Bill Text: IA HSB189 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced

Iowa House Study Bill 189 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to lighting devices and other equipment on authorized emergency vehicles, providing penalties, making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions.(See HF 654.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-23 - Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 654. [HSB189 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2021-HSB189-Introduced.html

House Study Bill 189 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON BEST) A BILL FOR An Act relating to lighting devices and other equipment 1 on authorized emergency vehicles, providing penalties, 2 making penalties applicable, and including effective date 3 provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 2272YC (1) 89 th/ns

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 321.423, subsection 2, paragraph f, Code 1 2021, is amended to read as follows: 2 f. A flashing white light , including a flashing headlamp, is 3 permitted on a vehicle pursuant to subsection 7 . 4 Sec. 2. Section 321.423, subsection 3, paragraph a, 5 subparagraph (3), Code 2021, is amended to read as follows: 6 (3) An authorized emergency vehicle, other than a vehicle 7 described in paragraph “a” , subparagraph (1) or (2) , if the blue 8 light is positioned on the passenger side of the vehicle and is 9 used in conjunction with a red light positioned on the driver 10 side of the vehicle . 11 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 321.424 Authorized emergency vehicle 12 lights. 13 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary: 14 1. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with 15 a combination of interior and exterior lights, flashing 16 headlamps, and flashing tail lamps as provided in this section 17 and in this chapter. 18 2. An official law enforcement, fire department, emergency 19 medical services, or emergency management vehicle owned by the 20 state or a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, may be 21 equipped with flashing headlamps. 22 3. An authorized emergency vehicle owned by the state, 23 a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, or a private 24 emergency medical services company delivering services to the 25 state, a municipality, or a hospital pursuant to a written 26 contract, or a privately owned vehicle designated as an 27 authorized emergency vehicle pursuant to section 321.451, shall 28 be equipped with a combination of operational red and blue 29 lights. However, a towing or recovery vehicle, unless owned 30 by the state or a municipality, shall not be equipped with red 31 and blue lights. 32 4. An authorized emergency vehicle equipped with an 33 interior or exterior light bar must have the light bar 34 positioned such that front and rear facing red lights are on 35 -1- LSB 2272YC (1) 89 th/ns 1/ 5

H.F. _____ the driver’s side of the vehicle and front and rear facing blue 1 lights are on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. 2 5. An authorized emergency vehicle equipped with an 3 interior or exterior light bar with red and blue flashing 4 lights may be equipped with flashing or solid white lights 5 scattered among or between a clear or colored lens that 6 displays a red or blue flashing light. 7 6. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one 8 or more lights capable of emitting a split red and blue steady 9 or flashing light, which may be mounted on or in the vehicle. 10 7. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one 11 or more lights on the side of the vehicle capable of emitting 12 red and blue light, red and white light, or blue and white 13 light. 14 8. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one 15 or more lights with a clear or colored lens. 16 9. An official law enforcement, fire, rescue, emergency 17 medical services, or emergency management vehicle may be 18 equipped with lights or light bars containing one or more rear 19 zone amber lights or amber directional arrows, which shall 20 be in addition to any other required lighting equipment. An 21 authorized emergency vehicle shall not be equipped with an 22 amber light positioned on the front or side of the vehicle. 23 However, an aerial fire apparatus may be equipped with amber 24 flashing lights on the outriggers of the apparatus. 25 10. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with 26 one or more steady, oscillating, or flashing white lights, 27 flashing headlamps, or flashing reverse lamps, which shall be 28 in addition to any other required lighting equipment. A light 29 bar shall not be equipped or used to display flashing white 30 lights visible from the rear of the vehicle. This subsection 31 shall not be construed to prohibit an authorized emergency 32 vehicle owned by the state or a municipality, as defined in 33 section 670.1, from being equipped with or using a spotlight or 34 exterior light bar capable of displaying a steady white light 35 -2- LSB 2272YC (1) 89 th/ns 2/ 5

H.F. _____ for use as a work light, alley light, search light, or take 1 down light. 2 11. An authorized emergency vehicle owned by a state or a 3 municipality, as defined in section 670.1, that is primarily 4 used as an incident command vehicle may be equipped with one 5 or more steady or flashing green lights, which shall be in 6 addition to any other required lighting equipment. A steady 7 or flashing green light equipped pursuant to this subsection 8 shall not be activated unless the vehicle is being used as 9 a stationary incident command post at the location of an 10 emergency incident, an official training exercise, or for 11 maintenance or demonstration purposes. 12 12. An official fire department or emergency medical 13 services vehicle purchased, delivered, or refurbished on or 14 after July 1, 2021, shall be equipped with a master warning 15 switch to activate all emergency lights on the vehicle, in 16 addition to one or more switches to separately activate or 17 isolate the front, side, and rear warning lights. 18 Sec. 4. Section 321.433, Code 2021, is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 321.433 Sirens, whistles, and bells prohibited. 21 1. A vehicle shall not be equipped with and a person shall 22 not use upon a vehicle any siren, whistle, or bell, except as 23 otherwise permitted in this section . It is permissible but 24 not required that any commercial vehicle be equipped with a 25 theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that it cannot 26 be used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal. Any 27 authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a siren, 28 whistle, or bell capable of emitting sound audible under normal 29 conditions from a distance of not less than five hundred feet, 30 but the siren, whistle, or bell shall not be used except when 31 the vehicle is operated in response to an emergency call , 32 an incident dangerous to the public, an official training 33 exercise, for maintenance or demonstration purposes, or in 34 the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of 35 -3- LSB 2272YC (1) 89 th/ns 3/ 5

H.F. _____ the law, and the driver of the vehicle shall sound the siren, 1 whistle, or bell when necessary to warn pedestrians and other 2 drivers of the approach of the vehicle. 3 2. A towing or recovery vehicle, unless owned by the state 4 or a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, shall not be 5 equipped with a siren. 6 Sec. 5. Section 805.8A, subsection 3, Code 2021, is amended 7 by adding the following new paragraph: 8 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0ac. Section 321.424 . . . $ 45. 9 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 10 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill allows authorized emergency vehicles to be 15 equipped with a variety of lighting devices, including flashing 16 headlamps, flashing or solid white lights, split red and blue 17 steady or flashing lights, and lights or light bars containing 18 one or more rear zone amber lights or amber directional arrows. 19 The bill requires authorized emergency vehicles to be equipped 20 with a combination of operational red and blue lights, and 21 if equipped with a light bar, requires the light bar to be 22 positioned such that the front and rear facing red lights are 23 on the driver’s side of the vehicle and the front and rear 24 facing blue lights are on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. 25 The bill also requires an official fire department or emergency 26 medical services vehicle purchased, delivered, or refurbished 27 on or after July 1, 2021, to be equipped with a master warning 28 switch to activate all emergency lights on the vehicle, in 29 addition to one or more switches to separately activate or 30 isolate the front, side, and rear warning lights. In addition, 31 an incident command vehicle may be equipped with one or more 32 steady or flashing green lights. However, a towing or recovery 33 vehicle, unless owned by the state or a municipality, is 34 prohibited from being equipped with red and blue lights and a 35 -4- LSB 2272YC (1) 89 th/ns 4/ 5

H.F. _____ siren. 1 Under current law, a violation of Code section 321.423 or 2 321.433 is punishable by a scheduled fine of $45. The bill 3 provides that violations of Code section 321.424 are also 4 punishable by a scheduled fine of $45. 5 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 6 -5- LSB 2272YC (1) 89 th/ns 5/ 5