Rules regarding ex police cars and military vehicles.
Discussion
Hi there, I was just wondering what the rules are regarding driving a vintage police car or even an old police car from another country with police markings on them?
Is the word "police" on any vehicle a no no? I'm not considering dressing up as a police officer or doing any Walter Mitty fake policing.
Are there rules about military vehicles and their markings also? Obviously nobody thinks a Willys jeep with ww2 markings is actually being operated by the army.
Is the word "police" on any vehicle a no no? I'm not considering dressing up as a police officer or doing any Walter Mitty fake policing.
Are there rules about military vehicles and their markings also? Obviously nobody thinks a Willys jeep with ww2 markings is actually being operated by the army.
With some of our preserved fire appliances , owned and driven by enthusiasts to rallies etc , blue lights have to be covered whilst on the road , or removed altogether .
Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
Pontoneer said:
With some of our preserved fire appliances , owned and driven by enthusiasts to rallies etc , blue lights have to be covered whilst on the road , or removed altogether .
Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
Local fire preservation society used to keep a few of their fire appliances on a property we owned after losing a council site. The later ones - incl a Green Goddess - were all fully working & full of water. Saved us an outbuilding on one occasion - property was difficult to find & the brigade couldn't find it until they bumped into the local postie (!). When they arrived they found the chap who lived on the property hosing down the affected building.Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
paintman said:
Pontoneer said:
With some of our preserved fire appliances , owned and driven by enthusiasts to rallies etc , blue lights have to be covered whilst on the road , or removed altogether .
Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
Local fire preservation society used to keep a few of their fire appliances on a property we owned after losing a council site. The later ones - incl a Green Goddess - were all fully working & full of water. Saved us an outbuilding on one occasion - property was difficult to find & the brigade couldn't find it until they bumped into the local postie (!). When they arrived they found the chap who lived on the property hosing down the affected building.Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
The rules are inconsistently policed. Even covered blue lamps break them and preserved vehicles don't hold special status.
If its a foreign police vehicle then its less of an issue. I made my old Porsche look like a Polizei car - no one cared apart from ze Germans. Blue lights removed, of course. I also have 2x German police uniform which would probably get me shot in Germany.
Nein, nein: ich bin kein Polizist!
If its a foreign police vehicle then its less of an issue. I made my old Porsche look like a Polizei car - no one cared apart from ze Germans. Blue lights removed, of course. I also have 2x German police uniform which would probably get me shot in Germany.
Nein, nein: ich bin kein Polizist!
Taxi firm locally used some time ago to run Cavaliers(that's how long ago), with almost inverse Police markings. I believe owner had to have special police permission. At this time, Police used Cavaliers, and far from causing problems ,the appearance of look alike police vehicles was the cops best friend. I drove part time for this firm ,and I was amazed at how polite drivers became, till they realised that the light on top was WHITE. Locally we had an American police car which had to have the lights removed on the road. From TV programs, I believe that the likes of tank guns have to be officially rendered incapable of firing. ( OH,how I'd have loved a Scout car with a functioning6 LB'er gun on single track roads following mr 20mph caravan man )
( Be like the TV ad-" bang and the problem is gone")
( Be like the TV ad-" bang and the problem is gone")GC8 said:
The rules are inconsistently policed. Even covered blue lamps break them and preserved vehicles don't hold special status.
If its a foreign police vehicle then its less of an issue. I made my old Porsche look like a Polizei car - no one cared apart from ze Germans. Blue lights removed, of course. I also have 2x German police uniform which would probably get me shot in Germany.
Nein, nein: ich bin kein Polizist!
Are you Jeremy Clarkson?If its a foreign police vehicle then its less of an issue. I made my old Porsche look like a Polizei car - no one cared apart from ze Germans. Blue lights removed, of course. I also have 2x German police uniform which would probably get me shot in Germany.
Nein, nein: ich bin kein Polizist!
Back on topic - I have a couple of friends who own marked up (period markings) Morris Minors. Never been an issue.
The offence creeps in when the intention is to deceive another into thinking it is the Police. A bit of common sense usually prevails.
Pontoneer said:
With some of our preserved fire appliances , owned and driven by enthusiasts to rallies etc , blue lights have to be covered whilst on the road , or removed altogether .
Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
if a fire appliance is still in working order it can retain warning devices Some preserved appliances are still owned and maintained by the brigade , and driven to/on rallies by serving staff - these ones can still show blue lights , and on parades etc they are sometimes operated along with bells/sirens ( not en route , but just in a slow moving street parade ) .
I'd imagine similar rules will apply to other services vehicles .
if an ambulance still fits the relevant definitions it can retain warning devices
preserved police vehicles are arguably illegal or in a very grey area ditto preserved support vehicles and RRVs
I saw this in Reading about a year ago. The driver was dressed in full donut-muncher regalia and kept a presumably replica Remington shotgun in the "trunk" under a plastic cover. It being an evening in Reading, there were plenty of real police about and none batted an eyelid. In this case he's displaying red lights, but the word POLICE is still clearly visible.
I was under the impression from various episodes of Police Interceptors/Traffic Cops/Generic-copper-chasing-scrotes shows that it was legal to have blue lights visible as long as they weren't activated on public roads. Also a recent forum thread discussed the use of cars fitted with blues and twos used by civilian staff within some UK police forces (HR director, IT director) as company cars. There was much furore about their use since emergency vehicles are subject to a different tax scheme, but I don't remember anyone saying it was specifically illegal if the equipment wasn't used.
I was under the impression from various episodes of Police Interceptors/Traffic Cops/Generic-copper-chasing-scrotes shows that it was legal to have blue lights visible as long as they weren't activated on public roads. Also a recent forum thread discussed the use of cars fitted with blues and twos used by civilian staff within some UK police forces (HR director, IT director) as company cars. There was much furore about their use since emergency vehicles are subject to a different tax scheme, but I don't remember anyone saying it was specifically illegal if the equipment wasn't used.
Sushifiend said:
I was under the impression from various episodes of Police Interceptors/Traffic Cops/Generic-copper-chasing-scrotes shows that it was legal to have blue lights visible as long as they weren't activated on public roads.
You are mistaken, the road vehicle lighting regs prohibit the fitting, as opposed to use, of blue lights or anything that resembles a blue light whether they are working or not. Sushifiend said:
Also a recent forum thread discussed the use of cars fitted with blues and twos used by civilian staff within some UK police forces (HR director, IT director) as company cars. There was much furore about their use since emergency vehicles are subject to a different tax scheme, but I don't remember anyone saying it was specifically illegal if the equipment wasn't used.
The lighting regs permit the fitting of blues lights to "emergency vehicles" which one of the definitions in the regs is "a vehicle used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes". A vehicle used by a member of police staff would still be for a police purpose so would technically be permitted blue lights. Cat
Cat said:
Sushifiend said:
I was under the impression from various episodes of Police Interceptors/Traffic Cops/Generic-copper-chasing-scrotes shows that it was legal to have blue lights visible as long as they weren't activated on public roads.
You are mistaken, the road vehicle lighting regs prohibit the fitting, as opposed to use, of blue lights or anything that resembles a blue light whether they are working or not. Sushifiend said:
Also a recent forum thread discussed the use of cars fitted with blues and twos used by civilian staff within some UK police forces (HR director, IT director) as company cars. There was much furore about their use since emergency vehicles are subject to a different tax scheme, but I don't remember anyone saying it was specifically illegal if the equipment wasn't used.
The lighting regs permit the fitting of blues lights to "emergency vehicles" which one of the definitions in the regs is "a vehicle used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes". A vehicle used by a member of police staff would still be for a police purpose so would technically be permitted blue lights. Cat
4rephill said:
hmmm - I believe it's illegal to have a blue flashing light fitted to vehicle that resembles an emergency vehicles warning light, but it is not illegal to have a blue light fitted to the front of a vehicle that does not flash and in no way resembles an emergency vehicle warning light (even though it should be!)
I was paraphrasing and using the term blue lights to refer to blue warning beacons and special warning lamps, I'd thought that as we were talking about vehicles being fitted with lamps which looked like emergency service lights that didn't need stating. Specifically the RVLRs prohibit the fitting of "a blue warning beacon or special warning lamp " or anything resembling either, whether working or not.
A "warning beacon" is - A lamp that is capable of emitting a flashing or rotating beam of light throughout 360° in the horizontal plane.
A "special warning lamp" is - A lamp, fitted to the front or rear of a vehicle, capable of emitting a blue flashing light and not any other kind of light.
A steady blue light fitted other than to the rear which was neither a warning beacon nor special warning lamp and didn't resemble either would be legal.
Cat
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