Tow trucks with blue strobes

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  • Suburbazine

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    So I encountered a tow truck, operated by a private company, operating blue strobes and disobeying traffic signage. According to their dispatcher, they are authorized to operate blue lights and disregard signage when on "police business".

    From what little I can glean from my limited understanding of Louisiana RS, tow services aren't actually considered a "public utility" or "law enforcement/emergency services", at least not in a part-time function, either of which would be a requirement for operation of blue lights in disregard of traffic signage.

    Before I become an unpopular person, is there some documentation or legal explanations for such activity? I've gone through both RS32 and 45 in my quest for clarity.
     

    JBP55

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    RS 32:317

    C. Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any equipment and distinctive markings required by this Chapter, be equipped with signal lamps mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, which shall 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 shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight. In lieu of the alternately flashing red lights in the front, an authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a large revolving red light on the roof which is discernible in all directions and which shall also have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight. In lieu of the large revolving red light on the roof, authorized emergency vehicles of organized fire companies only shall be equipped with a large revolving alternating red and white light on the roof encased in a clear dome, which is discernible in all directions and which shall also have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight.

    D. A police vehicle when used as an authorized emergency vehicle may, but need not, be equipped with alternately flashing red lights specified herein.

    E. The use of the signal equipment described herein shall impose upon drivers of other vehicles the obligation to yield the right of way and to stop as prescribed in R.S. 32:80 and 32:125.

    F.(1) In lieu of the alternating flashing red lights in the front of the vehicle, or of the large revolving red light on the roof of the vehicle, all law enforcement officers are hereby authorized to equip, operate, and use motor vehicles with blue colored electric emergency lights in the exercise of their official duties. These lights shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight.

    (2) All persons other than law enforcement officers on official duty are prohibited from equipping, operating, or using motor vehicles with blue colored electric lights thereon.
     

    thperez1972

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    I could search the statutes but as far as I know, they are not supposed to be running blue lights. Even when the police "break the law" while on police business, they are still responsible for making sure they can do so in a safe manner. In other words, even with my lights and sirens going, if I come to an intersection where I have the red, I cannot pull into the intersection until it is clear to do so. If I pull in front of a car when they have the green, I am at fault.

    LA R.S. 32:1 Definitions
    "Authorized emergency vehicle" means a vehicle of a fire department, a vehicle of the weights and standards police force, a police vehicle or bicycle, a privately owned vehicle belonging to members of an organized volunteer fire department or fire district when so designated or authorized by the fire chief of that fire department or fire district, an industrial-owned vehicle assigned to members of a fire department or fire district when so designated or authorized by the fire chief of that fire department or fire district, a vehicle parked or stopped by elevator repair or construction personnel while responding to an elevator emergency, such ambulances and emergency medical response vehicles certified by the Louisiana Department of Health that are operated by certified ambulance services, and emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public service corporations as are designated or authorized by the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development or by the chief of police of any incorporated municipality. For purposes of this Section, elevator repair shall be limited to those elevators that move people.

    They're probably trying to slide in under the part in bold if they have a contract with the city.
     

    charlie12

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    I've noticed in the last few couple years more and more vehicles running blue. Fire trucks and ambulance on the rear. I can't see the need for anyone other that LE to have any blue lights. As far as wreckers I've always wondered why have have to run all the amber lights just driving down the road anyway. If a 18 wheel can go pulling a 50' trailer without problems you would think a rollback wrecker could make it down the road with a Kia on it.
     

    Suburbazine

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    I could search the statutes but as far as I know, they are not supposed to be running blue lights. Even when the police "break the law" while on police business, they are still responsible for making sure they can do so in a safe manner. In other words, even with my lights and sirens going, if I come to an intersection where I have the red, I cannot pull into the intersection until it is clear to do so. If I pull in front of a car when they have the green, I am at fault.

