ok boys and girls lets see how i make out on the site. i have a friend of mine who just bought a brand new truck. he obv wants to strobe it out and thats fine. what i am having trouble finding the answer to is whether or not he can run red pods facing in the rear direction of the truck. i have heard mixed things on this yes he can no he cant cause its an emergency light. i understand its an emergency light but its facing the rear direction. oh and this is a commercial vehicle. any help would be much appreciated.
lights in the rear of a vehicle
- Thread starter jonny521
- Start date
pdk9
Member
jonny521 said:
What is exactly is it gonna be used for? ("commercial" is kinda vague)
This question is gonna open up a HUGE can of worms, because you'll hear people argue for and argue against the use of red here (anytime there's a question of color usage, you'll hear people go back and forth for weeks, either arguing for following the state law 100% with no exceptions and arguing for doing what you want as long as local LE won't busy your chops...John Marcson can probably write a book of the 1000's of the lighting color usage threads)
To be honest, I personally would stick with all amber light stick to the rear. A) it's a better cautionary color to approaching traffic B) if he's not an EV and is not even sure if he can use red, then why bother (IMHO)... Amber will more than get the job done and there are plenty of EVs that even recognize the benefits of amber to the rear (for example, all fire & rescue apparatus in my dept have amber comprising 2/3 of our rear warning). Plus, if he already knows he's gonna be using strobes to the rear, he probably is going to have red (brake lights, I'm assuming), so compliment it with amber
Flashguy
Member
Everything he said is 100% correct. Here's what we need to know:
Purpose of vehicle?
What state is the friend in?
Primary use for vehicle needing lights (parking at scene vs responding to scene/station)
Do you want the state statute on lighting?
Do you need input on lights? If so, budget and goal?
We'll help without too much criticism....
Purpose of vehicle?
What state is the friend in?
Primary use for vehicle needing lights (parking at scene vs responding to scene/station)
Do you want the state statute on lighting?
Do you need input on lights? If so, budget and goal?
We'll help without too much criticism....
If its a regular commercial vehicle (which it sounds like it), nope no flashing red even to the rear. Shouldn't have white either. All amber.
ya that was my fault i meant to put the state in but realized i didnt. he lives in mass and the sole purpose of the truck is construction/escort and house moves. we are wiring the whole truck with amber/white but i wasnt sure about the whole red lights in the back. Also there is a big budget he is gonna be spending between 3,000-4,000 dollars on this light setup so im doing my research on lights now.
Tom
Member
jonny521 said:
By law, Mass vehicles are only allowed to run amber. Technically, you can't even use clear, though most get away with clear. Red is a pretty big no no here in MA if you aren't police/fire. No clear, red, purple, green, or blue.. amber only.
If you get caught using any color other than amber, and you are not a police/fire/ems member, it is a $300 fine PER light (so 2 strobes in the red part of a tail light is a $600 fine).
Whether or not the police will give your friend a hard time for using clear or red to the rear is hit or miss. Most police don't care, but there are a few that go around looking for these infractions.
Personally, I have an amber/clear setup to the rear right now and have never been questioned. Yet again, most of the time I have my lights on is only to demo them to officers.
pdk9
Member
jonny521 said:
$3,000-4,000 is not enough of a budget for a decent escort vehicle, because you need a minimum of 8 M9's on each side of the truck, a minimum of 8 M4's up front and 8 to the rear, a freedom up front bet. the A & B posts and another full size freedom between the B & C posts, a T/A beneath the liftgate, & a T/A around tool box level.
What year/model truck did he just buy, and how does he feel about drilling holes on it? To be honest, a full amber lightbar (libby, freedom, pinnacle, legend) and a pair of large amber lightheads (M6-M9 size) mounted on the liftgate is more than sufficient. You can also add a pair of large amber grill lights, if you like, and call it a day. One of the benefits of the freedom (since he can clearly afford it), aside from the large footprint of a lightbar, is having a TA option on the lower level of the inboard 400's. There is really no reason for him to have colors other than amber IMHO; clear to the rear is blinding, and red isn't "kosher" for his use in MA
DLuccia
Member
Friends don't let friends be whackers. There's no reason at all to spend $4000 on lighting to escort a double wide. A quality LED lightbar, maybe some grill lights and some clear HAWs in the reverse lights is all you need.
I would do:
SoundOff Pinnacle all amber flashed half and half
Whelen TIR6 in the grill flashed on signal alert
Feniex Cannons in the reverse lights
Whelen PCC8R Switch box
That is about $1700 worth of equipment and the vehicle will be better equipped and more visible than 99% of escort vehicles out there. If he wants a little bit of clear to the front he could spec take down lights in the lightbar.
I would do:
SoundOff Pinnacle all amber flashed half and half
Whelen TIR6 in the grill flashed on signal alert
Feniex Cannons in the reverse lights
Whelen PCC8R Switch box
That is about $1700 worth of equipment and the vehicle will be better equipped and more visible than 99% of escort vehicles out there. If he wants a little bit of clear to the front he could spec take down lights in the lightbar.
pdk9 said:
its a brand new dodge ram dually and this budget is just the starting budget. he doesnt have any big jobs as of right now with moving homes and stuff like that. he is gonna buy a bar but im not sure which one im prob gonna go through andrew for an axixtech bar. its not my truck and i havent sat down with him and really talked to him about it. its his money so i will see what he wants to do with the lights and such and see what he wants to buy.
ok so before everybody gets off subject this thread was started for one reason. to see if the truck could be equipt with red in the back of the truck. so lets stay on the matter please. like i said its not my money and its not my truck the extra strobe fund is for spear parts thats why that budget is so high to start off with. not lets see what we can pull down the street with 300,000 lights on.
It's pretty cut and dry in Mass General Law.
MGL Ch 90 Sec 7E (one of my personal favorites)
General Laws: CHAPTER 90, Section 7E
"No motor vehicle operated pursuant to section seven other than fire apparatus, ambulances, school buses, vehicles specified in section seven D used for transporting school children, and vehicles specified in section seven I shall mount or display a flashing, rotating or oscillating red light in any direction(...)"
MGL Ch 90 Sec 7E (one of my personal favorites)
General Laws: CHAPTER 90, Section 7E
"No motor vehicle operated pursuant to section seven other than fire apparatus, ambulances, school buses, vehicles specified in section seven D used for transporting school children, and vehicles specified in section seven I shall mount or display a flashing, rotating or oscillating red light in any direction(...)"