AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 39-10-03.1 and 39-21-26 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to class B authorized emergency vehicles and special restrictions on lamps on motor vehicles or equipment.
Summary
HB 1241 amends North Dakota law governing class B authorized emergency vehicles and restrictions on vehicle lighting. The bill clarifies when a class B authorized emergency vehicle may use traffic-law exemptions such as parking or standing regardless of ordinary rules, exceeding speed limits during a local or national disaster without endangering life or property, and disregarding direction-of-movement or turning regulations. It also specifies that these exemptions apply only when the vehicle is displaying an amber and white light visible from 500 feet under normal conditions and when the vehicle is using the exemptions to protect life or property, is stopped on a highway while performing a required duty, or is traveling slower than normal traffic flow.
The bill further authorizes a class B emergency vehicle to display a flashing blue light when stopped on a highway, but prohibits that light while the vehicle is transporting another vehicle or traveling on a highway. In the lighting provisions, HB 1241 updates the rules for lamps on motor vehicles and equipment by maintaining limits on high-intensity beams, prohibiting red or green lights visible from the front unless expressly authorized, and preserving the general ban on flashing lights except for specified vehicles and uses such as authorized emergency vehicles, school buses, snow-removal equipment, funeral processions, and turn signals or hazard warnings.
Impact
HB 1241 amends sections 39-10-03.1 and 39-21-26 of the North Dakota Century Code, affecting emergency vehicle operations and vehicle lighting compliance statewide. It primarily impacts operators of class B authorized emergency vehicles, law enforcement and public safety responders, snow-removal equipment, school buses, funeral homes using escort lighting, and other motorists subject to lighting restrictions. The bill does not create a new regulatory scheme, but refines existing exemptions and clarifies permissible flashing-light use and beam-direction standards.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House and Senate unanimously in the recorded votes, with no recorded opposition in either chamber. The vote history suggests consensus that the measure was a technical or clarifying update to existing traffic and emergency-vehicle rules rather than a contested policy change.
Contention
No significant contention is reflected in the available record. Because there are no committee transcripts and the bill passed unanimously, there is no evidence of organized opposition or debate over the scope of emergency-vehicle exemptions, the use of flashing blue lights, or the continued restrictions on vehicle lamps. Any potential concerns would likely have centered on public safety, enforcement clarity, or the precise limits on emergency lighting, but none are documented in the provided materials.
AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 39-10-03.1 and 39-21-26 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to class B authorized emergency vehicles and special restrictions on lamps on motor vehicles or equipment.
AN ACT to amend and reenact section 39-21-52 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to equipment exemption for certain street rod, collector, or special interest motor vehicles.
Careless driving and causing injury to the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle or damage to an authorized emergency vehicle; and to provide a penalty.
AN ACT to amend and reenact section 39-09-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to careless driving and causing injury to the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle or damage to an authorized emergency vehicle; and to provide a penalty.
A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact section 39-04-10.7 and subsection 5 of section 39-04-19 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to special number plates for farm and forestry vehicles and farm and forestry vehicle registration.