This clip makes for an interesting study of the California "steady burning" red warning light law. Seen here is a Ford Crown Victoria slicktop police car of the Los Angeles Police Department responding in Hollywood. Note that the ONLY forward-facing emergency light (except the wig-wags) is a single red lamp mounted at the top of the windshield by the rearview mirror. It is not even flashing. This is the absolute minimum warning lighting that an emergency vehicle can have in California and still be legal. According to the California Vehicle Code section 25252: "Every authorized emergency vehicle shall be equipped with at least one steady burning red warning lamp visible from at least 1000 feet to the front of the vehicle to be used as provided in this code." This section goes on to say that: "In addition, authorized emergency vehicles may display revolving, flashing, or steady red warning lights to the front, sides or rear of the vehicles." Other sections of the California Vehicle Code allow for blue lights to be used on police cars as well as amber and clear lights to be used on other emergency vehicles. This LAPD slicktop police car has the minimum requirement of one steady burning red warning lamp and is also equipped with wig-wags. You'll notice that to the rear it has, on the driver's side only, an emergency LED lamp split amber/blue which alternates. At the end of the video there is another shot of a slicktop police car at a traffic stop with a clearer view of the rear lights. In an era when emergency vehicles are often fitted with warning lights all over the vehicle, this particular set-up by the LAPD is attractively refreshing, showing restraint in the face of a trend that some might argue is out of control. Recent studies have shown that more lights are not necessarily better, and there have been recommendations to reduce the number of lights on emergency vehicles. Los Angeles, California, USA. 08.2013 For those aficionados of emergency lighting studies, see this study entitles "Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Study." http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_323.pdf This is also an excellent article written by Richard J. Ashton for "Police Chief Magazine." http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article;_id=2456&issue;_id=82011

• published: 18 Jan 2014
• views: 738