    LA R.S. 32:1 Definitions
    "Authorized emergency vehicle" means a vehicle of a fire department, a vehicle of the weights and standards police force, a police vehicle or bicycle, a privately owned vehicle belonging to members of an organized volunteer fire department or fire district when so designated or authorized by the fire chief of that fire department or fire district, an industrial-owned vehicle assigned to members of a fire department or fire district when so designated or authorized by the fire chief of that fire department or fire district, a vehicle parked or stopped by elevator repair or construction personnel while responding to an elevator emergency, such ambulances and emergency medical response vehicles certified by the Louisiana Department of Health that are operated by certified ambulance services, and emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public service corporations as are designated or authorized by the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development or by the chief of police of any incorporated municipality. For purposes of this Section, elevator repair shall be limited to those elevators that move people.

    They're probably trying to slide in under the part in bold if they have a contract with the city.

    It sounds like you already know of whom I question :D

    I guess I need to find out if they can really be considered a PSC.

    The truck in question already had a vehicle in tow...and could have made his left turn legally at any number of pre/proceeding intersections.

    Charlie, I don't have much of an issue with the blue on emergency vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances, especially because they are using them in a rear-facing manner only. Forward facing blue represents a more urgent, move-right-now-let-me-thru sort of meaning.
     
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    thperez1972

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    It sounds like you already know of whom I question :D

    I guess I need to find out if they can really be considered a PSC.

    The truck in question already had a vehicle in tow...and could have made his left turn legally at any number of pre/proceeding intersections.

    Charlie, I don't have much of an issue with the blue on emergency vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances, especially because they are using them in a rear-facing manner only. Forward facing blue represents a more urgent, move-right-now-let-me-thru sort of meaning.

    I do not know of whom you speak. I've just dealt with a number of tow truck drivers in my career and a subset of those drivers certainly have the mindset you described. Some people think just because you have a blue light means traffic laws mean nothing you and that's just not the case.
     

    thperez1972

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    I've noticed in the last few couple years more and more vehicles running blue. Fire trucks and ambulance on the rear. I can't see the need for anyone other that LE to have any blue lights. As far as wreckers I've always wondered why have have to run all the amber lights just driving down the road anyway. If a 18 wheel can go pulling a 50' trailer without problems you would think a rollback wrecker could make it down the road with a Kia on it.

    I have noticed that as well and have wondered why. But at least, as far as I can remember, they are only running them in the back.
     

    enigmedic

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    Good morning fellows,
    Two things immediately come to mind with regard to the blue lighting. The first is with regard to the tow truck. I would bet the proverbial dollars to donuts that if you dig into it, the tow truck operator holds a reserve or auxillary commission in some municipality and is merging the two, towing and pd affiliation. Here in Southeast Louisiana it seems like the number of people who hold some form of a commission exceed the number of private citizens. Add to that political nature of towing industry, and I'm confident in saying the above is true in one form or another. Of course the justification will probably be that they are the designated (read: de facto) extrication and priority recovery service for that locale. More than likely the owner operator just took the liberty of doing it. I'm sure some member here can chime in.
    With regard to blue lighting on fire and EMS vehicles, LARS have been amended to include blue lightning on any municipal emergency vehicle. The reason is rooted in safety, not color coding or the public being able to differentiate police from other types of emergency vehicles (that is a moot point, as motorists do not get to choose whether they would yield to one type of emergency vehicle versus another).
    The safety factor comes in trying to provide visual warning in all weather conditions. Viewed by the human eye, red lighting is most visible in the daylight. Blue lighting provides the greatest coverage/ distance at night. Amber has the greatest penetration through particulates, such as smoke or fog; hence amber fog lights compared to white or clear driving lights on off road vehicles. This is the same reason the bluish spectrum or frequency of LEDs is still taking a backseat to halogen and incandescent lighting for entry guns, despite superior bulb and battery life. The yellowish spectrum penetrates better when particulates become airborne, secondary to deployment flashbang prior to entry. Firefighters run into a similar issue, of LEDs being great for medical or extrication scenes, but blinding in smoky conditions. Remember when we were driver's ed. kids being told not to use our high beams in the fog?
    In the late 90s to early 2000s, the City of New Orleans had several vehicles struck while stationary or staged on scene. Due to the autonomy afforded under the Home Rule Charter, blue lights were installed on many non police public safety vehicles. It was successful and shortly after, many other municipalities followed suit, paving the way for the amendment.
    A trivial fun fact of emergency vehicle lighting convention is that a lone green light, usually temporary mount, identifies the command post.
     
