Emergency vehicle equipment in the United Kingdom
Emergency vehicle equipment is used in the United Kingdom to indicate urgent journeys by an emergency service. This usage is colloquially known as Blues and twos which refers to the blue lights and the two-tone siren once commonplace. A call-out requiring the use of lights and sirens is often colloquially known as a blue light run.
Permitted use
In the United Kingdom, the use of blue lights is regulated by the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, and sirens by the Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986, both as amended by various other pieces of legislation. The 1989 restrictions state that no vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle, shall be fitted with a "blue warning beacon or special warning lamp", or a device which resembles a blue warning beacon or a special warning lamp, whether it works or not.| Type of vehicle | Blue flashing lights | Sirens | Other exemptions |
| used for police purposes | Yes | ||
| used for National Crime Agency purposes | Yes | ||
| used for purposes of a fire and rescue authority | Yes | ||
used for:
| Yes | ||
| an ambulance, being a vehicle which is constructed or adapted for the purposes of conveying sick, injured or disabled persons and which is used for such purposes | Yes | ||
| owned by a body formed primarily for the purposes of fire salvage and used for those or similar purposes | No | ||
| owned by the Forestry Commission or by a local authority and used from time to time for the purposes of fighting fires | No | ||
| owned or operated by the Secretary of State for Defence and used: | Some | ||
| owned or operated by the Secretary of State for Defence and used by United Kingdom Special Forces in response, or for training or practice in responding, to a national security emergency | Yes | ||
| primarily used for the purposes of the Blood Transfusion Service provided under the National Health Service Act 1977 or under the National Health Service Act 1978 | Some | ||
| used by Her Majesty's Coastguard or Coastguard Auxiliary Service for the purposes of giving aid to persons in danger or vessels in distress on or near the coast | No | ||
| owned by the British Coal Corporation and used for the purposes of rescue operations at mines | No | ||
| owned by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and used for the purposes of launching lifeboats | No exemptions. However, as it is only lifeboat launching vehicles that are classed as emergency vehicles and with all but a handful of these vehicles being slow moving tractors that move lifeboats across roads and beaches to access the sea it is highly unlikely they will ever need to use exemptions in the course of their emergency duties in any case. | ||
| primarily used for the purposes of conveying any human tissue for organ transplant or similar purposes | No | No | |
| under the lawful control of the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and used from time to time for the purposes of the investigation of serious crime | ? | ||
| used for mountain rescue purposes | No exemptions for Mountain Rescue purposes. |
Road traffic exemptions
In the UK, vehicles used for certain purposes may have exemptions from some road traffic regulations whilst responding to an emergency. Merely being authorised to use blue lights and sirens does not of itself grant exemptions from road traffic law. These exemptions apply whether or not blue lights and/or sirens are being used, although it is mainly desirable:- treating a red traffic light as a give way sign
- passing to the right of a keep left or keep right sign
- driving on a motorway hard shoulder
- exceeding the statutory speed limit
- driving in a bus lane
- stopping on zig-zag lines
- parking in restricted areas, including against flow of traffic at night
- leaving the vehicle with the engine running, normally the offence of "quitting"
- using audible warnings outside permitted hours
- driving against the flow of traffic on a one-way street, only with permission of a police officer or traffic warden