Bill Text: FL S1164 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Use of Lights and Sirens on Authorized Emergency Vehicles
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-04 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 1113 [S1164 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1164-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 1164
By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Burton
596-02667-24 20241164c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the use of lights and sirens on
3 authorized emergency vehicles; amending s. 316.003,
4 F.S.; revising the definition of the term “authorized
5 emergency vehicles”; defining the term “organ
6 transport vehicle”; amending s. 316.072, F.S.;
7 authorizing organ transport vehicles to exercise
8 certain privileges; amending s. 316.2397, F.S.;
9 providing that certain vehicles transporting organs
10 and surgical teams for organ recovery or transplant
11 may show or display red lights and operate sirens
12 while en route to a hospital, an airport, or other
13 designated location; amending s. 316.2398, F.S.;
14 authorizing the display or use of red warning signals
15 by organ transport vehicles under certain
16 circumstances; amending s. 316.271, F.S., conforming a
17 provision to changes made by the act; amending ss.
18 316.306 and 655.960, F.S.; conforming cross
19 references; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Present subsections (54) through (111) of
24 section 316.003, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
25 subsections (55) through (112), respectively, a new subsection
26 (54) is added to that section, and subsection (1) and present
27 subsection (64) of that section are amended, to read:
28 316.003 Definitions.—The following words and phrases, when
29 used in this chapter, shall have the meanings respectively
30 ascribed to them in this section, except where the context
31 otherwise requires:
32 (1) AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES.—Vehicles of the fire
33 department (fire patrol), police vehicles, organ transport
34 vehicles, emergency management vehicles, and such ambulances and
35 emergency vehicles of municipal departments, volunteer ambulance
36 services, public service corporations operated by private
37 corporations, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the
38 Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of
39 Health, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of
40 Corrections as are designated or authorized by their respective
41 departments or the chief of police of an incorporated city or
42 any sheriff of any of the various counties.
43 (54) ORGAN TRANSPORT VEHICLE.–Any dedicated and marked
44 vehicle operated by an organ procurement organization,
45 transplant center, or its contracted service provider to
46 transport organs or surgical teams for organ recovery or
47 transplant. An operator of such vehicle must have completed a
48 16-hour emergency vehicle operator course.
49 (65)(64) PRIVATE ROAD OR DRIVEWAY.—Except as otherwise
50 provided in paragraph (90)(b) (89)(b), any privately owned way
51 or place used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having
52 express or implied permission from the owner, but not by other
53 persons.
54 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
55 316.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
56 316.072 Obedience to and effect of traffic laws.—
57 (5) AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES.—
58 (a)1. The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, when
59 responding to an emergency call, when transporting organs or
60 surgical teams for organ recovery or transplant while en route
61 to a hospital, an airport, or other designated location, when in
62 the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, or
63 when responding to a fire alarm, but not upon returning from a
64 fire;
65 2. A medical staff physician or technician of a medical
66 facility licensed by the state or of a volunteer ambulance
67 service when responding to an emergency in the line of duty in
68 his or her privately owned vehicle, using red lights as
69 authorized in s. 316.2398; or
70 3. The driver of an authorized law enforcement vehicle,
71 when conducting a nonemergency escort, to warn the public of an
72 approaching motorcade;
73
74 may exercise the privileges set forth in this section, but
75 subject to the conditions herein stated.
76 Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 316.2397, Florida
77 Statutes, is amended to read:
78 316.2397 Certain lights prohibited; exceptions.—
79 (3)(a) Vehicles of the fire department and fire patrol,
80 including vehicles of volunteer firefighters as permitted under
81 s. 316.2398, may show or display red or red and white lights.
82 (b) Vehicles of medical staff physicians or technicians of
83 medical facilities licensed by the state or of volunteer
84 ambulance services as authorized under s. 316.2398, ambulances
85 as authorized under this chapter, and buses and taxicabs as
86 authorized under s. 316.2399 may show or display red lights.
87 Vehicles of the fire department, fire patrol, police vehicles,
88 and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal and
89 county departments, volunteer ambulance services, public service
90 corporations operated by private corporations, the Fish and
91 Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of
92 Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the
93 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the
94 Department of Corrections as are designated or authorized by
95 their respective department or the chief of police of an
96 incorporated city or any sheriff of any county may operate
97 emergency lights and sirens in an emergency.
98 (c) Organ transport vehicles transporting organs or
99 surgical teams for organ recovery or transplant may show or
100 display red lights and operate sirens while en route to a
101 hospital, an airport, or other designated location.
