Disclaimer

This article was written by a contributing author, and is not meant to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to replace the state statutes. Do your due diligence, cross-check the statutes linked, and communicate with your local municipalities, registrar, or commissioner to ensure that you remain compliant and avoid costly fees.

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State Overview

The laws surrounding the use of LED lights for authorized emergency vehicles, commercial vehicles, and personal vehicles in the state of Maine are clearly laid out in detail, with very little room for ambiguity. Maine makes it exceptionally clear which vehicle types are included and excluded from the use of lighting and which types of LED lights may be used. This article is not meant to replace the state revised statutes, and you should refer to them before installing LED lights on your fleet or personal vehicle.

Note:  Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 defines an authorized emergency vehicle as:

• An ambulance
• EMS Vehicle
• Law Enforcement Vehicle
• Fire Department Vehicle
• Federal Government Vehicle
• AG Vehicle
• Department of the Secretary of State Vehicle
• Life Support Vehicle
• Baxter State Park Authority Vehicle
• Bureau of Marine Patrol Vehicle
• Department of Ag, Conservation, and Forestry Vehicle
• Department of Corrections Vehicle
• Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Vehicle
• Hazmat Response Vehicle

Some details were omitted from this article as the definitions were much more targeted. Maine’s legislature intends to make it easy for the average person to understand the statutes so that compliance is more manageable.

Law Enforcement Statutes 

Police, Marshall, and Sheriff Vehicles

A police vehicle or law enforcement vehicle must have a blue light or a blue and white light, according to Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2. The police car may also be equipped with a red light as long as it is not more than 50 percent of all lighting. In addition, it may also be equipped with alternately flashing headlights and tail lamps. Light placement and visibility distance is not indicated under Maine law, but it is generally expected that emergency lights be visible at 500 feet under normal atmospheric conditions and sunlight.

A police vehicle or law enforcement vehicle is permitted to disregard the posted speed limit and any other traffic law while responding to an emergency call and while they are utilizing their blue flashing lights per Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 5. Section 8 requires that emergency responders operating the police vehicle or law enforcement vehicle do so with due regard to the safety of every motor vehicle on the road or highway to prevent a car accident.

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 4 indicates that a police vehicle has the right of way while their red flashing lights are illuminated. This means that all traffic and each motor vehicle must yield to the police vehicle by either changing lanes or slowing down for a stationary vehicle or pulling off the road or highway entirely to allow emergency responders to pass safely. Hefty penalties are applied for drivers that are not compliant.

Fire and EMS Statues

Fire Trucks and Fire Chief SUVs

A fire truck or fire department vehicle may have alternately flashing headlight and must have a red light or a red light that is combined with a white light as regulated by Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2. The fire truck or fire department vehicle may also be equipped with a spotlight. The LED emergency light placement and visibility distance is not indicated within Maine law.

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 5 allows emergency responders operating a fire truck or fired department vehicle to disregard the posted speed limit and any other traffic law while responding to an emergency call with their LED emergency lights illuminated. Section 8 emergency responders to do so with due regard to the safety of pedestrians and every motor vehicle on the road or highway to prevent a car accident from occurring.

Fire trucks and fire department vehicles are granted the right of way according to Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 4. This means that every motor vehicle on the road or highway musts either change lanes or slow down for a stationary fire truck with its emergency lights illuminated or pull over to the side of the road entirely to allow them to pass safely.

Volunteer Fire Fighter Vehicles

With the fire chief’s approval, a volunteer firefighter vehicle may be equipped with a red light in combination with a white light. The red light or red and white light in the windshield or on the dashboard in the front of the vehicle or have two flashing red or combination of red and white lights mounted to the front of the vehicle above the bumper and below the good and one red light mounted in the rear window. They may only be used while responding to an emergency call and not while returning. It may also be equipped with a spotlight. This is all laid out under Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2.

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 5 allows a volunteer firefighter vehicle to disregard the posted speed limit or any other traffic law while its flashing lights are illuminated and while they are responding to an emergency call. They must do so with due regard to the safety of all traffic to prevent a car accident, per Section 8.

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 4 grants a volunteer firefighter vehicle the right of way while its emergency lights are illuminated while responding to an emergency call. This means that traffic must yield to a volunteer firefighter vehicle by slowing down or changing lanes away from a stationary vehicle and pulling off the road or highway completely to allow them to pass safely.

Ambulance and EMT Vehicles

An ambulance may have alternately flashing headlights, one blue light facing the rear that is primarily visible to traffic approaching from the read, and a red light or red and white light as required by Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2. It may also be equipped with a spotlight. Light placement and visibility distance requirements are not indicated.

