"Headlight Flahser" Uses

[Just Plain Ruff]

Also, my vehicle is clearly marked on both sides stating "Fire Dept" with red reflective tape fully surrounding the vehicle and reflective bumpers, as well as a light bar. My vehicle is a police model from an auction, so it resembles the local police units, and also gives me an advantage when requesting the right of way. People believe it is a police car until they are able to read the side of the vehicle.

Sooooooooo you clearly have a old police car that has been modified to be a fire department car. You clearly state above that people think it's a cop car until they see the side of the vehicle. Does your department even allow this? If not then what the hell are you doing responding to incidents?

If your department allows this then you must work for a volunteer service.

This my friends in laymans speak is what we in the professional EMS service call Whackerdom gone wild. It's a disease with no vaccination. There are no antibiotics to counter this ailement. For all of you "whacker wannabe's" out there, please look at this person's post and make a hard decision. That decision is "Do I want to be a whacker? huh? do ya?" Did I fire 6 strobe lights or was it 7. And being that this POV is the most powerful strobe lit POV in the world, with red reflective tape and FD written on the side, and it can turn the head clean off of other whackers, do I feel lucky, well do ya whacker?

[Arkymedic]

There is no way to make trailer lights look like strobe lights. A few guys on former depts here in AR used them as "deck lights" in the back window and a slow alternating look like the really old halogen lights are the best you are going to get out of them.

So far I've received very little assistance with my question. Do I need to know the laws for my state? No. I've worked in/with law enforcement and know the regs. Neither did I ask for input on how to drive an emergency vehicle, POV or not.

My question was a technical question. Not a legal inquiry on how to drive an emergency vehicle and follow the law.

Also, my vehicle is clearly marked on both sides stating "Fire Dept" with red reflective tape fully surrounding the vehicle and reflective bumpers, as well as a light bar. My vehicle is a police model from an auction, so it resembles the local police units, and also gives me an advantage when requesting the right of way. People believe it is a police car until they are able to read the side of the vehicle.

So, please answer the technical side of my question as it is truly my only concern as of now.

[brentoli]

[Lone Star]

Ruffles,

I have to tell you...if you start foaming at the mouth, the only 'humane thing' left to do is have you put down!

Clearly there needs to be a Whacker Association, dedicated to finding a cure for 'whackerdom' and 'whacker-itis'. Too bad Jerry Lewis is already obligated to the MDA!

Zach,

Just because you're 'best buds' with the local cops in your little one horse town, does NOT excuse you from having to know state and local laws concerning decking your p.o.v. out as a 'super cop car'. Using reflector tape to spell out the words "Fire Dept" on the side and back of your car is NOT enough to qualify it as an 'emergency response vehicle', even IF it 'used to be an old cop car'!

On top of all the reflector tape/decals and other 'markings' you have, the mickey mouse dollar general store approach you have to your 'emergency lighting soloution' only serves to reinforce your image as a 'wanna be junior coder'!

Knowing the state and local requirements for what is and is not allowed for marking an emergency vehicle is REQUIRED! Knowing if your P.O.V. can even qualify as an 'emergency vehicle' under the motor vehicle code of your state is also a REQUIREMENT.

My suggestion to you is this: Rather than spend all this money, time, and effort to try to mark your vehicle as an 'emergency response vehicle', you might be better served by furthering your education and getting into a 'real department'!

[Just Plain Ruff]

ok this is the problem I see - he already said it looks like an old police car and people give right of way to it becuase they think it's a cop's car, until they see the Big red FIRE letters and Junior spaceman behind the wheel.

OP have you checked your insurance company to determine liability if you run emergency thru your town and you cream some poor soul while driving your car emergency. Do you think that your department is going to back you up or are they gonna throw you under the bus like Obama did to Tom Daschle or Jeremiah Wright?

You have some investigation to do in order to limit your personal liability. If you fail to do this investigation then you prove to us that you are a total whacker and you need to grow up. If you do investigate this then at least you will know what your liability is.

[Retread]

Direct answer to your question. If you wire trailer lights (not really sure what they are) to a flasher you will have blinking or flashing trailer lights. If that is what you mean by strobe effect, you will get it. On the other hand, if you want double or triple flash pattern advanced stuff you can get that with a strobe. If local (or state) laws permit.

I do have to agree, sounds kind of childish to me.

[Lone Star]

Direct answer to your question. If you wire trailer lights (not really sure what they are) to a flasher you will have blinking or flashing trailer lights. If that is what you mean by strobe effect, you will get it. On the other hand, if you want double or triple flash pattern advanced stuff you can get that with a strobe. If local (or state) laws permit.

I do have to agree, sounds kind of childish to me.

I'm presuming that this (or something very similar), is what the O.P. is referring to as 'trailer lights':

I got to admit, that after looking at these....I want a set bolted onto MY car too! Maybe I can find a way to bolt a set onto my motorcycle too!!! [-o< [-o< [-o< [-o< [-o< [-o<

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Harbor Freight

[Retread]

Direct answer to your question. If you wire trailer lights (not really sure what they are) to a flasher you will have blinking or flashing trailer lights. If that is what you mean by strobe effect, you will get it. On the other hand, if you want double or triple flash pattern advanced stuff you can get that with a strobe. If local (or state) laws permit.

I do have to agree, sounds kind of childish to me.

[Richard B the EMT]

While not directed towards the OP, I openly wonder how many used Crown Vics and Impalas are sold to members of a VFD and/or VAS?

A mention: a former chief of operations at my own VAS (Peninsula Volunteer Ambulance Corps of the Rockaways, Queens County, NY, 1973-1996) bought, NEW, a Ford Crown Victoria "Police Package". Such "packages" are heavy duty electrical systems, suspension systems, cooling systems, well, you get the idea that if it can have a heavy duty whatever, it will be in the package. It also has a heavy duty price of a couple thousand over just getting a regular car. Add to the price that it has a large V8 engine that sucks down fuel like it thinks Donald Trump owns it

A second mention: when I was looking for what would become my first new (not previously owned) car, one of my supervisors told me to think of getting a "towing package", smaller size heavy duty whatevers, but not as heavy as the police package, which should have taken care of my needs. It would have been more cost than a regular car, but it would also have been less cost than the Police package. I didn't go either of those ways, and ended up with a nice 4 cylinder Toyota Corolla Alltrak Station Wagon, conventional whatevers, that lasted me 9 years, despite my abuses on it (must have been those most excellent mechanics I took it to).

[WolfmanHarris]

I'm presuming that this (or something very similar), is what the O.P. is referring to as 'trailer lights':

I got to admit, that after looking at these....I want a set bolted onto MY car too! Maybe I can find a way to bolt a set onto my motorcycle too!!! [-o< [-o< [-o< [-o< [-o< [-o<

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Harbor Freight

Actually I think I might get those. My business partner and I were talking about the best way to improve our first aid teaching business and both thought light were the way to go. I mean since we're already repairing and upgrading his old trailer to carry equipment we might as well replace the old electrical the make sure the tail lights work right. Don't know why you'd want them on your car though...