New Hampshire Vehicles Permitted to Use Emergency Vehicle Lights
259.28
"Emergency vehicles" shall mean all vehicles of fire departments and police departments, and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public service corporations as authorized by the director.
266:78-b
Blue Lights Restricted to Law Enforcement and Emergency Response. –
I. No person other than a sworn law enforcement officer with power of arrest shall operate a vehicle equipped with blue colored lights, except in the case of a service technician driving the vehicle in connection with servicing or maintaining the vehicle or as provided under paragraph II.
II. No person other than a sworn law enforcement officer with power of arrest or an emergency response employee or volunteer of a city, town, or village district or the federal government or an employee of a private ambulance service contracted with a city, town, or village district shall operate a vehicle equipped with a rear-facing blue colored light, except in the case of a service technician driving the vehicle in connection with servicing or maintaining the vehicle.
III. Blue colored lights are authorized only for vehicles owned or leased by state, county, municipal, or federal law enforcement agencies, fire marshal vehicles, emergency response vehicles owned or leased by city, town, village district, or federal fire departments, forestry departments, or emergency medical departments, or emergency response vehicles owned or leased by a private ambulance service contracted with a city, town, or village district and vehicles privately owned or leased by sworn law enforcement officers when authorized by their department heads. When blue colored lights are installed on a private vehicle owned by or leased to a law enforcement officer, such lights shall be covered when the vehicle is being driven by someone other than a law enforcement officer. A blue colored light installed on emergency response vehicles other than those vehicles used by a sworn law enforcement officer shall be limited to a single, rear-facing blue colored emergency light on each vehicle. A private ambulance service that is no longer contracted with a city, town, or village district shall remove the single rear-facing blue colored light upon the expiration of the contract.
266:78-c
Red Lights Restricted to Police, Fire, and Rescue Vehicles. –
No person other than those authorized in this section shall operate a vehicle equipped with red colored emergency lights. Red lights are authorized for the following vehicles:
I. Emergency response vehicles owned or leased by municipal, village district, or federal fire departments and forestry departments.
II. Vehicles privately owned or leased by full-time or volunteer firefighters employed by municipal, village district, or federal fire departments and forestry departments or forest fire wardens and deputy wardens when authorized by their department heads.
III. Licensed public or private ambulances and emergency medical response and rescue vehicles, and members of licensed ambulance and emergency medical response and rescue crews when authorized by their employers.
IV. Federal or state emergency management response vehicles, airport authority emergency response vehicles, and government vehicles used in response to reports of emergencies resulting from actual or potential releases, spills, or leaks of or other exposure to hazardous substances.
V. Hospital emergency personnel with a permit from the commissioner of safety issued under rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the qualifications and conditions of such a permit and grounds for revoking it.
VI. Red lights as part of, but not in place of, the emergency warning systems of police vehicles.