Police light bar
Discussion
Good Morning All
Long time Lurker first time poster. Iam looking to create a replica of ecto 1 ( the ghostbusters car) for a road trip across europe in the summer.
I was wondering the legalities of having the blue lightbar on the roof ( obviously we wouldnt be using this on the public road) and if this is legal where to find one i have tried google and the ph search fuction but having no luck.
I anyone could help that would be great.
mods feel free to move this as wasnt sure where i should be posting
ps i will not be ripping one from an Ambiwlans
pps i drive neither a chipped 335d or MX5
ppps i apologise for my poor grammer
thanks in advance
Long time Lurker first time poster. Iam looking to create a replica of ecto 1 ( the ghostbusters car) for a road trip across europe in the summer.
I was wondering the legalities of having the blue lightbar on the roof ( obviously we wouldnt be using this on the public road) and if this is legal where to find one i have tried google and the ph search fuction but having no luck.
I anyone could help that would be great.
mods feel free to move this as wasnt sure where i should be posting
ps i will not be ripping one from an Ambiwlans
pps i drive neither a chipped 335d or MX5
ppps i apologise for my poor grammer
thanks in advance
You can buy them from places like here:
http://www.emergencyequipmentshop.co.uk/
but they aren't cheap!
http://www.emergencyequipmentshop.co.uk/
but they aren't cheap!
Basically anything that can flash a blue light or looks like a blue light is not legal unless the vehicle is within the classes that can use them (which it wouldn't be).
It is even illegal to drive with a covered up lightbar if it is capable of displaying a blue light - to be legit it would need to be completely disconnected (ie. no wiring) and covered up.
A while back a chap with a preserved police car was prosecuted for driving with a covered up lightbar. He got an absolute discharge and no costs though - apparently the magistrate queried whether it was a good use of public money given that the vehicle had been donated by the chief constable for preservation!
That said, it's £30 and no points and in an Ecto 1 replica you are more likely to get away with it than anybody else, but at some point you are likely to get a traffic officer who is PC Robocop and will hand out a ticket.
My qualifications - I had a restored/replica US Chevy Caprice police car for 5-6 years and drove 40,000 miles. I was stopped twice - once by the local force who knew it well but thought the lightbar was uncovered, the second time by Wilts Police, I had WPC Robocop who wanted to issue a ticket but I wore her down with argument. She went away to check with the control room who I assume told her to not bother. Her partner also asked me whether having "San Diego Police" was legal on it, I told him to look up the Police Act 1996 and get back to me on that
It is even illegal to drive with a covered up lightbar if it is capable of displaying a blue light - to be legit it would need to be completely disconnected (ie. no wiring) and covered up.
A while back a chap with a preserved police car was prosecuted for driving with a covered up lightbar. He got an absolute discharge and no costs though - apparently the magistrate queried whether it was a good use of public money given that the vehicle had been donated by the chief constable for preservation!
That said, it's £30 and no points and in an Ecto 1 replica you are more likely to get away with it than anybody else, but at some point you are likely to get a traffic officer who is PC Robocop and will hand out a ticket.
My qualifications - I had a restored/replica US Chevy Caprice police car for 5-6 years and drove 40,000 miles. I was stopped twice - once by the local force who knew it well but thought the lightbar was uncovered, the second time by Wilts Police, I had WPC Robocop who wanted to issue a ticket but I wore her down with argument. She went away to check with the control room who I assume told her to not bother. Her partner also asked me whether having "San Diego Police" was legal on it, I told him to look up the Police Act 1996 and get back to me on that
doogz said:
Might be better finding some orange ones. Not as authentic, but i'm pretty sure you can legally use them on the road.
Actually unless you are in a class of vehicles allowed to use them it's just as illegal as a blue lamp, but you are very unlikely to get a ticket:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/regul...
To the OP: The Ecto used a Code 3 Force 4 XL and it looks like you can swap the lenses on that easily, so you could get an amber set for road use and a blue set to swap over for shows etc.
donny1 said:
Thanks for all the replies guys the orange lights might be a better idea.
The base vechile is a 230te so may not be that authentic anyway.....
a 230te ay? i hear that the models with a cat and aircon wont have the power to pull all ecto1's fancy gadgets. (toasters painted yellow and black on long extension leads) lolThe base vechile is a 230te so may not be that authentic anyway.....
Edited by mikyhut on Thursday 14th April 12:50
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