View new posts | View your posts Legality of ECTO-1 lights

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LOL. Its cool.

Having collected police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances over the years, questions like this come down to the simple answer of maturity and responsibility. I liken it to the fact that in-service fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars run their lights when they are going to emergencies, parades, etc. Ghostbusters are the same way. If you're running your lights all over the place, then, of course, you're going to attract the wrong kind of attention from authorities. Be responsible with your lights and siren.

Another essential activity is making good contacts. I've found that most cops, paramedics, and fire-fighters LOVE the Ghostbusters. Just as little kids want to be like the big firefighters on the fire truck, the big firefighters want to be Ghostbusters and ride around in our cool Ectomobiles. Make connections. Ask for business cards from every cop, paramedic, or fire fighter that shows interest. Build a reputation with the emergency service industry. That way, if you do run into trouble with the "one jerky cop who hasn't seen the movie" you can make some phone calls to their higher-ups. If a cop hassles you, just being able to drop some names or say, "Cops take pictures with the car all the time and you're the first to say anything about it," can make an officer think about what he's doing. I take any opportunity I can to get pictures with uniformed officers with the car and post them on the website and Facebook page. The emergency service industry is a family that you have to work your way into.

Being visible helps tremendously too! Being in parades where officers can see the car and response it gets, being involved with charity events, getting some news media coverage. All these things help to show authorities that you're not out to cause problems, you're out their doing good things with your Ectomobile.

I've also found that older cars get more of a free pass than newer ones do. The older police cars/fire trucks/ambulances I've owned are given more of a blind eye with regard to lights than newer models. And when I say older, I'm talking 30-40 years older. Remember, the Crown Vics that are on the roads today are the same body style that came out in 1998. So 12 years is a drop in the bucket when you think about how John Q. Public views an emergency vehicle.

Be professional. Act responsible. Be nice. And you shouldn't have any problems.

I've had Code 3 blue lights on my car for 4 years and never had a problem. I don't turn them on while driving of course, but they are there and not covered.

In Virginia it is illegal to OPERATE any color light on your vehicle other than AMBER or WHITE. That said if you leave it off and use it only on private property and in parades you should, SHOULD; be okay.

There is always that one guy who reads it "THE LETTER OF THE LAW" and forgets the "Spirit of the law" which is mentioned in the fine print.

And this is why the lights on my ecto are going to be green. When it happens. Anyone know the law for lightbars in Florida?

http://policeposers.com/light-laws/ you're welcome

A site like the one above is done as a hobby as specifically stated. Every states' laws and statutes are available online through different state websites. Just go to Google and type in your state name and "statutes" and you'll be able to find a listing or a downloadable PDF. That gives you the same thing authorities look at when writing tickets or interpreting the law in court.

There's lots of interesting laws on the books most people don't know about. However, remember, rules and laws are for those who aren't responsible enough otherwise.

in germany it is illegal too!
besides, we only have blue lights on our emergency vehicle! so if there is a forbidden colour....!
but (like in all german laws) there is a gray zone! (not the aliens)
example:
a friend of mine is a firefighter and he bought an old transporter (mercedes sprinter i think) from the firecompany!
it still has the blue lights on the roof, but not covered in any form!
he told me that u dont have to, but you must disable the lights so that u cant turn them on!
that includes hidden switches (of course), and cable conections!
witch means, if the cops stop u and ask u to turn the lights on, u just cant do them the favor!
u will say: im sorry, but to do this we will have to go back to my privat and i have to use the tools out of my garage to do the nacecery work to make them operable again!

then they will say: o.k. have a nicy day
and when they have left the scene ill turn them on with the switch! lol
u dont think it gonna work:
this are our cops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGVRDND6nOg

no that's not right. in german laws it says you have to cover them, because if the lights of another car from behind your car shine through the lightbar it looks like it's operable and if that happens you get a ticket as well.
(well, that's the law but not every cop knows the exact words, if you're lucky you might get away with this)

and if so, so what? BACK OF! I AM A SCIENTIST!
like i said, there are gray zones! and may be it has changed over the years!
but one thing for real:
it is not allowed to operate a blue light on a privat car on public road!
maybe ill have to ask the crash cops toto and harry next time they pull me out for no reason, again!
btw: nice comment with the duke!
but the next game is moving again, so we also can hope the the 3. film!

yes there are grey zones. some people have lights under their cars and that's okay as long as they don't turn it on while driving.
but with lightbars it's better to cover to stay on the safe side.
you can still turn it on while on privat grounds! for example if a new GB game came out and Mediamarkt hires you to push the sales, then you're allowed to turn the lights on while standing on their paking lot. on the way there and back, cover up!

and with the duke, I believe it when I hold the package in my hands. comming out next year? well they said the same thing ten years ago. and with the 3rd gb movie it's the same.