An ambulance, while its LED emergency lights are illuminated, may disregard the posted speed limit or any other traffic law when responding to an emergency call as permitted by Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 5. Section 8 requires that, if they do disregard laws that it be done with due regard to the safety of traffic

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 4 grants an ambulance the right of way. Traffic must yield the right of way to an ambulance by either slowing down or changing lanes away from a stationary ambulance or by pulling off the road or highway completely to allow them to pass safely.

Commercial and Amber Statutes

Security Vehicles

Maine limits the use of LED warning lights on a security vehicle to vehicles assisting in traffic control for road and highway construction or maintenance. Per Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2, a security vehicle may be equipped with an amber light that can be flashing, oscillating, or rotating. It may also be equipped with a spotlight as long as it is not pointed toward the windshield of another motor vehicle so that it does not cause a car accident.

Wreckers and Tow Trucks

A tow truck or wrecker must be equipped with an amber flashing light mounted in a place where it can be visible for 360-degrees around the vehicle. This LED warning light must be used in a place where it is reasonable to suspect that traffic may approach as you are servicing a disabled vehicle. Also, a tow truck or wrecker may be equipped with a spotlight so that the tow truck operator can light up their workspace. This is all laid out in Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2.

Tractors

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2 doesn’t quite allow for tractors, in general, to be equipped with any emergency lights except for if the vehicle is used for snow removal or sanding operations. If that is the case, then it must be equipped with an amber auxiliary light that is visible for 360-degrees around the vehicle. It must come equipped with a strobe feature that is visible at 500 feet in normal daylight. Additionally, if the plow has a left-wing that is in operation, it must come with an LED light that illuminates the extreme end of the left-wing. As all vehicles are permitted to be equipped with a spotlight, a tractor may also be equipped with a spotlight, granted that it is never pointed toward the windshield of any other motor vehicle.

Utility Vehicles

Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2 allows a utility vehicle to be equipped with alternately flashing headlights. It may also be equipped with an LED light bar that is amber, white, green, or any combination of the three lights. A utility vehicle may also be equipped with a spotlight and is one of the only vehicles permitted to use the spotlight on the roadway as long as it is not pointed toward the windshield of any motor vehicle.

Pilot and Escort Vehicles

Maine has specific requirements for what qualifies as a pilot vehicle and when they are necessary. In order for a pilot or escort vehicle to be necessary, they must be piloting a vehicle that is more than 80 feet long and or more than 12 feet wide. If those parameters are met, and the driver obtains a permit, the pilot vehicle may be equipped with an amber lightbar that is flashing, rotating, or oscillating. More details and information can be found on the permit page and listed under  Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2382 Section 9. 

Construction Vehicles

Per Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2 A, a construction vehicle may be equipped with an LED light bar that is amber in color. If the construction vehicle is used for snow removal and or sanding operations, then it must be equipped with an amber beam of light and with a blinking strobe light function that is visible for 360-degrees around the vehicle at 500 feet in normal daylight. When used as a snowplow, if the left wing is in use and it spills into the roadway, a light must illuminate the extreme end of the wing. A spotlight may also be equipped to any construction vehicle and may be used on the roadway as long as it is not pointed toward the windshield of any motor vehicle.

Funeral Procession

A vehicle operated for a funeral procession may have a yellow light that is located inside on the dash, and it may be five inches. If the escort vehicle for a funeral procession is owned and operated by a funeral home, then it may be equipped with a white strobe light.

Maine law doesn’t indicate the required visibility distance. There is also no mention about who has the right of way with a funeral procession escort. Generally, traffic must yield to a funeral procession by law, but at a minimum, they should yield out of respect.

Personal Use 

Emergency Lights on Personal Vehicles

Generally, a blue light is completely prohibited in personal vehicles as it confuses other drivers and makes them think that the vehicle displaying the blue light is a police car. In Maine, a personal vehicle may display interior light or dash lighting that is blue as long as no portion of the beam of light is visible at the height of 42 inches above the surface on which the vehicle is driving on at 20 feet. A personal vehicle may also be equipped with a spotlight, but it is not permitted to be used on a road or highway and may not be pointed at the windshields of other motor vehicles. This is all laid out under Maine Revised Statute 29-A 2054 Section 2.

Summary

Special Permits

Aside from the special permits required for a volunteer firefighter to use LED lighting and the licenses that one must get to install LED lighting on their pilot car, no other permits were indicated as necessary within Maine law.

Takeaway

Maine law is very brief in some areas and extensive in others when it comes to the use of LED lighting on authorized emergency vehicles, commercial vehicles, and personal vehicles. The text is clear, and it is easy to follow, which allows the average person to be able to understand so that they remain compliant.

This article is not meant to replace the state statutes, nor is it intended to be legal advice. Please, ensure that you remain compliant by following the hyperlinks to review the statutes directly. If there is any confusion or you feel you may need additional clarity, contact your local municipalities for more information.