How many blue light users can you name?

[jasonh]

I have a feeling Network Rail have some emergency response vehicles that can run with blues.

[kwakba]

I have a feeling Network Rail have some emergency response vehicles that can run with blues.

The emergency units that turned up the other day to ja ob where we needed to get track side only had ambers, about a million of them but def. not blues

[vonhosen]

Anybody can have them, but only those defined in the regs can 'legally' have them.

[MGF]

Found out yesterday, the London Air Ambulance Service use blue lights on response vehicles.

Why do they have response vehicles? (apart from the obvious).

[James]

Apparently they are used to ferry casualties to and fro... This was a private Land Rover marked up and driven by a doctor.

[jasonh]

Found out yesterday, the London Air Ambulance Service use blue lights on response vehicles.

Why do they have response vehicles? (apart from the obvious).

The response cars are used to get the doctors about when the helicopter can't fly; if I remember correctly, unless things have changed they cannot fly at night, but use the cars to get to the scene.

[Standard Dave]

It's my understanding from a conversation I had with one of the Doctors from HEMS in London that the car is used in poor weather, when the incident is very close to the hospital (London Free?) in darkness or other times when the aircraft is grounded due to defects, maintence or pilots.

The cars they use are I think Skodas which replaced Subarus, they claim ambulance purpose and are dispatched by London ambulance control room in response to 999 calls that might need the skills of an A+E doctor/ surgeon who has skill above those of a paramedic or emergency care practicioner. They also travel to back up papramedics if requested like the medical teams and other ambulance helicopters working for ambulance services and hospitals around the country.

The flying squad car at Lincoln County hospital has both blue and green lights on it's light bar.

[Robserver]

The IAM magazine had a feature on this a while back which had the following.

Police
Ambulance
Fire Brigade
Fire Salvage
Forestry Commision Fire Vehicle
Bomb Disposal
Navel Nuclear Monitoring
RAF Mountain Rescue Service
Blood Transfusion Service
HM Coastguard
Mine Rescue
RNLI Lifeboat Launcher
Human Tissue Transplant
RAF Armament support

14 in total

[crr003]

The IAM magazine had a feature on this a while back ........14 in total

Well that must be correct then!

[James]

There is no definitive list, the above is true but there are others...

[jasonh]

Can we count those young guys who drive around with blue LEDs all over the place?

[vonhosen]

There is no definitive list, the above is true but there are others...

There is a definitive list of who can use blue lights, it's those defined in the Road Vehicle Lighting Regs. Anyone who doesn't fall into those categories is using them illegally & anyone can qualify to use them illegally if they are willing to risk prosecution. Attempting to break the categories within the Road Vehicle Lighting Regs down into further sub sets in order to try & make up another category (when they already fall into the wider defined category with the Regs) is frankly a pointless exercise IMHO.

If somebody believes they fall into one of the RVLR groups & the Police don't believe they do resulting in prosecution, then it will be a matter for a court to rule if they do satisfy RVLR conditions. That's the list that allows you to use them & the list that you must qualify to be on.

[James]

So who is on this list then Von?

[vonhosen]

Only an emergency vehicle as defined by Reg 3 RVLR 1989 can.

Fire Brigade
Ambulance
Police

SOCA

A vehicle owned by a body formed primarily for the purposes of fire salvage and used for those or similar purposes.

A vehicle owned by the Forestry Commission or by a local authority and used from time to time for the purposes of fighting fires.

A vehicle owned or operated by the Secretary of State for Defence and used-
(i) for the purposes of the disposal of bombs or explosives,
(ii) for the purpose of any activity-
(a) which prevents or decreases the exposure of persons to radiation arising from a radiation accident or radiation emergency, or
(b) in connection with any event which could lead to a radiation accident or radiation emergency;
(iii) by the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service for the purposes of rescue operations or any other emergencies.

A vehicle primarily used for the purposes of the Blood Transfusion Service provided under the National Health Service Act 1977 or under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

A vehicle used by Her Majesty's Coastguard or Coastguard Auxiliary Service for the purposes of giving aid to persons in danger or vessels in distress on or near the coast.

A vehicle owned by the British Coal Corporation and used for the purposes of rescue operations at mines.

A vehicle owned by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and used for the purposes of launching lifeboats.

A vehicle primarily used for the purposes of conveying any human tissue for transplanting or similar purposes.

A vehicle under the lawful control of the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and used from time to time for the investigation of serious crime.

[martynH]

BASICS and other immediate care scheme doctors (and other health professionals ) use blues as they are 'ambulance purposes' if dispatched by the NHS ambulance service or as part of event EMS

OOH GP doctors and any on call hospital doctor using lights uses greens (and doesn't have exemptions ) because it;s not an ambulance purpose