What's happening
This bill allows volunteer firefighters and ambulance service members to display multiple blue or green lights on their vehicles during emergencies.
Why it matters
Increases visibility and safety for volunteer responders. Allowing multiple blue or green lights on vehicles may make volunteer firefighters and ambulance members more easily seen by other drivers during emergencies, helping clear a path and reducing accident risk.
Clarifies and expands legal protection. By updating language to explicitly permit the use of “one or more” lights (instead of just a single light), the bill provides clear legal backing for volunteers who previously may have faced ambiguity or penalties for using more than one light.
Supports recruitment and retention. Enhanced visibility and recognition could boost morale for volunteers and make these roles more attractive, which is significant for rural or under-resourced communities that depend heavily on volunteer emergency services.
Maintains local oversight and revocation rights. Chiefs of fire departments and ambulance services retain the authority to grant or revoke permission for using these lights, ensuring local control and accountability.
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Who cares
Volunteer firefighters
The bill would let them install more than one blue light on eligible vehicles with written authorization from their fire chief, while retaining the emergency-operation-only display rule.
Volunteer ambulance service members
The bill would let them install multiple green lights on eligible vehicles with written authorization from their service’s chief officer.
Mobile crisis team members
The bill would allow multiple green lights on eligible vehicles with written authorization from their director or equivalent, with display limited to deployed members engaged in emergency operations.
Families and employers of eligible responders
Their vehicles could carry multiple authorized lights under the bill, subject to the existing vehicle ownership and eligibility conditions.
Headline styles
Allow Multiple Emergency Lights
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
214
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sens. HELMING, TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the display of blue and green lights on certain motor vehicles
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subparagraph a of paragraph 4 and subparagraph (a) of paragraph 5 of subdivision 41 of section 375 of the vehicle and traffic law, subparagraph a of paragraph 4 as amended by section 1 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of 2020, and subparagraph (a) of paragraph 5 as amended by chapter 71 of the laws of 2024, are amended to read as follows:
a. One or more blue [light] lights may be affixed to any motor vehicle owned by a volunteer member of a fire department or on a motor vehicle owned by a member of such person's family residing in the same household or by a business enterprise in which such person has a proprietary interest or by which [he or she] such person is employed, provided such volunteer firefighter has been authorized in writing to so affix [a] one or more blue [light] lights by the chief of the fire department or company of which [he or she] such person is a member, which authorization shall be subject to revocation at any time by the chief who issued the same or [his or her] such person's successor in office. Such blue [light] lights may be displayed exclusively by such volunteer firefighter on such a vehicle only when engaged in an emergency operation. The use of blue lights on vehicles shall be restricted for use only by a volunteer firefighter except as otherwise provided for in subparagraphs b and b-1 of this paragraph.
(a) One or more green [light] lights may be affixed to any motor vehicle owned by a member of a volunteer ambulance service or by a member of a mobile crisis team, or on a motor vehicle owned by a member of such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00563-01-5
person's family, or by a business enterprise in which such person has a proprietary interest or by which [he] such person is employed, provided such member of a volunteer ambulance service has been authorized in writing to so affix [a] one or more green [light] lights by the chief officer of such service as designated by the members thereof, or provided such member of a mobile crisis team has been authorized in writing to so affix [a] one or more green [light] lights by the mobile crisis team's director or similar role, provided further that such director or similar role or their successor may revoke such authorization at any time. Such green [light] lights may be displayed exclusively by such member of a volunteer ambulance service, or a member of a deployed mobile crisis team, only when engaged in an emergency operation. The use of green lights on vehicles shall be restricted for use only by a member of a volunteer ambulance service or a member of a mobile crisis team as provided for in this paragraph except as otherwise provided for in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the display of blue and green lights on certain motor vehicles
Purpose
To allow emergency first responders to have more than one emergency light in their civilian/private vehicles.
Summary of provisions
Section 375 of Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to allow any motor vehicle owned by a volunteer member of a fire department or motor vehi- cle owned by a member of such person's family or business enterprise to have more than one blue light displayed on the vehicle.
Section 375 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is further amended to allow any motor vehicle owned by a member of a volunteer ambulance service or motor vehicle owned by a member of such person's family or business enterprise to have more than one green light displayed on the vehicle.
Justification
Currently, volunteer fire department members and volunteer ambulance service members are allowed to have only one emergency light per their civilian/private vehicle. Oftentimes, in rural communities, the country roads are not well lit at night. One emergency light per vehicle, which is the current law, is not sufficient enough to let other drivers know a vehicle is coming down the road. By increasing the allowance of emergen- cy lights, other drivers will have more notice that an emergency vehicle is approaching.
Legislative history
2023-2024: S.4523 referred to Transportation
2021-2022: S.2579 referred to Transportation/A.5416 held for consider- ation in Transportation
2019-2020: S.164 referred to Transportation 2018: 5.7414 referred to Transportation
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.