I saw the vid of the ecto-gang in times square and it really got me pondering...

I also read the thread about different colored lights having different legalities.

I am trying to assemble my own "Ecto" and wondered how you all deal with different state laws regarding the emergency lightbars. Does covering them up while you drive work? What do you do when you travel amongst different states? Is it even a real issue as long as you are not abusing the lights? Etc. etc.

Also how do you deal with police? (other than respectfully) I know some of you have had really positive experiences with different law enforcement agencies. Any negative experiences to learn from?

Thanks!

2 Words.

Bar Bags

Most places only have an issue if you run them while moving. Some places restrict the actual instalation as the vehicle may be mistaken for an emergency vehicle of some kind even without the lights on. The bar bags with "out of service" are usually enough to deal with that.

I'm in the process of getting my Ecto going......and the State of Michigan is VERY cranky about anything other than amber regardless of the intent. "Any vehicle EQUIPPED..." is a terrible phrase.

Though I did shoot off an email to our state police to see what they say....*fingers crossed*

This is what I have to deal with in Washington state...

<<From: WSP Equipment

March 29, 2011



This is in response to your e-mail.

No, there is no permit that can be issued to allow for the use of a blue light on the public roadway. Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 46.37.190 states in part “(3) Vehicles operated by public agencies whose law enforcement duties include the authority to stop and detain motor vehicles on the public highways of the state may be equipped with a siren and lights of a color and type designated by the state patrol for that purpose. The state patrol may prohibit the use of these sirens and lights on vehicles other than the vehicles described in this subsection. (4) The lights described in this section shall not be mounted nor used on any vehicle other than a school bus, a private carrier bus, or an authorized emergency or law enforcement vehicle.” Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 204-21-130 outlines that blue emergency lights are for law enforcement vehicles.

These laws apply to all vehicles while they are in operation on the public roadway. There are no restrictions for vehicles that are operated on private property. So if you were to operate this vehicle on a closed roadway for a parade under a permit issued by the local authority, you would have to remove the emergency lighting while traveling to and from the event. Thank you for your inquiry.

Sincerely,

WSP Equipment>>

See, I think we could get away with having them on the vehicle as long as they weren't being run.. but what fun is that?

I'd rather use clear or amber (clear is legal no matter what in GA, and amber is with a permit) and be able to run them whenever I want. I still wouldn't "abuse" them, but to be able to drive around town on halloween or something with them blazing as if we are off to a call in town.. is just awesome. Maybe have different colored lenses, so that you can swap to blue for events or parades where its legal to have blue?

This REALLY doesn't deserve a new topic.

My experience has been that you can get away with blue lights if you're not turning them on while driving on public roads, if your replica is of a certain quality of construction, and if you don't come off as a complete toolbag when you talk to cops.

25 states with no tickets, that's me.

Seems like the covers would solve that. If they can't see the lights at all then they have no reason to pull you over for it and no probable cause to look under the covers.

Here's the bottom line up front everyone. Unless your replica is going to be full of EPIC WIN, use AMBER LAMPS! LEAs have discretion in enforcement of vehicle codes, if you want to run your luck with blue light bars, you better be able to "pay to play".

That varies state to state.

In PA blue lights are for volunteer firefighters and EMS.
They are legal to have and no permit/license is needed.

However in WV blue lights are for police use only and is a punishable offense.

Some states withhold amber lights for road work vehicles only.
And that is enforced.

Hell, some states still enforce no purple lights only on Funeral Coaches.

Why isn't this thread sticky?

There are LOTS of ways to get around possible lightbar laws.

Damnit, why is all the cool crap illegal? DAMN YOU LAWS!

thank you for this thread. i had tried asking this question on a Massachusetts Cop network forum and got nothing but flaming/troll answers. they were zero help. i was actually incredibly surprised at the lack of maturity over there.

does anyone use amber as a primary and then swap out to blue for shows/parades? i'm thinking i may try this

I have been running a clear bar on mine all the time as in Georgia they require no permit at all, Amber "technically" does but it isn't really enforced.

