This is actually a good petition I read a while ago and saved:
To:
Pennsylvania department of transportation
I would like to express my concern with the current law in PA that restricts volunteer firefighters to only using a blue emergency warning light when responding to you and your neighbor's emergencies.
Over 90% of the fire departments in the United States are made up of men and women who volunteer countless hours of their days to provide emergency services for the general public. This being said, 90% of the fire departments in the U.S. do not have a crew at the station ready to roll out the door when the alarm sounds. Volunteer firefighters can be at home, at work, out driving, or anywhere else in their district when someone calls 911. It is essential that your firefighters arrive at their stations quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, SAFELY. After all, time is of the essence in every emergency response and a few seconds saved could mean a life saved.
The current Pennsylvania Motor Code states that a volunteer firefighter may, with the permission of a commanding officer and written notification of the PA State Police, equip their privately owned vehicle with an blue flashing light. The law states that this light is only to be regarded as a "courtesy light" and does not grant the user any special traffic privileges or require that normal traffic yield their right of way to the operator. In short, no one really has to pull over for firefighters. Also, volunteer firefighters are required to obey all speed limits, all traffic signals, and all traffic laws to the letter.
The law also states that volunteers may not equip more than 2 blue flashing lights on their vehicles and that their vehicles must be visible from 360 degrees. Simply put, these vehicles have to be visible from all angles. Increasing the limit of lights allowed would help lessen contradiction of these two clauses of the rule. It would also allow firefighters to be seen more readily from any angle.
This entire law could not be more confusing to the general public. It poses dangerous situations for firefighters responding to emergencies every day. For example, a fully qualified firefighter is coming up to an intersection flashing a blue light, responding to a reported house fire with victims entrapped on the second floor. The light turns yellow. The firefighter, following the speed limit, slows and prepares to stop because he cannot, under the current law, pass through the red light. The firefighter is now sitting at the red light, flashing his blue emergency light while the cross-traffic gets the green for 25 seconds. The other traffic delays moving forward because they believe the blue light POV is allowed to move through the red light, as every other emergency worker is. This causes confusion and traffic congestion. In those 25 seconds that the firefighter is sitting at the red light, the fire is intensifying and moving from the garage, to the living room, and from the living room to the second floor where the victims lie in wait.
Another example: A firefighter is responding to a Motor Vehicle Accident with rescue and entrapment. A car is on it's roof with 3 passengers. One of them is a 3 year old child. The firefighter activates his blue emergency light and starts heading to his station. He comes up behind a vehicle whose operator is apprently distracted by a cell phone. This takes attention away from their mirrors, which are the firefighter's only hope of being noticed.
If the current law were changed to allow volunteer firefighting personell flashing blue emergency lights to require the blocking traffic to yield their right of way, hundreds of seconds, minutes and lives can be spared. Also, your volunteers will be allowed a safer and more reassuring response to their stations to better serve their communities.
Of course, the use of blue lights is already restricted to those who can prove to operate them safely.
From one emergency services worker, to the general public, I implore you to sign this petition. Please help us to help you and your neighbors.
Thank you.
