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A65, R172, H3684
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Lucas
Document Path: l:\council\bills\swb\5228cm03.doc
Introduced in the House on February 25, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on April 8, 2003
Last Amended on April 3, 2003
Passed by the General Assembly on June 3, 2003
Governor's Action: June 25, 2003, Signed
Summary: Certain colored lights illegal to display on personally owned vehicles
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2/25/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-34 2/25/2003 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-34 4/2/2003 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary HJ-98 4/3/2003 House Amended HJ-23 4/3/2003 House Read second time HJ-25 4/3/2003 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative day HJ-25 4/4/2003 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-4 4/8/2003 Scrivener's error corrected 4/8/2003 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-31 4/8/2003 Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-31 5/22/2003 Senate Committee report: Favorable Transportation SJ-14 5/29/2003 Senate Read second time SJ-81 6/3/2003 Senate Read third time and enrolled SJ-47 6/5/2003 Ratified R 172 6/25/2003 Signed By Governor 6/30/2003 Copies available 6/30/2003 Effective date 06/25/03 7/1/2003 Act No. 65
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
2/25/2003
4/2/2003
4/3/2003
4/8/2003
5/22/2003
(A65, R172, H3684)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-4700, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CERTAIN AUDIBLE SIGNAL DEVICES AND SIGNAL LAMPS THAT MUST SERVE AS EQUIPMENT ON EMERGENCY VEHICLES, SCHOOL BUSES, AND POLICE VEHICLES SO AS TO REVISE THE PROVISION THAT REGULATES THAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT THAT MUST BE ATTACHED TO POLICE VEHICLES THAT ARE USED AS AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-4830, RELATING TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON A LIGHTED LAMP OR ILLUMINATING DEVICE ATTACHED TO A MOTOR VEHICLE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES MAY NOT DISPLAY A BLUE LIGHT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Authorized emergency vehicles
SECTION 1. Section 56-5-4700 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 56-5-4700. (A) Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive markings required by this chapter, be equipped with a siren, exhaust whistle, or bell capable of giving an audible signal.
(B) Every school bus and every authorized emergency vehicle, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive markings required by this chapter, must be equipped with signal lamps mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, which must be capable of displaying to the front two alternately flashing red lights located at the same level and to the rear two alternately flashing red lights located at the same level, and these lights must have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight. However, vehicles of a fire department or funeral home when equipped with a mounted, oscillating, rotating, or flashing red light, visible in all directions for a distance of five hundred feet in normal sunlight, are not required to have additional signal lamps.
(C) All police vehicles when used as authorized emergency vehicles must be equipped with oscillating, rotating, or flashing blue lights. In addition to the blue lights, the police vehicle may, but need not be equipped with alternately flashing red lights as herein specified, and may, but need not be equipped with oscillating, rotating, or flashing red lights, white lights, or both, in combination with the required blue lights. The authorized emergency police vehicle lights described herein must be visible for a distance of five hundred feet in all directions in normal sunlight. It shall be unlawful for any person to possess or display on any vehicle any blue light that is visible from outside the vehicle except one used primarily for law enforcement purposes.
(D) The alternately flashing lighting described in subsection (B) of this section shall not be used on any vehicle other than an authorized emergency vehicle. Provided, that a school bus may use the alternately flashing red lighting described in subsection (B), or red flashing lights in the rear and amber flashing lights in the front.
(E) The use of the signal equipment described herein shall impose upon drivers of other vehicles the obligation to yield right-of-way and stop as prescribed in Sections 56-5-2360 and 56-5-2770."
Lighted lamps and illuminating devices
SECTION 2. Section 56-5-4830 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 56-5-4830. Any lighted lamp or illuminating device upon a motor vehicle, other than head lamps, spot lamps, auxiliary lamps, flashing turn signals, emergency vehicle warning lamps, and school bus warning lamps, which project a beam of light of an intensity greater than three hundred candlepower shall be so directed that no part of the high intensity portion of the beam will strike the level of the roadway on which the vehicle stands at a distance of more than seventy-five feet from the vehicle.
A person shall not drive, move, or park any vehicle or equipment upon a highway with a lamp or device on it displaying a red or blue light visible from directly in front of the center of it. This section shall not apply to a vehicle upon which a red or blue light visible from the front is expressly authorized or required by this chapter.
Flashing lights are prohibited except on an authorized emergency vehicle, school bus, snow-removal equipment, or on any vehicle as a means of indicating a right or left turn or the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing."
Time effective
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 5th day of June, 2003.
Approved the 25th day of June, 2003.
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