Ambulance decal laws

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
Pugs you're a mad man! I love it!!

Biker- Mine is a 2009 model - definitely not a collector piece yet.
Tell me more about the lenses. Clearly red lenses themselves aren't an issue - every car in the country has red tail lenses. What was the issue with his?

The tickiting officer said he had lights on it... and it was irrelevant that they weren't connected. I think he pissed off the wrong Officer and the judge sided with the oficer. Long story short, he paid 35k in fines plus fees to get his fleet of rigs back on the road.

All lights are required to be working... if they're still considered lights. And there are rules about how high and which way they face.
 
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Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
Can't say where you live but here in Nevada you can have stickers, lights and sirens as long as you aren't using them, red lights and sirens are considered accessories when not turned on and decals on the side mean nothing, we sell offline Sheriff vehicles with everything still on them, we just remove the radio.

Mine was sold with working lights and sirens... only radio and front light bar was removed. I was quite surprised the day I fixed the siren... by cleaning up the house ground (after checking to make sure it wouldn't just turn on).
 

cjken

Explorer
Mine was fully functioning when I got it. I got 1 ticket for forward facing red lights before I turned them all into white floodlights.
 

rossiter78

Observer
Mine was fully functioning when I got it. I got 1 ticket for forward facing red lights before I turned them all into white floodlights.

Tell me more about this - Did you simply replace the red lenses with white? If so, where did you get the lenses?

Mine had the siren/light controller removed. So, none of the colored lights are operational. But... I would kinda like to make them all work, just with white lights.
 

rossiter78

Observer
Can't say where you live but here in Nevada you can have stickers, lights and sirens as long as you aren't using them, red lights and sirens are considered accessories when not turned on and decals on the side mean nothing, we sell offline Sheriff vehicles with everything still on them, we just remove the radio.

Ah, to live in Nevada. Do you guys have state laws other than the ones that override the norms observed everywhere else? :wings:
 

Deshet

Adventurer
I think it depends on where you live.
Mine were legally inspected with working sirens and all of the original lenses.
Somethings are legally to own but illegal to use.
I have a bunch of school buses with stop bars...I own the stop bars but I can't use them in traffic.
Nothing is stopping you from wiring all of the red lights to the brake pedal

Driving one of my ambulances home there was a terrible accident on the other side of the road. A big rig plowed into several cars and went off of the road. Emergency workers and fire fighters were on the scene. (no ambulances yet) As I past, it seemed like everyone briefly looked over at me expecting me to come and help.

I don't want to be "that guy." My goal is to ensure that my ambulances don't look anything like a Ambulances in the future.

We also have a idiot in my local area that drives a Crown Victoria with a piece 2x4 mounted to the roof to look like police lights.

I don't think what you are trying to do is crazy but I think a white box trucks blends in anywhere that a ambulance would. Most ambulances/rescue vehicles have a specific city/county in the lettering. I think you draw more attention if an emergency vehicle is parked outside of the county shown on the stickers. I would not even think about replicating the city/county decals that it is parked in.
 

vintageracer

To Infinity and Beyond!
The big issue with red or blue lights are forward facing and visable lights.

As an example in California the state law requires all police vehicles to have a forward facing red light. Been that way for years. Why? Not really sure however all my old vintage CHP police cars have this.
 

rossiter78

Observer
I think it depends on where you live.
Mine were legally inspected with working sirens and all of the original lenses.
Somethings are legally to own but illegal to use.
I have a bunch of school buses with stop bars...I own the stop bars but I can't use them in traffic.
Nothing is stopping you from wiring all of the red lights to the brake pedal

Driving one of my ambulances home there was a terrible accident on the other side of the road. A big rig plowed into several cars and went off of the road. Emergency workers and fire fighters were on the scene. (no ambulances yet) As I past, it seemed like everyone briefly looked over at me expecting me to come and help.

I don't want to be "that guy." My goal is to ensure that my ambulances don't look anything like a Ambulances in the future.

We also have a idiot in my local area that drives a Crown Victoria with a piece 2x4 mounted to the roof to look like police lights.

I don't think what you are trying to do is crazy but I think a white box trucks blends in anywhere that a ambulance would. Most ambulances/rescue vehicles have a specific city/county in the lettering. I think you draw more attention if an emergency vehicle is parked outside of the county shown on the stickers. I would not even think about replicating the city/county decals that it is parked in.

I am with you. I would certainly not want the name of any real county on there. But...even more to your point, I think I'm going to make it look like an a work truck of some sort instead of any thing that would cause anyone to assume that medical services can be provided.
 

rossiter78

Observer
The big issue with red or blue lights are forward facing and visable lights.

As an example in California the state law requires all police vehicles to have a forward facing red light. Been that way for years. Why? Not really sure however all my old vintage CHP police cars have this.

This sounds like something I read too. Something about civilian vehicles only being allowed to have rear facing red lights. But the credibility of the article was suspect.
 

cjken

Explorer
Tell me more about this - Did you simply replace the red lenses with white? If so, where did you get the lenses?

Mine had the siren/light controller removed. So, none of the colored lights are operational. But... I would kinda like to make them all work, just with white lights.

So I just pulled out the flasher controls but used the original switches to control the lights.
I found clear lenses on the emergency lighting forum (yes that actually exists)

I mounted 24” led light bars behind the clear lenses in the front light bars
Regular bulbs for now still in side flood lights and two of the rears other two rears converted to led.
I think I put pictures in my thread.
Here are s few however
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cjken

Explorer
Haha yes that is the forum.
Actually it spends a good deal of time in the parking lot of my learning center location. We don’t have great street visibility so it make a good sign.
We also take it to events we sponsor from time to time. Here it is at the relay for life.
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huskyhauler

Adventurer
You DO NOT want to give any impression that you are an EMS vehicle. None. Laws very from state to state, but inevitably you are going to run in to a small-town cop who will take offense to impersonating an EMS vehicle and he will hit you with every violation he can find. Keep in mind EMS folks keep a tight knit group. The cop is going to treat you like you are impersonating a LEO, it's not going to be a good time.

It's just not worth it, and as others said, it's very unlikely you will be left undisturbed if a park ranger finds your vehicle. If anything, they'll think it's either stolen and abandoned, out on a service call which he might call in to verify if he can help, and once he figures out you are a civilian he will wake you up. The best case scenario is you are woken up at 2am and told to find someplace else to camp. It only takes a phone call to run license plates.

As for lights, the only red lights you can have on the vehicle must be on the rear of the vehicle. Any red lights on the side or front of the vehicle are a violation. I painted mine purple (goes with our Washington Huskies theme).

As for getting identified as an ambulance, it'll happen by the general public. We have Washington Husky decals all over it, a large purple stripe on the body, and a large football helmet mounted on the cab where the light bar was. We were still stopped when we were in traffic from a frantic family looking for their family member who had been run over on his bicycle in the area. They thought we were responding even with our dog sitting shotgun.
 

simple

Adventurer
Leave emergency stuff on only if you are doing a cannonball run. Cleaning service is the best undercover disguise. No one is going to break into your rig to steal Windex and dirty rags.



Cannonball_Run%252FDodge_Ambulance__Model_Trucks_2c154e52-09fd-4b35-995f-38432b9414bb.JPG
 

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