Privately-owned vehicles driven by Department of Emergency Management volunteers in the City and County of Honolulu are not authorized emergency vehicles, and are therefore not authorized to display a red light visible from the front of the vehicle while in motion, or a blue light under any circumstances. DEM volunteers must adhere to the traffic code, which allows for the use of a flashing light on a stopped or disabled vehicle to indicate the presence of a traffic hazard.

The actual law (Chapter 15, Article 19 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, particularly 15-19.22 and the other sections cited within it) is a bit complicated, in terms of authorizing and prohibiting different kinds of lights under different circumstances. The official policy of the DEM is that volunteers are authorized to use flashing amber lights on vehicles stopped at the scene of an emergency.

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Rev. Sept. 7, 2007