Your POV

  • Thread starter Deleted member 22390
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Deleted member 22390

Just wondering, how many of you guys full time or part time have a light or lights in your own vehicle for traffic details? Good idea, bad idea?
 
Just my opinion, but the majority of ones that do this are part time guys and are referred to as whackers. If the detail needs lights at it, you should be supplied a cruiser. My POV on a detail is not in the road at all.
 
I am a volunteer firefighter. I drive a P71 Vic. I have permitted emergency lighting. I have radios. Nothing illegal about it. Cops have a problem with it, they can suck it. As for my personal experiences, I've been pulled over once and asked to see the permit. I showed him and thanked me and then ticketed me for some minor infraction. Buddy of mine in the department also had A Vic with lights and radios. He was pulled over quite often, but never ticketed. He decided to sell the car a few weeks ago. Me thinks his age might have been a factor (younger guy.)

As far as whether it is a good idea or bad, that is hard to say and depends a LOT on the local LEOs. In the area in which I live, I barely get a first glance, let alone second. The CSP, in my locale might very well recognize me, or figure that since I don't drive like a douche, I don't need to be bothered. Then again, on the flipside, I have heard horror stories of guys getting arrested on a littany of charges ranging from impersonation to having "illegal" or "cop only" stuff in the car when the reality is that the cops in question think that the "Police Interceptor" badge is police equipment. Or they might consider simply sitting in a parking lot eating a sandwich inside your Vic, listening to your HAM radio is impersonation.
 
Well I don't drive a cvpi it's a truck. Any officers on here that can comment? Say your dispatched to a car accident in your town and there's a vehicle there with blue lights on assisting the people that were in the accident, you see he is a off duty officer has credentials and everything, but he doesn't have a fancy mass permit for the blue lights..do you write him a ticket??
 
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. . . you see he is a off duty officer has credentials and everything, but he doesn't have a fancy mass permit for the blue lights..do you write him a ticket??

Would you write a ticket for Joe Public, that happened be helping at the scene of an accident and had a blue light flashing for safety? Of course you would.

An off duty police officer having no permit for the light from the DMV has no more "right" to display that light than an ordinary citizen and should receive the same ticket.
 
Would you write a ticket for Joe Public, that happened be helping at the scene of an accident and had a blue light flashing for safety? Of course you would.

An off duty police officer having no permit for the light from the DMV has no more "right" to display that light than an ordinary citizen and should receive the same ticket.

Are you a officer? And actually a non police officer could be charged with impersonating a police officer by displaying blue lights. And you can't impersonate being a police officer if you are indeed a police officer, am I mistaken?
 
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In that situation I don't think the cop has grounds. In CT anyway, you can put any damned color light in your car that you want without the permit. The catch is that you cannot be moving and using those lights. I'd be suprised if MA didn't have a similar law.
 
In that situation I don't think the cop has grounds. In CT anyway, you can put any damned color light in your car that you want without the permit. The catch is that you cannot be moving and using those lights. I'd be suprised if MA didn't have a similar law.

Consider yourself suprised. See post #7 in this thread.
 
Yes they could write a ticket to the off duty officer for not having the permit but in asking the opinion of officers because they have the descretion to write it or not. Iv had some say they wouldn't and some say they would
 
Would you write a ticket for Joe Public, that happened be helping at the scene of an accident and had a blue light flashing for safety? Of course you would.

An off duty police officer having no permit for the light from the DMV has no more "right" to display that light than an ordinary citizen and should receive the same ticket.

You forget that all animals are equal; just some are more equal than others. :p

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
What is the benefit? If your Chief gives you permission, why wont he give you a permit. Is it really that beneficial? Are you covered by the town if someone then hits your car/truck? As for the scenario, I saw it spin 2 ways. Would I ticket Joe Public for having blue lights in his vehicle is he was assisting, probably not but he sure as hell isnt leaving with them until he shows me a permit or someone who does. Would I ticket an off duty PO with them? again probably not, unless they acted in a manner much like the volunteer ding dings that think they can put a red light in the dash and weave in and out of traffic responding to a brush fire 3 towns over. Like I said, most people see it as whackerish and thats the first thing they would think when they see it.
 
