Senate Bill No. 155 amends R.S. 32:318(G) to expand the provisions regarding emergency vehicle equipment to include licensed general trauma surgeons in Louisiana. The bill allows privately owned motor vehicles belonging to these surgeons, who are actively practicing and responding to a Level I trauma center, to be equipped with a large removable flashing red light that is visible from five hundred feet in normal sunlight. This addition aims to facilitate quicker responses to medical emergencies by enabling surgeons to use emergency visual signals while en route to the hospital.

In addition to the new provisions for trauma surgeons, the bill retains existing regulations that permit members of the emergency medical team at Fort Polk to use similar emergency equipment. The Department of Public Safety is tasked with developing rules and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of these provisions, which will include documentation requirements and an annual verification process. The effective date for these changes is set for August 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
SB155 Original: 32:318(G)