Georgia CommonsTitle 40. MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC · Chapter 8. EQUIPMENT AND INSPECTION OF MOTOR VEHICLES · Article 1. EQUIPMENT GENERALLY · Part 5. EQUIPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES
40-8-92. Designation of emergency vehicles; flashing or revolving lights; permits; fee; use of flashing or revolving green lights on public property.
Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
- (a)
The commissioner of public safety shall be authorized to designate certain motor vehicles as emergency vehicles. The commissioner of public safety shall so designate each vehicle by issuing to such vehicle a permit to operate flashing or revolving emergency lights of the appropriate color. Such permit shall be valid for five years from the date of issuance. Any and all officially marked law enforcement vehicles as specified in Code Section 40-8-91 shall not be required to have a permit for the use of a blue light. Any and all fire department vehicles which are distinctly marked on each side shall not be required to have a permit for the use of a red light. Any and all motor vehicles which are operated for ambulance services, as defined in Code Section 31-11-2, under a valid license from the Emergency Health Section of the Department of Public Health shall not be required to have a permit for the use of a red light.#
- (b)
The commissioner shall authorize the use of red flashing or revolving lights only when the person or governmental agency shall demonstrate to the commissioner a proven need for equipping a vehicle with emergency lights. The fee for such lights shall be $2.00, provided that no federal, state, county, or municipal governmental agency or an ambulance provider, as defined in Code Section 31-11-2, shall be required to pay such fee.#
- (c)
Nothing contained in this Code section shall prohibit the commissioner from issuing a single special use permit to cover more than one vehicle, provided each vehicle covered under such special use permit shall pay the fee specified in subsection (b) of this Code section.#
- (d)
Except as provided in this subsection, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to operate any motor vehicle or to park any motor vehicle on public property with flashing or revolving green lights. This subsection shall not apply to any motor vehicle being used by any law enforcement agency, fire department, emergency management agency, or other governmental entity to designate the location of the command post for such agency, department, or entity at the site of an emergency.#
History
Ga. L. 1971, p. 781, § 2; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1092, §§ 3, 4; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1012, § 4; Ga. L. 1983, p. 447, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 582, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1145, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5B-6; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 19-6/HB 501; Ga. L. 2010, p. 95, § 1/SB 410; Ga. L. 2022, p. 282, § 2/HB 1011; Ga. L. 2024, p. 518, § 6/HB 1193, effective July 1, 2024; Ga. L. 2025, p. 286, § 10/SB 58, effective July 1, 2025.
Amendments
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, in subsection (a), deleted “one year from the date of issuance; provided, however, that permits for vehicles belonging to federal, state, county, or municipal governmental agencies shall be valid for” preceding “five years” in the second sentence and added the last sentence. The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, deleted the former last sentence in subsection (a), which read: “Any low-speed vehicle shall not be required to have a permit for the use of an amber strobe light”; and deleted “or amber” following “red” in subsection (b). The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, in subsection (a), rewrote the first sentence, inserted “of public safety” in the second sentence, and rewrote the last sentence.
Editor's notes
Ga. L. 2025, p. 286, § 1/SB 58, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Georgia Transporting Life-Saving Organs and Personnel Act.’”
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Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Text read from t40-ch6-16-(v29)-pdf.pdf, Volume V29, 2018 edition, 2025 supplement, pages 88 to 89; merge action: replaced; file SHA-256 6fa67a38989e.
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