Flashing lights on the roof

[western]

take this fool for example:

the idiot posted it on youtube! and got caught!

should think so too.

[Ryan]

take this fool for example:

the idiot posted it on youtube! and got caught!

PLEASE DONT EVER BE THIS STUPID!

I thought that video turned out to be a con and that it was actually Dorset response training that just happened to be caught on video.

[cstone]

I thought that video turned out to be a con and that it was actually Dorset response training that just happened to be caught on video.

at first it looked like it was a response training vehicle and was treated as such, but upon closer investigation, it doesn't have the police emblem on the side which is required by law. anyway, the driver approached the junction the wrong way. do you see that report on the bbc news a few years ago?

calum

[bishbosh]

I've said this before on here, but with respect to stopping to help at breakdowns,

PLEASE DO NOT STOP TO HELP AT A BREAKDOWN ON THE HARD SHOULDER OF THE MOTORWAY

It is an incredibly dangerous place to be - fancy being "nudged" by a 44 tonner whilst he has a doze/fag/shuffle /changes channels / pages etc?

It happens incredibly frequently - even our fully liveried Incident Support Vehicles get hit by numpties not paying attention.

In short, don't do it. Being a good samaritan is commendable, but not at the expense of your life.

The HATOs are trained to deal with these situations and are never far away so the best thing to do is report the breakdown when it is safe to do so.

Now before any artic drivers get cross with me, I have no axe to grind, but the stats speak for themselves. In an era of pan european hauliers it is inevitable.

[TimR]

i find that people who attach unnecessary lights on there cars, wither they be blue or orange, have serious authority issues. if they want to ride around with lights on there cars legally, join a service.

I thought people with serious 'authority issues' joined the police.. People with 'run of the mill' authority issues usually just get tattoos or by teeshirts with rude words on them.

[white90]

I've said this before on here, but with respect to stopping to help at breakdowns,

PLEASE DO NOT STOP TO HELP AT A BREAKDOWN ON THE HARD SHOULDER OF THE MOTORWAY

It is an incredibly dangerous place to be - fancy being "nudged" by a 44 tonner whilst he has a doze/fag/shuffle /changes channels / pages etc?

It happens incredibly frequently - even our fully liveried Incident Support Vehicles get hit by numpties not paying attention.

In short, don't do it. Being a good samaritan is commendable, but not at the expense of your life.

The HATOs are trained to deal with these situations and are never far away so the best thing to do is report the breakdown when it is safe to do so.

Now before any artic drivers get cross with me, I have no axe to grind, but the stats speak for themselves. In an era of pan european hauliers it is inevitable.

A good friend was killed doing just this on the A406 pushing a broken down car only to be killed as someone ploughed into the back of it crushing him to death.

[SacredDog]

I thought people with serious 'authority issues' joined the police.. People with 'run of the mill' authority issues usually just get tattoos or by teeshirts with rude words on them.

Perhaps Calum will be along in a minute to confirm or deny that one , thankfully I don't have any tattoos or have any teeshirts with rude words on them (not that I can think of anyway).

I was a Civil Servant in the MoD for more years than I care to remember, is that close enough?

[Night Train]

When I recovered or towed vehicles on the road I would always use a flashing beacon on the roof and then use indicators for indicating a change in direction when moving.

It bugs me no end when I see drivers towing and both towing and towed are flashing hazards and trying to work their way through traffic with no way of telling other road users or each other when they want to turn a corner!

What happened to having head lights on, an 'on tow' sign in the back window and using indicators as indicators?

[mike4444244]

I have a beacon on my 110, I used to use it for a lot of towing/breakdowns and at various shows when driving through crowds etc, don't really have a need for it anymore but if I take it off there will be a huge hole in my roof

I suppose its worth keeping it in the (quite likely) event that I break down in an inconvenient place...

Green lights are allowed for any doctor but you still have to abide by the highway code and have to have a reason to have it on... 'my takeaway is getting cold' probably wouldn't work

[cstone]

Perhaps Calum will be along in a minute to confirm or deny that one , thankfully I don't have any tattoos or have any teeshirts with rude words on them (not that I can think of anyway).

I was a Civil Servant in the MoD for more years than I care to remember, is that close enough?

some do! and others just become security guards........

[steven Hart]

13 years it's been fitted now & connected all the time, it's to darn heavy to keep removing/fitting it for rally duty so it'll stay where it is. it only gets switched on when required.

You could just cover it, Which is what is needed when we send out Emergency vehicles from here at JLR even if they are on the back of a delievery truck the have to be covered.

[TimR]

some do! and others just become security guards........

Dont even get me started on that!

[sparg]

You could just cover it, Which is what is needed when we send out Emergency vehicles from here at JLR even if they are on the back of a delievery truck the have to be covered.

if the power is disconnected (circuit breaker? take the fuse out?) would the flashy things then become legal? (since they can't actually flash)

[Cartman]

And to name a stereotype they probably wear Camo trousers and jacket , wear a clip on key chain and frequent car boot sales

You've met FF then?

[western]

You could just cover it, Which is what is needed when we send out Emergency vehicles from here at JLR even if they are on the back of a delievery truck the have to be covered.

where's the regulation about it having to be covered ?

seems a stupid idea to cover up something that would assist with road safety

[GBMUD]

where's the regulation about it having to be covered ?

seems a stupid idea to cover up something that would assist with road safety

The reference to covering lights seems to refer to blue lights on vehicles Ralph. The law seems quite clear if you refer back to my first post in this thread. Any light with a cover on is not capable of emitting any light.