102 (d) Wreckers, mosquito control fog and spray vehicles, and
103 emergency vehicles of governmental departments or public service
104 corporations may show or display amber lights when in actual
105 operation or when a hazard exists provided they are not used
106 going to and from the scene of operation or hazard without
107 specific authorization of a law enforcement officer or law
108 enforcement agency.
109 (e) Wreckers must use amber rotating or flashing lights
110 while performing recoveries and loading on the roadside day or
111 night, and may use such lights while towing a vehicle on wheel
112 lifts, slings, or under reach if the operator of the wrecker
113 deems such lights necessary. A flatbed, car carrier, or rollback
114 may not use amber rotating or flashing lights when hauling a
115 vehicle on the bed unless it creates a hazard to other motorists
116 because of protruding objects. Further, escort vehicles may show
117 or display amber lights when in the actual process of escorting
118 overdimensioned equipment, material, or buildings as authorized
119 by law.
120 (f) Vehicles owned or leased by private security agencies
121 may show or display green and amber lights, with either color
122 being no greater than 50 percent of the lights displayed, while
123 the security personnel are engaged in security duties on private
124 or public property.
125 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 316.2398, Florida
126 Statutes, is amended to read:
127 316.2398 Display or use of red or red and white warning
128 signals; motor vehicles of volunteer firefighters or medical
129 staff.—
130 (1) A privately owned vehicle belonging to an active
131 firefighter member of a regularly organized volunteer
132 firefighting company or association, while en route to the fire
133 station for the purpose of proceeding to the scene of a fire or
134 other emergency or while en route to the scene of a fire or
135 other emergency in the line of duty as an active firefighter
136 member of a regularly organized firefighting company or
137 association, may display or use red or red and white warning
138 signals. A privately owned vehicle belonging to a medical staff
139 physician or technician of a medical facility licensed by the
140 state or of a volunteer ambulance service, while responding to
141 an emergency in the line of duty, may display or use red warning
142 signals. An organ transport vehicle, while transporting organs
143 or surgical teams for organ recovery or transplant while en
144 route to a hospital, an airport, or other designated location,
145 may display or use red warning signals. Warning signals must be
146 visible from the front and from the rear of such vehicle,
147 subject to the following restrictions and conditions:
148 (a) No more than two red or red and white warning signals
149 may be displayed.
150 (b) No inscription of any kind may appear across the face
151 of the lens of the red or red and white warning signal.
152 (c) In order for an active volunteer firefighter to display
153 such red or red and white warning signals on his or her vehicle,
154 the volunteer firefighter must first secure a written permit
155 from the chief executive officers of the firefighting
156 organization to use the red or red and white warning signals,
157 and this permit must be carried by the volunteer firefighter at
158 all times while the red or red and white warning signals are
159 displayed.
160 (d) An emergency medical technician, doctor, or paramedic
161 who is using his or her personal vehicle with a red light to
162 respond to an emergency call must have completed a 16-hour
163 emergency vehicle operator course.
164 Section 5. Subsection (4) of section 316.271, Florida
165 Statutes, is amended to read:
166 316.271 Horns and warning devices.—
167 (4) No vehicle shall be equipped with, nor shall any person
168 use upon a vehicle, any siren, whistle, or bell, except as
169 otherwise permitted in this section or s. 316.2397.
170 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
171 316.306, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
172 316.306 School and work zones; prohibition on the use of a
173 wireless communications device in a handheld manner.—
174 (3)(a)1. A person may not operate a motor vehicle while
175 using a wireless communications device in a handheld manner in a
176 designated school crossing, school zone, or work zone area as
177 defined in s. 316.003(112) s. 316.003(111). This subparagraph
178 shall only be applicable to work zone areas if construction
179 personnel are present or are operating equipment on the road or
180 immediately adjacent to the work zone area. For the purposes of
181 this paragraph, a motor vehicle that is stationary is not being
182 operated and is not subject to the prohibition in this
183 paragraph.
184 2. Effective January 1, 2020, a law enforcement officer may
185 stop motor vehicles and issue citations to persons who are
186 driving while using a wireless communications device in a
187 handheld manner in violation of subparagraph 1.
188 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 655.960, Florida
189 Statutes, is amended to read:
190 655.960 Definitions; ss. 655.960-655.965.—As used in this
191 section and ss. 655.961-655.965, unless the context otherwise
192 requires:
193 (1) “Access area” means any paved walkway or sidewalk which
194 is within 50 feet of any automated teller machine. The term does
195 not include any street or highway open to the use of the public,
196 as defined in s. 316.003(90)(a) or (b) s. 316.003(89)(a) or (b),
197 including any adjacent sidewalk, as defined in s. 316.003.
198 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