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    thperez1972

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    Good morning fellows,
    Two things immediately come to mind with regard to the blue lighting. The first is with regard to the tow truck. I would bet the proverbial dollars to donuts that if you dig into it, the tow truck operator holds a reserve or auxillary commission in some municipality and is merging the two, towing and pd affiliation. Here in Southeast Louisiana it seems like the number of people who hold some form of a commission exceed the number of private citizens. Add to that political nature of towing industry, and I'm confident in saying the above is true in one form or another. Of course the justification will probably be that they are the designated (read: de facto) extrication and priority recovery service for that locale. More than likely the owner operator just took the liberty of doing it. I'm sure some member here can chime in.
    With regard to blue lighting on fire and EMS vehicles, LARS have been amended to include blue lightning on any municipal emergency vehicle. The reason is rooted in safety, not color coding or the public being able to differentiate police from other types of emergency vehicles (that is a moot point, as motorists do not get to choose whether they would yield to one type of emergency vehicle versus another).
    The safety factor comes in trying to provide visual warning in all weather conditions. Viewed by the human eye, red lighting is most visible in the daylight. Blue lighting provides the greatest coverage/ distance at night. Amber has the greatest penetration through particulates, such as smoke or fog; hence amber fog lights compared to white or clear driving lights on off road vehicles. This is the same reason the bluish spectrum or frequency of LEDs is still taking a backseat to halogen and incandescent lighting for entry guns, despite superior bulb and battery life. The yellowish spectrum penetrates better when particulates become airborne, secondary to deployment flashbang prior to entry. Firefighters run into a similar issue, of LEDs being great for medical or extrication scenes, but blinding in smoky conditions. Remember when we were driver's ed. kids being told not to use our high beams in the fog?
    In the late 90s to early 2000s, the City of New Orleans had several vehicles struck while stationary or staged on scene. Due to the autonomy afforded under the Home Rule Charter, blue lights were installed on many non police public safety vehicles. It was successful and shortly after, many other municipalities followed suit, paving the way for the amendment.
    A trivial fun fact of emergency vehicle lighting convention is that a lone green light, usually temporary mount, identifies the command post.

    I would take that bet. In New Orleans, the city maintains a list of about 20 tow services. The officer on scene calls over the radio to the dispatcher. The dispatcher gets the next name on the list and they get the call. No individual tow company has priority or exclusive tow right. While you are correct in that the public does not have the option of yielding for some emergency vehicle while not yielding for others, the law appears to disagree with you with regard to color coding the emergency vehicles, specifically separating police vehicles from other emergency vehicle.

    With respect to the laws, there are a couple of laws that come into play.
    L.A. RS:318 Audible and visual signals on certain vehicles (incorrectly listed above as 32:317, an innocent mistake as the quoted law is correct)
    C. Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any equipment and distinctive markings required by this Chapter, be equipped with signal lamps mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, which shall 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 shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight. In lieu of the alternately flashing red lights in the front, an authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a large revolving red light on the roof which is discernible in all directions and which shall also have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight. In lieu of the large revolving red light on the roof, authorized emergency vehicles of organized fire companies only shall be equipped with a large revolving alternating red and white light on the roof encased in a clear dome, which is discernible in all directions and which shall also have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight.
    D. A police vehicle when used as an authorized emergency vehicle may, but need not, be equipped with alternately flashing red lights specified herein.
    E. The use of the signal equipment described herein shall impose upon drivers of other vehicles the obligation to yield the right of way and to stop as prescribed in R.S. 32:80 and 32:125.
    F.(1) In lieu of the alternating flashing red lights in the front of the vehicle, or of the large revolving red light on the roof of the vehicle, all law enforcement officers are hereby authorized to equip, operate, and use motor vehicles with blue colored electric emergency lights in the exercise of their official duties. These lights shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight.
    (2) All persons other than law enforcement officers on official duty are prohibited from equipping, operating, or using motor vehicles with blue colored electric lights thereon.

