating, or 1
oscillating green lights, visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a 2
distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front or rear of the vehicle. 3
(5) All Department of Corrections vehicles used as emergency vehicles shall be 4
equipped with one (1) or more flashing, rotating, or oscillating blue lights, visible 5
under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to 6
the front of the vehicle. The Department of Corrections vehicles shall not be 7
equipped with or use a siren, whistle, or bell. The equipment prescribed by this 8
subsection shall be in addition to any other equipment required by mot or vehicle 9
laws. 10
(6) (a) If authorized by the legislative body of a county, urban -county government, 11
charter county government, consolidated local government, or unified local 12
government: 13
1. All publicly owned county jail and regional jail vehicles used as 14
emergency vehicles may be equipped with the one (1) or more flashing, 15
rotating, or oscillating blue lights, visible under normal atmospheric 16
conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front of the 17
vehicle; and 18
2. An elected jailer or the chief administrator of a county or regional jail 19
not managed by an elected jailer may equip one (1) personally owned 20
vehicle with one (1) or more flashing, rotating, or oscillating blue lights, 21
visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance o f five 22
hundred (500) feet to the front of the vehicle. 23
(b) Publicly owned county jail or regional jail vehicles shall not be equipped with 24
or use a siren, whistle, or bell. 25
(c) The equipment prescribed by this subsection shall be in addition to any other 26
equipment required by the motor vehicle laws. 27
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(7) Red flashing lights may be used by school buses. 1
(8) No emergency vehicle, public safety vehicle, or any other vehicle covered by KRS 2
189.910 to 189.950 shall use any light of any other color than those spec ified by 3
KRS 189.910 to 189.950. Sirens, whistles, and bells may not be used by vehicles 4
other than those specified by KRS 189.910 to 189.950, except that any vehicle may 5
be equipped with a theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that it cannot be 6
used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal. 7
(9) Vehicles used as command posts at incidents may be equipped with and use when 8
on scene, a green rotating, oscillating, or flashing light. This light shall be in 9
addition to the lights and sirens required in this section. 10
(10) A personal vehicle used by a paid or volunteer firefighter, ambulance personnel, or 11
emergency services director who is responding to an emergency shall display the 12
lights required in subsection (1) of this section. 13
(11) An elected coroner may equip a publicly or privately owned motor vehicle, or both, 14
with flashing, rotating, or oscillating red and blue lights and a siren meeting the 15
requirements of this section solely for the purpose of responding to a report of the 16
death of a human being subject to the following terms and conditions: 17
(a) The coroner makes a written request to the legislative body of the county, 18
urban-county government, charter county government, consolidated local 19
government, or unified local government in which the coroner was elected to 20
equip a publicly or privately owned motor vehicle, or both, with flashing, 21
rotating, or oscillating red and blue lights and a siren meeting the 22
requirements of this section, and that request is approved by the legislative 23
body by ordinance or by court order; 24
(b) The coroner may use the lights and siren only while responding to the scene 25
of the report of a death of a human being and shall not, KRS 189.940 to the 26
contrary notwithstanding, exceed the posted speed limit; and 27
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(c) The permission granted pursuant to this section shall expire upon the coroner 1
leaving office or the legislative body revoking the authorization. 2
(12) A deputy coroner certified pursuant to KRS Chapter 72 may equip a publicly 3
owned or privately owned motor vehicle, or both, with flashing, rotating, or 4
oscillating red and blue lights and a siren meeting the requirements of this section 5
solely for the purpose of responding to a report of the death of a human being, 6
subject to the following terms and conditions: 7
(a) The deputy coroner has made a written request to the coroner to equip a 8
publicly owned or privately owned vehicle with flashing, rotating, or 9
oscillating red and blue lights meeting the requirements of this section and the 10
coroner has approved the request in writing; 11
(b) The coroner makes a written request to the legislative body of the county, 12
urban-county government, charter county government, consolidated local 13
government, or unified local government in which the coroner is elected to 14
permit the deputy coro ner to equip a publicly owned motor vehicle or 15
privately owned motor vehicle, or both, and that request has been approved by 16
the legislative body by ordinance or by court order; 17
(c) The deputy coroner may use the lights and siren only while responding to t he 18
scene of the report of the death of a human being and shall not, KRS 189.940 19
to the contrary notwithstanding, exceed the posted speed limit; and 20
(d) The permission granted pursuant to this section shall expire upon the coroner 21
leaving office or the legislative body revoking the authorization. 22
Section 2. This Act may be cited as Troy's Law. 23