Iowa Code 321.424 – Authorized emergency vehicle lights
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary:
1. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a combination of interior and exterior lights, flashing headlamps, and flashing tail lamps as provided in this section and in this chapter.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 321.424
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Department: means the state department of transportation. See Iowa Code 321H.2
- Driver: means a person who operates a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers in the motor vehicle on behalf of a railroad worker transportation company, whether the person is employed by the company for wages or drives for the company as an independent contractor. See Iowa Code 327F.39
- Fire department: means a paid or volunteer fire protection service provided by a benefited fire district under chapter 357B or by a county, municipality or township, or a private corporate organization that has a valid contract to provide fire protection service for a benefited fire district, county, municipality, township or governmental agency. See Iowa Code 321.423
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Vehicle: means any vehicle as defined in chapter 321. See Iowa Code 321H.2
2. An official law enforcement, fire department, emergency medical services, or emergency management vehicle owned by the state or a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, may be equipped with flashing headlamps.
3. An authorized emergency vehicle owned by the state, a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, or a private emergency medical services company delivering services to the state, a municipality, or a hospital pursuant to a written contract, or a privately owned vehicle designated as an authorized emergency vehicle pursuant to section 321.451, shall be equipped with a combination of operational red and blue lights.
4. An authorized emergency vehicle equipped with an interior or exterior light bar must have the light bar positioned such that front and rear facing red lights are on the driver‘s side of the vehicle and front and rear facing blue lights are on the passenger’s side of the vehicle.
5. An authorized emergency vehicle equipped with an interior or exterior light bar with red and blue flashing lights may be equipped with flashing or solid white lights scattered among or between a clear or colored lens that displays a red or blue flashing light.
6. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one or more lights capable of emitting a split red and blue steady or flashing light, which may be mounted on or in the vehicle.
7. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one or more lights on the side of the vehicle capable of emitting red and blue light, red and white light, or blue and white light.
8. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one or more lights with a clear or colored lens.
9. An official law enforcement, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, or emergency management vehicle may be equipped with lights or light bars containing one or more rear zone amber lights or amber directional arrows, which shall be in addition to any other required lighting equipment. An authorized emergency vehicle shall not be equipped with an amber light positioned on the front or side of the vehicle. However, an aerial fire apparatus may be equipped with amber flashing lights on the outriggers of the apparatus.
10. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one or more steady, oscillating, or flashing white lights, flashing headlamps, or flashing reverse lamps, which shall be in addition to any other required lighting equipment. A light bar shall not be equipped or used to display flashing white lights visible from the rear of the vehicle. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit an authorized emergency vehicle owned by the state or a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, from being equipped with or using a spotlight or exterior light bar capable of displaying a steady white light for use as a work light, alley light, search light, or take down light.
11. An authorized emergency vehicle owned by a state or a municipality, as defined in section 670.1, that is primarily used as an incident command vehicle may be equipped with one or more steady or flashing green lights, which shall be in addition to any other required lighting equipment. A steady or flashing green light equipped pursuant to this subsection shall not be activated unless the vehicle is being used as a stationary incident command post at the location of an emergency incident, an official training exercise, or for maintenance or demonstration purposes.
12. An official fire department or emergency medical services vehicle purchased, delivered, or refurbished on or after July 1, 2021, shall be equipped with a master warning switch to activate all emergency lights on the vehicle, in addition to one or more switches to separately activate or isolate the front, side, and rear warning lights.