Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 23 Sec. 1252

  • Commissioner: shall mean in this title only the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. See
  • following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
  • Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
  • Motor vehicle: includes all vehicles propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power, except farm tractors, vehicles running only upon stationary rails or tracks, motorized highway building equipment, road making appliances, snowmobiles, tracked vehicles, motor-assisted bicycles, electric bicycles, or electric personal assistive mobility devices. See
  • Owner: shall include any person, corporation, co-partnership, or association holding legal title to a motor vehicle or having exclusive right to the use or control thereof for a period of 30 days or more. See
  • road: shall include bridges thereon and their approaches. See
  • Town: shall include city and wards or precincts therein; "selectboard members" and "board of civil authority" shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; "trustees" shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. See

§ 1252. Issuance of permits for sirens or colored lamps, or both; use of amber lamps

(a) When satisfied as to the condition and use of the vehicle, the Commissioner shall issue and may revoke, for cause, permits for sirens and colored signal lamps in the following manner:

(1)(A) Sirens, blue signal lamps, or blue and white signal lamps, or a combination thereof, may be authorized for all law enforcement vehicles owned or leased by a law enforcement agency, a certified law enforcement officer, or the Vermont Criminal Justice Council.

(B) A red signal lamp or an amber signal lamp, or a combination thereof, may be authorized for all law enforcement vehicles owned or leased by a law enforcement agency, a certified law enforcement officer, or the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, provided that the Commissioner shall require the lamp or lamps be mounted so as to be visible primarily from the rear of the vehicle.

(C) If the applicant is a constable, the application shall be accompanied by a certification by the town clerk that the applicant is the duly elected or appointed constable and attesting that the town has not voted to limit the constable’s authority to engage in enforcement activities under 24 V.S.A. § 1936a.

(2)(A) Sirens and red or red and white signal lamps may be authorized for all ambulances and other emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles, vehicles owned or leased by a fire department, vehicles used solely in rescue operations, or vehicles owned or leased by, or provided to, volunteer firefighters and voluntary rescue squad members, including a vehicle owned by a volunteer’s employer when the volunteer has the written authorization of the employer to use the vehicle for emergency fire or rescue activities.

(B) A blue signal lamp or an amber signal lamp, or a combination thereof, may be authorized for all EMS vehicles or vehicles owned or leased by a fire department, provided that the Commissioner shall require the lamp or lamps be mounted so as to be visible primarily from the rear of the vehicle.

(3) [Repealed.]

(4) No motor vehicle, other than one owned by the applicant, shall be issued a permit until the Commissioner has recorded the information regarding both the owner of the vehicle and the applicant for the permit.

(5) Upon application to the Commissioner, the Commissioner may issue a single permit for all the vehicles owned or leased by the applicant.

(6) Sirens and red or red and white signal lamps or sirens and blue or blue and white signal lamps may be authorized for restored emergency or enforcement vehicles used for exhibition purposes. Sirens and lamps authorized under this subdivision may only be activated during an exhibition, such as a car show or parade.

(b) Amber signal lamps shall be used on road maintenance vehicles, service vehicles, and wreckers and shall be used on all registered snow removal equipment when in use removing snow on public highways, and the amber lamps shall be mounted so as to be visible from all sides of the motor vehicle. (Amended 1967, No. 265 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1969, No. 259 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 1985, No. 85, § 7; 1987, No. 5, § 1; 1987, No. 241 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1991, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 1 eff. April 10, 1992; 1995, No. 88 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2001, No. 106 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2013, No. 57, § 21; 2021, No. 76, § 34.)