    The New Orleans municipal code also lists a similar ordinance.
    Sec. 154-1253. - Unauthorized vehicle equipment prohibited.
    (a) No person shall operate any vehicle in the parish which shall display, have attached to it, or use any equipment prohibited by state law and particularly the Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act.
    (b) It shall be a violation for any vehicle, except authorized emergency vehicles, to display a blinking red light, visible from the front of the vehicle, while such vehicle is in operation.
    (c) It shall be a violation for any vehicle, except authorized vehicles of the New Orleans Police Department and Department of Public Works vehicles operating under the direction of the New Orleans Police Department to display a blinking blue light, visible from the front of the vehicle, while such vehicle is in operation.

    Those are the current laws as presented by the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans. If you have any sources indicating the laws have been amended to allow for something different, please feel free to present it.

    Most new weapon lights being used in now an entry by police are not halogen or incandescent. They are LED's in the middle of the road temperature range. The older technology, especially incandescent, tend to be a warmer temperature. They do not do as good of a job of providing light in a tactical situation. Add on to it the shorter battery life, you'll be hard pressed to find a knowledgeable person suggest something other than LED for a new weapon light or handheld flashlight to be used on duty.
     
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    JBP55

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    Next on the list is used locally unless owner/driver of said vehicle requests a Wrecker Company by Name which may or may not be on the rotation list.
     

    thperez1972

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    Next on the list is used locally unless owner/driver of said vehicle requests a Wrecker Company by Name which may or may not be on the rotation list.

    Yes, the civilian's preference overrides the list, further adding to the "no tow company has priority or exclusivity" situation. But when the civilian wanted a specific tow company, they would typically call and arrange it. We would not have the dispatcher call that tow company on their behalf.
     

    enigmedic

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    I think you've misunderstood what I was saying. I never suggested vehicles on the tow list have any sort of police power or Department affiliation. At least not the private entities in New Orleans or working in JP. What I suggested was that the one in question may have an unorthodox relationship with the sheriff or local Chief of Police, going so far as to hold a reserve Commission. I guessed at some justification such as complex towing, etc. I doubt very seriously you would find that codified, quite the contrary, that would be a handshake type of deal. My assumption is this is in a small town.

    I can't comment on non-emergency vehicles, as I have had no dealings with them. What I can tell you is fire, and subsequently, EMS have been using blue lighting for the reason cited above since the early 2000s, look at any of the aforementioned vehicles on the street. Are New Orleans Municipal ordinances amended accordingly? I don't know, but I can say with certainty there are numerous municipal ordinances that have not kept up with operational changes, and that is just as well. Most Perdido Street wisdom has been a hindrance, not a help to the city.
    With regard to the revised statutes, individual agencies have long since abandoned their emergency lighting convention, certainly within my lifetime. The original convention called for separate lighting to differentiate between Municipal Police dept. and parish wide Sheriff's and Constable's Offices. Certainly fair to say that was not exactly followed religiously. Once again I would hope my elected officials are addressing more important affairs than an obsolete lighting convention. Whatever is in the interest of public safety and risk management is what should be employed. I don't think anybody took science or safety into consideration at the time of adoption.
    With regard to the revised statutes and deviation from the prescribed patterns such as forward facing, blinking, alternating, etc., there's a direct conflict between national KKK ambulance standards which are adopted by the state of Louisiana as well as NFPA standards which regulates fire vehicles, also adopted by the state of Louisiana.
    For better or worse, there is a gradient to jump on board with following nationally promulgated consensus standards, in some cases adopted by the legislature and made law. NFPA is a great example of that. It would be a logistic nightmare to ask vehicle manufacturers to alter their production lines for each of the 50 states. Police vehicles are a little bit easier because they are usually modified in house post manufacturing, not built around an existing equipment package, so there's definitely that factored in. My assumption here is that when the entire legal package so to speak is adopted, it will take precedent over previous iterations, i.e. citations above. As an example, try licensing a non KKK approved ambulance package with the Louisiana Bureau of EMS. Unless you cite sovereignty under the Home Rule Charter the way nopd and nohd did in the 1990s, successfully, regarding the requirement for inspection or certification from the state burea of EMS
    . Not sure if you were with nopd when they ran EMS, if so you know what I'm talking about.
    At the end of the day, the question must be asked, who would enforce any violations of the above, anyway? And who really cares as long as Public Safety is not compromised.
    I think it would be great fodder for the media and anti police advocates to demonstrate taxpayer dollars being used in the enforcement of such a thing.
    There have been a few incidences of LSP citing vehicles for improper emergency lighting, but those seem to be previously mentioned Reserve officers in their POV or volunteer firefighters, also generally in POV. I'm not aware of any cases of one department pursuing changes in fleet vehicles over another department.
    With regard to light frequency and spectra, as of post Katrina era, what was stated was accurate. If there had been modern advances in LED, and I'm sure there are, so much the better. Surefire was continuing production of an otherwise obsolete product for specwar for that very reason. Wilcox did something very similar. I am fortunate to have been able to find one surplus, in a Wilcox Nightstalker package. But those advances would have to include losing the so-called bluish hue of LED and achieving the more yellowish, at least when viewed by human eyes.
     
