jono400

Was a story doing the national papers recently off a certain 12 volt magnetic blue flashing light beacon produced by a company known as " all ride " and available from several off these cheap electrical / fancy good type stores priced around a tenner, anyway seems that a few sad chaps had been using them for some very naughty purposes !! one artic driver with some "goods" concealed within load had seemingly took off by foot when this car suddenly appeared with its blue flashing light, leaving his load to the folk in the know !!!!! not too sure if he would have reported the incident to the police ??!! and several other stories like this !! funny enough, never did find a source off them blue rotating light things !! just to see what all the fuss was all about, you understand ??!! plenty off amber / red ones still on the shelfs though ??!! impersonating a breakdown truck ?? now that is naughty !!!!!

[Edited by jono400 - 11/10/2003 10:52:40 PM]

Luke

Told the old style green lights are been stopped and they are moving in to police style blue lights??? Who controls the fitting and licencing of this???

Spoon

I certainly know that the fitting in the Midlands area is carried out by a firm not far from me.

It may well be a fitting centre for the entire country for all I know though.

ajm

They're isn't any as far as I know... when I worked on an airfield we would buy blue lights for our emergancy vehicles from any industrial supplier.

You could go out and buy blue lights and fit them on your car if you liked, although you would most likely get done for using them!

Spoon

ajm- You learn something everyday.

Luke

who gives a doctor permission to use them and under what conditions etc etc

ajm

Here you go.... use at your peril!!!

Clicky

Luke

No not those pikey things...I mean the hidden behind the grills ones like a unmarked cop car with sirens etc etc....complete with strobe headlights etc

EvilKyote

Luke, Thats what I was thinking.

Police, ambulance and fire drivers are required to take a strict advanced driving course before they are allowed to respond to emergencies.

Doctors are hardly going to have such training or experience of high speed high risk response driving. Therefore there is little need for them to have blue lights, it would only confuse the situation.

ajm

Luke,

Are you saying that doctors will have hidden blue lights and flashing full beams? Seems unlikely.

oh and please don't use the p!key word, its very offensive!

Spoon

ajm- Sometimes, just sometimes I'm astounded from someone's interpretation of a question on here, and guess what?

I'm astounded.


Luke- I stand by my answer on the fitting despite the help from the asylum.

Regulation wise I don't know.

Luke

Well one scoobynet doctor has them on his car (None Scooby) I have seen them. I believe its if they are some special emergency type or work alongside the police/fire etc??

ajm

I don't know what you are on about!?

Luke

Or if they are a private paramedic service???

Dazza01

I have a orange rotating beacon, which i use when im needed to go airside, been tempted a few times to race a A300 Airbus down the runway, but sadly im not allowd above 15mph, and would end up doing 2yrs in prison trying a stunt like it, so i must admit its the only time i actually keep to the speed limit

Dazza01

forgot to add, a probation officer many years ago (and no b4 u lot start it wasn't mine) a friend of the family, and he told me he has access to a blue light if its needed but has to be ok'd by the police first tho.

kend

In the west midlands there are a group of 12 or 13 docs, who respond to RTAs etc at the request of West Midlands Ambulance service. We use blue lights and sirens, and have done the required response driving courses. We are only allowed to use blue lights when responding to jobs for the ambulance service, and not in our routine work. My impreza has covert blue strobes front and back, alternating headlight flashers, siren, and magnetic blue lights on the top.
There are several other similar schemes in other areas of the country, use of blue lights by doctors in this way is at the discretion of the local ambulance service and Police.

Luke

Thats what i thought..

Can privet ambulance service/paramedics use them??? I'm sure some of the "Fully Kosher" jewish doctors cars in N. London use them.

kend

Most private ambulance services have blue lights fitted, but there aren't many occasions when they can legitimately use them.

In all cases, if a vehicle driving on blue lights sets off GATSOs or traffic light cameras, the NIP is still sent out. It is then up to the driver to prove that he/she was on a legitimate emergency run, which normally relies on having a case reference number from local ambulance service. In my case I have to send NIPs to ambulance HQ, with a covering/justifying letter. They then check it up, and if they agree it was legit write to the Police to confirm this. In addition our cars are all registered on the PNC as emergency vehicles.
By and large, most private ambulance services do routine transport work, rather than emergency work, so there shouldn't be much call for them to use blue lights. In the case of voluntary ambulance services, like St Johns / the Red Cross, they will ask for authorisation from ambulance control before using blue lights, again it is fairly rare that they need to do so.
Green lights can still used by GPs in their normal work.

Dazza01

can u get me a set of these for my impreza pls?

GROUP BUY anyone

kend

Dear Insurance broker,
I have a shiny subaru impreza. I would like to add some little flashing blue lights, and a siren, and maybe drive it slightly faster than the speed limit. Can you send me a quote please?

Not the cheapest of mods.