712

712.1

(a) The Director may register as an authorized emergency vehicle the following:

(1) Vehicles of a fire or police department;

(2) An ambulance;

(3) An official government-owned vehicle used for the emergency care or preservation of life, health, and property; and

(4) An official vehicle owned by the Animal Care and Control Agency, established pursuant to section 3 of the Animal Control Act of 1979, effective October 18, 1979 (D.C. Law 3-30; D.C. Official Code § 8-1 802), used for responding to an animal-related emergency, as that term is defined in section 9901 .1 of Title 18 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (18 DCMR § 9901 .1).

(b) An animal control officer may not operate a vehicle authorized as an emergency vehicle until the officer has received comprehensive training in the areas of liability, driving skills and decision-making, and emergency vehicle operation. The Animal Care and Control Agency shall be liable for its negligence and the negligence of its employees or agents in the operation of emergency vehicles.

712.2

Each authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive markings required by these regulations, be equipped with a siren, exhaust whistle, or bell capable of giving a signal audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than five hundred feet (500 ft.) and of a type approved by the Director; and with at least one (1) lighted lamp displaying a red light capable of flashing alternately and visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred feet (500 ft.) to the front of the vehicle.

712.3

A police vehicle, when used as an authorized emergency vehicle, may (but need not) be equipped with at least one (1) lighted lamp displaying a red light as specified in this section.

712.4

Whenever an emergency vehicle is equipped with a siren, the siren shall not be used except when the vehicle is being operated in response to an emergency call; or in the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, in which case, the driver of the vehicle shall sound the siren when necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach of the vehicle.

712.5 Each school bus and multi-purpose school vehicle registered in the District of Columbia shall be equipped with red flashing signal lamps. The lamps shall be mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, and shall be capable of displaying to the front two (2) alternately flashing red lights located at the same level and to the rear two (2) alternately flashing red lights located at the same level.

712.6 School buses designed to carry fifteen (15) or fewer passengers and multi-purpose school vehicles shall have the lamps mounted on the roof; provided, that any school bus which, prior to February 14, 1971, was in compliance with then existing requirements shall not be required to change the location of the lamps.

712.7 Flashing red lights on school buses shall have sufficient intensity to be visible when flashing at five hundred feet (500 ft.) in normal sunlight.

SOURCE: Regulation No. 72-13 effective June 30, 1972, 32 DCRR § 6.216, Special Edition; as amended by Regulation 74-17 effective June 29, 1974; as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 10071 (July 12, 2013); as amended by the Animal Care and Control Omnibus Amendment Act of 2022, effective April 21, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-346; 70 DCR 000570 (January 20, 2023).