SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2020 SESSION

20102293D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 32
Offered January 8, 2020
Prefiled January 2, 2020
Requesting the Department of Criminal Justice Services to study the use of certain colored warning lights on emergency response vehicles. Report.
----------
Patron-- Bell
----------
Referred to Committee on Rules
----------

WHEREAS, Virginia law authorizes law-enforcement vehicles and certain Department of Military Affairs, Virginia National Guard, and Department of Corrections vehicles to display blue or blue combination warning lights; and

WHEREAS, most other emergency response vehicles, including emergency medical services vehicles and fire apparatus, are authorized to use red or red combination warning lights but not blue warning lights; and

WHEREAS, a 2019 study by the Justice Technology Information Center found that red lights are more visible during the day and blue lights are more visible at night and thus recommended that agencies use a combination of colors; and

WHEREAS, other recent studies, including one by the U.S. Fire Administration, recommended increased overall use of blue lamps for day and night operations; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has joined the Toward Zero Deaths movement, with the goal of reducing the numbered of traffic-related serious injuries and deaths to zero; and

WHEREAS, clarity on the effectiveness of certain warning lights on the highways of the Commonwealth is an important step in promoting highway safety and emergency responsiveness; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Department of Criminal Justice Services be requested to study the use of certain colored warning lights on emergency response vehicles.

In conducting its study, the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) shall evaluate (i) the potential benefits to incorporating blue warning lights with red warning lights on vehicles authorized to be equipped with red warning lights, including increased visibility; (ii) the impact of increasing the prevalence of vehicles displaying blue warning lights; (iii) the feasibility and impact of equipping emergency response vehicles with colored warning lights with dimmers to be used when bright lights could be a hazard; and (iv) any other approaches or updates to the current law and policies concerning the use of colored warning lights on emergency response vehicles that the Department deems appropriate.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department of Criminal Justice Services for this study, upon request.

The Department of Criminal Justice Services shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2020, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.