A Cautionary Emergency Light Tale

At LedEquipped, we’re proud to provide high quality emergency vehicle lights to law enforcement and public safety organizations around the country. We know how vital it is that such personnel are able to safely and quickly get around on the roads, and our LED warning lights can go a long way.

Today, we want to share with you some of the pitfalls of when emergency lighting is used irresponsibly. We value professionalism and honesty among our clients, and the following is an example of what not to do when it comes to emergency lights.

The Slambulance

In 2012, a business owner in Fort Worth, Texas who owned a retired ambulance decked it out and turned it into a for-rent “party bus.” The bus, called the “Slambulance,” rode around town with a stripper pole, full wet bar and club-style lighting.

As you might imagine, local paramedics, firefighters and police started wondering what was going on. Unfortunately, they soon found out a disturbing fact: The owner of the vehicle wasn’t doing anything illegal at the time. Despite the Slambulance looking exactly like a real ambulance, including red and blue lights plus “AMBULANCE” written across the front end, there was nothing illegal about this vehicle being driven in a way that gave citizens no way of knowing it wasn’t a real ambulance.

New Legislation

Luckily, state representatives were notified of the situation and took action. As of September 2017, new legislation is in effect that makes it illegal to drive vehicles that appear to be on-duty emergency response vehicles. This makes imposter vehicles like the Slambulance a thing of the past.

State Laws

Every state is different regarding their laws for emergency vehicle equipment, especially when it comes to flashing lights. It is illegal in every state, however, to impersonate a first responder in any way, and an emergency light might qualify as this in many cases. Regardless, we promote professionalism and the proper purchase and use of our lights in all circumstances.

To learn more about the professional application of emergency light bars or any of our other products, speak to the professionals at LedEquipped today.