South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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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


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(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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