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    enigmedic

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    Back to the op, regarding the service in question, has anyone found any information regarding the status or justification for it? My curiosity is piqued. I am from the greater New Orleans area, and I assume this would be Florida parish area so I've not seen or heard anything about it outside of here. Does anyone have pics? Or is this a budding Lee Zurich segment?
     

    thperez1972

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    I think you've misunderstood what I was saying. I never suggested vehicles on the tow list have any sort of police power or Department affiliation. At least not the private entities in New Orleans or working in JP. What I suggested was that the one in question may have an unorthodox relationship with the sheriff or local Chief of Police, going so far as to hold a reserve Commission. I guessed at some justification such as complex towing, etc. I doubt very seriously you would find that codified, quite the contrary, that would be a handshake type of deal. My assumption is this is in a small town.

    I can't comment on non-emergency vehicles, as I have had no dealings with them. What I can tell you is fire, and subsequently, EMS have been using blue lighting for the reason cited above since the early 2000s, look at any of the aforementioned vehicles on the street. Are New Orleans Municipal ordinances amended accordingly? I don't know, but I can say with certainty there are numerous municipal ordinances that have not kept up with operational changes, and that is just as well. Most Perdido Street wisdom has been a hindrance, not a help to the city.
    With regard to the revised statutes, individual agencies have long since abandoned their emergency lighting convention, certainly within my lifetime. The original convention called for separate lighting to differentiate between Municipal Police dept. and parish wide Sheriff's and Constable's Offices. Certainly fair to say that was not exactly followed religiously. Once again I would hope my elected officials are addressing more important affairs than an obsolete lighting convention. Whatever is in the interest of public safety and risk management is what should be employed. I don't think anybody took science or safety into consideration at the time of adoption.
    With regard to the revised statutes and deviation from the prescribed patterns such as forward facing, blinking, alternating, etc., there's a direct conflict between national KKK ambulance standards which are adopted by the state of Louisiana as well as NFPA standards which regulates fire vehicles, also adopted by the state of Louisiana.
    For better or worse, there is a gradient to jump on board with following nationally promulgated consensus standards, in some cases adopted by the legislature and made law. NFPA is a great example of that. It would be a logistic nightmare to ask vehicle manufacturers to alter their production lines for each of the 50 states. Police vehicles are a little bit easier because they are usually modified in house post manufacturing, not built around an existing equipment package, so there's definitely that factored in. My assumption here is that when the entire legal package so to speak is adopted, it will take precedent over previous iterations, i.e. citations above. As an example, try licensing a non KKK approved ambulance package with the Louisiana Bureau of EMS. Unless you cite sovereignty under the Home Rule Charter the way nopd and nohd did in the 1990s, successfully, regarding the requirement for inspection or certification from the state burea of EMS
    . Not sure if you were with nopd when they ran EMS, if so you know what I'm talking about.
    At the end of the day, the question must be asked, who would enforce any violations of the above, anyway? And who really cares as long as Public Safety is not compromised.
    I think it would be great fodder for the media and anti police advocates to demonstrate taxpayer dollars being used in the enforcement of such a thing.
    There have been a few incidences of LSP citing vehicles for improper emergency lighting, but those seem to be previously mentioned Reserve officers in their POV or volunteer firefighters, also generally in POV. I'm not aware of any cases of one department pursuing changes in fleet vehicles over another department.
    With regard to light frequency and spectra, as of post Katrina era, what was stated was accurate. If there had been modern advances in LED, and I'm sure there are, so much the better. Surefire was continuing production of an otherwise obsolete product for specwar for that very reason. Wilcox did something very similar. I am fortunate to have been able to find one surplus, in a Wilcox Nighthawk package. But those advances would have to include losing the so-called bluish hue of LED and achieving the more yellowish, at least when viewed by human eyes.

