F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 203 2024
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to lights displayed on fire department
3 and fire patrol vehicles; amending s. 316.2397, F.S.;
4 authorizing such vehicles to show or display blue
5 lights; amending ss. 316.2398 and 322.01, F.S.;
6 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
7 providing an effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 Section 1. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 316.2397,
12 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
13 316.2397 Certain lights prohibited; exceptions.—
14 (2) It is expressly prohibited for any vehicle or
15 equipment, except police, fire department, and fire patrol
16 vehicles, to show or display blue lights. However, vehicles
17 owned, operated, or leased by the Department of Corrections or
18 any county correctional agency may show or display blue lights
19 when responding to emergencies.
20 (3) Vehicles of the fire department and fire patrol,
21 including vehicles of volunteer firefighters as permitted under
22 s. 316.2398, may show or display red, blue, or red and white
23 lights.
24 (a) Vehicles of volunteer firefighters, medical staff
25 physicians or technicians of medical facilities licensed by the
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26 state or of volunteer ambulance services as authorized under s.
27 316.2398, ambulances as authorized under this chapter, and buses
28 and taxicabs as authorized under s. 316.2399 may show or display
29 red lights.
30 (b) Vehicles of the fire department and, fire patrol,
31 police vehicles, and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of
32 municipal and county departments, volunteer ambulance services,
33 public service corporations operated by private corporations,
34 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of
35 Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the
36 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the
37 Department of Corrections as are designated or authorized by
38 their respective department or the chief of police of an
39 incorporated city or any sheriff of any county may operate
40 emergency lights and sirens in an emergency.
41 (c) Wreckers, mosquito control fog and spray vehicles, and
42 emergency vehicles of governmental departments or public service
43 corporations may show or display amber lights when in actual
44 operation or when a hazard exists provided they are not used
45 going to and from the scene of operation or hazard without
46 specific authorization of a law enforcement officer or law
47 enforcement agency. Wreckers must use amber rotating or flashing
48 lights while performing recoveries and loading on the roadside
49 day or night, and may use such lights while towing a vehicle on
50 wheel lifts, slings, or under reach if the operator of the
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51 wrecker deems such lights necessary. A flatbed, car carrier, or
52 rollback may not use amber rotating or flashing lights when
53 hauling a vehicle on the bed unless it creates a hazard to other
54 motorists because of protruding objects. Further, escort
55 vehicles may show or display amber lights when in the actual
56 process of escorting overdimensioned equipment, materia l, or
57 buildings as authorized by law.
58 (d) Vehicles owned or leased by private security agencies
59 may show or display green and amber lights, with either color
60 being no greater than 50 percent of the lights displayed, while
61 the security personnel are engaged in security duties on private
62 or public property.
63 Section 2. Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section
64 316.2398, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
65 316.2398 Display or use of red, blue, or red and white
66 warning signals; motor vehicles of volunteer firefighters or
67 medical staff.—
68 (1) A privately owned vehicle belonging to an active
69 firefighter member of a regularly organized volunteer
70 firefighting company or association, while en route to the fire
71 station for the purpose of proceeding to the scene of a fire or
72 other emergency or while en route to the scene of a fire or
73 other emergency in the line of duty as an active firefighter
74 member of a regularly organized firefighting company or
75 association, may display or use red, blue, or red and white
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76 warning signals. A privately owned vehicle belonging to a
77 medical staff physician or technician of a medical facility
78 licensed by the state or of a volunteer ambulance service, while
79 responding to an emergency in the line of duty, may display or
80 use red warning signals. Warning signals must be visible from
81 the front and from the rear of such vehicle, subject to the
82 following restrictions and conditions:
83 (a) No more than two red, blue, or red and white warning
84 signals may be displayed.
85 (b) No inscription of any kind may appear across the face
86 of the lens of the red, blue, or red and white warning signal.
87 (c) In order for an active volunteer firefighter to
88 display such red, blue, or red and white warning signals on his
89 or her vehicle, the volunteer firefighter must first secure a
90 written permit from the chief executive officers of the
91 firefighting organization to use the red, blue, or red and white
92 warning signals, and this permit must be carried by the
93 volunteer firefighter at all times while the red, blue, or red
94 and white warning signals are displayed.
95 (d) An emergency medical technician, doctor, or paramedic
96 who is using his or her personal vehicle with a red light to
97 respond to an emergency call must have completed a 16-hour
98 emergency vehicle operator course.
99 (2) A person who is not an active firefighter member of a
100 regularly organized volunteer firefighting company or
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101 association or a physician or technician of the medical staff of
102 a medical facility licensed by the state or of a volunteer
103 ambulance service may not display on any motor vehicle owned by
104 him or her, at any time, any red, blue, or red and white warning
105 signals as described in subsection (1).
106 (3) An active volunteer firefighter may not operate any
107 red, blue, or red and white warning signals as authorized in
108 subsection (1), except while en route to the fire station for
109 the purpose of proceeding to the scene of a fire or other
110 emergency, or while at or en route to the scene of a fire or
111 other emergency, in the line of duty.
112 Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 322.01, Florida
113 Statutes, is amended to read:
114 322.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
115 (4) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means a vehicle that is
116 equipped with extraordinary audible and visual warning devices,
117 that is authorized by s. 316.2397 to display red, red and white,
118 and or blue lights, and that is on call to respond to
119 emergencies. The term includes, but is not limited to,
120 ambulances, law enforcement vehicles, fire trucks, and other
121 rescue vehicles. The term does not include wreckers, utility
122 trucks, or other vehicles that are used only incidentally for
123 emergency purposes.
124 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
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Statutes affected:
H 203 Filed: 322.01