Chris

[western]

The reference to covering lights seems to refer to blue lights on vehicles Ralph. The law seems quite clear if you refer back to my first post in this thread. Any light with a cover on is not capable of emitting any light.

Chris

I can see the point in covering blue lights on privatly owned ex-emergency vehicles.

[ltmmatt]

The reference to covering lights seems to refer to blue lights on vehicles...

This is correct. I user to drive marked police cars to workshops and service depts. They always had to have a black cover over the blues. Also, the 90s (think they use some jap things now ) used on the Dartford crossing have blue flashers. These also have to be covered up whenever a vehicle is taken off the bridge and onto a "normal" section of road.

As for Orange/Yellow beacons, I also believe that you should only have one permanently mounted if you really need it and I think it is very sensible to cover it over when not in use.

One thing that has not be covered, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, is that the rotating beacon style of light is no longer/soon to be banned on any vehicle working on roads or motorways like highways maintenance.

Matt.

[western]

is that the rotating beacon style of light is no longer/soon to be banned on any vehicle working on roads or motorways like highways maintenance.

Haven't seen any news about that on the various lightbar manufacturers websites or any of the recovery websites I look at.

I prefer halogen rotators to strobes or led's.

[madmatt]

One thing that has not be covered, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, is that the rotating beacon style of light is no longer/soon to be banned on any vehicle working on roads or motorways like highways maintenance.

Matt.

I haven't heard that one yet, we are kitted out to work on highways and our vehicles meet the required standards there was an advisory to fit led heads front and rear in addition to beacons but I haven't seen anything to say they will be phased out. As for covering them up when not in use where do you decide when they need to be covered? I.e do I cover mine up drive 30miles then have to find somewhere safe to pull over to remove the cover before I need them to move from a live traffic lane into a work area? or do I just uncover them before I leave home?

[Ryan]

PLEASE DO NOT STOP TO HELP AT A BREAKDOWN ON THE HARD SHOULDER OF THE MOTORWAY

It is an incredibly dangerous place to be - fancy being "nudged" by a 44 tonner whilst he has a doze/fag/shuffle /changes channels / pages etc?

It happens incredibly frequently - even our fully liveried Incident Support Vehicles get hit by numpties not paying attention.

A recovery guy was killed on the A31 at Ringwood one night last year when a woman fell asleep and ploughed into the back of him while he was helping a broken down motorist. A very experienced guy in a fully liveried and "lit up like Blackpool illuminations" recovery truck.

[jacks906]

i think the laws all wrong on the light colours how they are used etc

with doing alots of milage on the road you see a few things,

police cars are useless at night if they are coming from behind you (maily due to the alternating head lights blocking out any other lights they have on)

people panic with police cars pulled over at the side of the road, slam on an more accidents.

the most effective ones that really stand out all the time are the amber/red combo on the traffic officers 4x4's and i think that police cars should use red/ambers once pulled over at the side of the road with some one or at an accident it'd stop people slowing down to rubber neck

there was in america a study done on emergency lights, an the ones most effercive and how people react to them, but cant seem to find the info on the net to back it up, it was on the discovery channel abit ago

dave

[Blippie]

ironically, a collegue of mine pulled over a NED in his car today with a full blue light bar on his roof but because it wasn't attached to the cars electrics, he couldn't do anything about it. he couldn't even confiscate it. however, he put an intelligence report on the car so if anybody whilst on patrol see's it being activated, he will be arrested.

Hmmm. Interesting. I would suggest The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, Part 2, Section 16 ( B )

16. No vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle, shall be fitted with-

( B ) a device which resembles a blue warning beacon or a special warning lamp, whether the same is in working order or not.

I'm pretty sure that if I saw some scrotes with a blue light bar that I could find SOMETHING actionable about their car!

Still, life is too short!

With regard to flashing amber lamps, they seem to be tolerated by the authorities, it's more about what you are doing with them.

Flashing red lamps are a bigger no no, though still fairly well tolerated. They aren't even compliant with the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 when used on emergecny services vehicles but they are enshrined with some British Standards and therefore established precedents set.

Cheers

Blippie

[MrsBob]

One thing that has not be covered, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, is that the rotating beacon style of light is no longer/soon to be banned on any vehicle working on roads or motorways like highways maintenance.

Our works vans have single flashing beacons attached and we have been informed these are being phased out and all vehicles will be fitted with twin flashing units.

[Dave K]

My 110 wears it's 4 rotator amber lightbar at all times, I do have the truck marked up as rally recovery [but not always] I've never been questioned as to why the 110 has a amber light bar ftted [it's part of the MSA requirement to be fitted to motorsport recivery units] & I've been at the scene of numerous RTA's as I just happened to be at the front of the traffic when it happened, no query was raised by any police officer[traffic or local] at those times.

also having a beacon [amber] even if it's a single one is a good idea if you ever have to tow another vehicle, as it lets others know you are travelling at reduced speed & there is a moving hazard ahead of the other drivers coming up from behind & from the other direction on 2 lane roads.

so as far as I can see provided your not misusing the amber beacon [for example- parking on double yellow lines with it switched on] most traffic/local police just aren't bothered if a beacon is fitted or even connected.

Harking back to what Ralph has said, I was out marshalling (Radio) on the Malcolm Wilson this weekend.

You wouldn't believe the different arrays of Amber beacons/Lightbars/LED's/flashing lights fitted to private vehicles, some only saloon cars/hatchbacks etc. So where do they legally stand?

On Forestry roads, they may be able to flash away merrily, but driving home with them switched off, how do they stand?