    If you were misunderstood, then please clarify. What was amended? What was it amended from? And what was it amended to?
     

    thperez1972

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    Back to the op, regarding the service in question, has anyone found any information regarding the status or justification for it? My curiosity is piqued. I am from the greater New Orleans area, and I assume this would be Florida parish area so I've not seen or heard anything about it outside of here. Does anyone have pics? Or is this a budding Lee Zurich segment?

    The statutes and the ordinances don't appear to offer justification. In fact, they seem to offer the opposite.
     

    charlie12

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    Next on the list is used locally unless owner/driver of said vehicle requests a Wrecker Company by Name which may or may not be on the rotation list.

    Yep that's this area. And like some agencies have a official storage wrecker company for DWI's and such
     

    Suburbazine

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    Back to the op, regarding the service in question, has anyone found any information regarding the status or justification for it? My curiosity is piqued. I am from the greater New Orleans area, and I assume this would be Florida parish area so I've not seen or heard anything about it outside of here. Does anyone have pics? Or is this a budding Lee Zurich segment?

    I still haven't found any, at least none that is clearly posted for anyone who can be reached to know about. This is EBR, more specifically City of BR. It's one specific tow company that has a contract of some sort with the city to respond to city incidents, while maintaining their normal calls. (not a dedicated branch of DPW or anything).

    If you're from BR you're probably familiar with RoadRunner. I don't have a personal issue with RR, just the act of using blue lights in a manner that is confusing at best and illegal at worst. For example, a driver "forgets" his blue lights and goes on a "personal call" to some customer. He meanders his merry way through the city, ignoring signage and traffic. What's the difference from a "city call" and a "customer call"? This could get any of their drivers in a whole lotta trouble, if anyone were to press the case. Or maybe even worse that than, leaves the blue lights on and takes a call outside of the parish? The use case they have presented so far is just so..bad... Their possible "off-duty" possession and operation of blue lights is a whole 'nother ball game from say an off-duty LEO using blue lights.

    What spawned this inquiry was a RR truck making a left turn from eastbound Government St. onto northbound S. Acadian thruway at roughly 18:10 7/6/18. I was traveling westbound on Government when I encountered the tow truck running blue lights clearly attempting to turn left onto Acadian (left is forbidden from Government each way). I stopped (blocking traffic in the process) and waved him through. He didn't go. Didn't go. Didn't go... so I went ahead on through the light. As soon as I cleared in intersection both lights for Government turned red. After the lights turned red, the tow truck driver then ran the red light, on an illegal left turn, with S. Acadian having the green light. Not only was running the light unnecessary, the left turn at the light wasn't even necessary. He could have turned left onto either Beverly or Westmoreland just fine...

    https://www.google.com/maps/@30.4442329,-91.1554438,17z
     
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