Back >30 years ago we worked a lot of road races/parades/Halloween/etc. for the town and only had 5 cruisers in town. So us (Reserve POs) had to use our own cars to block roadways intersecting with parades/road races/etc. or patrolling town during Halloween. At one point my chief called me into his office and insisted that I get a blue light permit, handed me the form, took it back filled out and submitted it to the RMV. He did this with a few other officers as well and we only used them in town for working events. I always felt that my VW Diesel Rabbit looked ridiculous driving with a blue light on it . . . it didn't have enough squirrel-power to get out of its own way under any circumstances.

It was very clear to me that our town would never stand behind us in any kind of incident, car-related or officer-related. It was really insane for us to take on that personal liability for the "good of the town" and no appreciation or compensation.


One day one of my Sgts is first on the scene of car that spun out into the median in the Needham area. He pulled into the median, put the blue light on the roof, called out on his CB radio (this was long before cell phones) and went over to assist the woman until the MSP arrived. The Trooper immediately laced into him about the blue light and he calmly told the Trooper that perhaps they should attend to the accident victim first and he'd stick around to discuss the improper use of the blue light afterwards. They did so and afterwards the Trooper merely sent him on his way. No judge/magistrate would have enforced any ticket under those circumstances.

Another time on a Friday in rush hour Rte. 128 traffic, the CV joint goes on my VW Rabbit in the middle lane of 128S in Newton. Not wanting to get killed I put the blue light up on the roof. An off-duty Wayland officer stopped offered to tow me off the road into the Pillar House parking lot and drove me home. The Thin Blue Line sometimes is a very good thing.

As a Constable I do not have a need for a blue light. If I have to serve papers on a busy street (I will not park in a person's driveway) I will try to find a safe place to park or park on a side street and walk back. If needed, I'll leave the 4-way flashers on when I do this.
 
Very different perception of POV red/blue lights out in "Here be Dragons" land. If you look at my town, and the 6 bordering towns, there are in total 2 full time police or fire - one officer who covers 2 towns, and another who's both police chief and fire chief in his town. Everyone else is either volunteer, or part time. Anyone on police or fire who wants one, gets a light permit. We still field complaints about inappropriate use, which has always been the end of that particular permit, but it doesn't happen often.

Using lights to 'weave in and out of traffic' <Snort> What's traffic?? [rofl]
 
Very different perception of POV red/blue lights out in "Here be Dragons" land....<Snort> What's traffic?? [rofl]

Heh.

In Far Northern Dragon Land I still love it that two trucks traveling in opposite directions can stop dead on River Road and the drivers can sit there and chat.

It ties up traffic for...almost 25 feet in each direction.
 
Well I don't drive a cvpi it's a truck. Any officers on here that can comment? Say your dispatched to a car accident in your town and there's a vehicle there with blue lights on assisting the people that were in the accident, you see he is a off duty officer has credentials and everything, but he doesn't have a fancy mass permit for the blue lights..do you write him a ticket??

LE is dangerous and stressful enough on the clock. Out of your jurisdiction, off duty, with your POV & in plain clothes? Unless it's an epic car accident, call 911 and keep driving.
 
Lol I don't dare ask questions on there, you should see the people they massacre over there on masscops lol granted its funny, it's usually "guest" asking questions like "hey I was going 94mph in a 55 zone and the trooper gave me a ticket...but he didn't wear his hat when he gave me the ticket, can I appeal and win?"
 
My former Chief would issue them for detail use only. We did everything by the books and got RMV permits. My philosophy? If it wasn't dangerous enough for him to assign a cruiser to detail (which he would sometimes), I'm not tossing my car out there with a hit me here sign on it. As far as off duty stuff, I don't partake in it if I can help it. My conscience gets better of me sometimes though.
 
Does it have to be blue lights to help out at a car accident before a LEO gets there? Yellow lights can be just as bright.

not sure if you need any permit for yellow lights though...
 
Does it have to be blue lights to help out at a car accident before a LEO gets there? Yellow lights can be just as bright.

not sure if you need any permit for yellow lights though...

IIRC, you need a permit for any color. Might be an exception for wreckers or construction vehicles but ONLY when used as such for work.
 
not sure if you need any permit for yellow lights though...

MA requires a permit for Red, Blue or Amber lights. There are lots of exemptions for amber lights though. Pretty much any commercial vehicle can have them without a permit. The law also prohibits any flashing, rotating or oscillating lights of colors other than those just mentioned.
 
I wouldnt use my vehicle at a detail anyways... last week a front loader backed into the cruiser that was parked at the detail [hmmm]
 
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