Restrictions on Use of Blue Lights on Vehicles

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Motor Vehicles and Traffic
  4. Equipment and Inspection of Motor Vehicles
  5. Equipment Generally
  6. Equipment of Law Enforcement and Emergency Vehicles
  7. Restrictions on Use of Blue Lights on Vehicles

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    1. Except as provided in this paragraph and subsection (b) of this Code section, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to operate any motor vehicle equipped with or containing a device capable of producing any blue lights, whether flashing, blinking, revolving, or stationary, except:
      1. Motor vehicles owned or leased by any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency;
      2. Motor vehicles with a permit granted by a state agency to bear such lights; or
      3. Antique, hobby, and special interest vehicles, as defined in paragraph (8) of subsection (l) of Code Section 40-2-86.1, which may display a blue light or lights of up to one inch in diameter as part of any such vehicle's rear stop lamps, rear turning indicator, rear hazard lamps, and rear reflectors.
    2. Any person who violates paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
  2. The prohibition contained in subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to any elected sheriff who, pursuant to an agreement between the sheriff and the county governing authority, is using his or her personal motor vehicle in a law enforcement activity, provided such vehicle is marked as provided in Code Section 40-8-91.
  3. It shall be unlawful for any person to use any motor vehicle equipped with flashing, blinking, revolving, or stationary blue lights in the commission of a felony, and, upon conviction of a violation of this subsection, the punishment shall be a fine of not less than $1,000.00 or imprisonment of not less than one year, or both.

(Ga. L. 1966, p. 208, § 1; Ga. L. 1971, p. 781, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1092, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1012, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1193, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 40; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1287, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1026, § 1/SB 178; Ga. L. 2010, p. 9, § 1-82/HB 1055.)

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2005, p. 1026, § 2/SB 178, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 2005 amendment applies to offenses occurring on or after July 1, 2005.

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Fingerprinting required for violators.

- O.C.G.A. § 40-8-90 is an offense for which those charged with a violation are to be fingerprinted. 2006 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2006-2.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, § 43 et seq.


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