However at the last DragonCon parade where we had 7 modern Ectos in the lineup, I DID notice several out of state folks swapping out clear or amber lenses for blue. I think that in the event of a parade or car show, no one cares. It's when rolling in traffic on the open road that they take notice.

In fact I found an interesting thing in the Georgia Code referring to lightbars....I researched this because the new bars Im getting for my car look clear when off, but light up blue...here you CAN have blue lights if they are for off road use only....how do you prove its only for off road use? The switches have to be out of reach of the driver or passengers, so mine will be in the rear of the hatch so I cant get to them while driving (But can turn them on in the staging lanes of a parade, then pull over at the end and turn them off)

But again this stuff varies state by state.

Oh, that's pretty interesting. That'd be a nice law for the other states to have as well!

As far as I know, here in italy, NO WAY for blue, red, green or amber lights, althougt approved by the motorization department. If you carry them covered no probs till the cops doesn't discover them, in that case the veichle will be carried away. Another case. Here You can see a lot of cars with blu lightbars (but they're the one from some private security) and they're allowed to use because they are in friendship with police officers. Even some private ambulances (from private no-profit associations) received tickets because they pass with blue lights and siren in emergency and they weren't property of the state, so ticket for not respecting the traffighlights!

Here in the Twin Cities, MN we've never had an issue with the ECTO-1C. Jason has had it for almost a decade and, although he's been pulled over countless times, he has never gotten a ticket (even driving it cross country). Cops have only pulled him over to get a better look at it and say they like it. In fact during shooting a scene in GB911, a cop pulled up behind the car to get a look at it and talk about it. When he heard Jason say "Cut!", he said, "Oh, you're filming something with it? I'm sorry. Do you need me to leave?" I'm glad it's on tape, cuz I NEVER thought I'd hear a cop say that! lol

Jason doesn't have blue lenses on it, they're clear with red bulbs. Here's a pic of them running when Sarah French (AKA Scarlet Salem...AKA Becky Forrester in GB911) met Ernie Hudson...


As far as I know, anything other than amber colored lenses is illegal to have on a non-emergency vehicle. But like many have said already in this thread, we DON'T run them while moving (or for that matter, very rarely when the key is in the ignition). Typically, the times we've shot footage of them running while driving for our show, we've called the non-emergency police line to get permission and notify cops in the area what we'll be doing, where, and for how long...and it's been cool. One time when we called, the dispatcher laughed and said she and the cops she worked with knew our show. Another time, we tried to sneak running the lights for a quick shot w/o calling first (with my car, the '63 Caddy) and a cop rolled up behind us. He said "you know you're not supposed to run those while driving, right?" We said yes. He said, "Okay. Can you turn them back on and take my picture with your car? This is gonna be my Christmas card." For the record...I just want to state that we ran those lights at our own risk w/o calling first and we were lucky to just get a warning. I do not recommend running them while driving.

That was one of the two run ins (and many more to come, I'm sure) I've had as a new ECTO owner in the ECTO-1D. The first was Halloween 2011. My wife and I were dressed up and cruising in downtown Minneapolis when I noticed a cop car coming up behind us. I said, "I think we're about to get pulled over, honey." The cop car pulled up along side us and one rolled down his window to yell, "Hey! We gotta get a picture of that shit!" I told him we were pulling into the gas station for a fill up and to follow us. They did. At the time, the lights looked like this...


The cop that hollered out his window was looking the car up and down and geeking out over it. Then he told me, "These lightbars are the wrong color, though. You gotta get the blue lenses for it. They were blue in the movie. You can find them on the Code 3 website...or go to elightbars.org." After I had finished pumping gas, he said he didn't want a pic with the gas pumps in the background and asked if we could pull it out on the street for a quick photo. We pulled it out on the street with them following us and I said to my wife, "This is the first time in my life I've ever been asked politely by a cop if I wouldn't mind pulling over!" His partner had apparently radioed some of their friends, because a second cop car joined us. The cops from the second car got out and guided me over to a street light for the "best lighting". All 4 cops took turns getting photos with the car.

Anyway...I think the moral of the story is...They are illegal, but don't run them while driving and you should be fine...if you do, it's at your own risk...and cops can be geeks just like the rest of us.

Most common quote I've heard from cops about Jason's ECTO-1C = "I was gonna do this with my car for Halloween! I just never had the money/time!"