Nitecore SRT7 Red/Blue Strobe and the LAW

Flashlightaholic · Jun 14, 2013

Hi guys,
Just curious.
I purchased recently the new Nitecore SRT7 from the guys at Batterymax who are the agents for Nitecore here in Australia. Love this flashlight & notice it has the very fast Red/Blue strobe police mode.
How do these go legally ? I figure it is ok to own them but if you use this mode are you now impersonating police & open to a criminal offence ? I guess if you drive around in your car with it on the dash behind other motorists you would end up in strife. So just wondering if the SRT7 would be illegal to own in certain countries because of this function & what ramifications, if any, if you use it.

Norm · Jun 14, 2013

I'm sure it would be legal to own but definitely illegal to use in the car as you describe. In Australia no vehicle other than an emergency vehicle can display any blue light.

Norm

skeeterbait · Jun 14, 2013

Most places in the US it is going to be how you use it, not just the fact that you own it. What I am interested in trying is, as a hunter, I want to see if it will make a blood trail show up. The difference in contrast of blood in a red vs blood in a blue light should make the blood "blink" under the strobe.

Cereal_Killer · Jun 14, 2013

^Blood under blue LED (narrow spectrum) light is very strange- imagine a clear droplet of water under a white (broad spectrum) light, know the way it shines and/or reflects the light back at you? Now imagine if it were a black droplet but still just as bright and shiny. Because blood is red and there's no red spectrum light from a blue led theres no red light to shine back at you, therefore it'll look black. I find it easy to see, but not really all that much more than under a Hcri or even regular white led light source.

tobrien · Jun 16, 2013

yeah just don't do a red/blue strobe from a moving vehicle. I believe here in Georgia (the United States one haha), you can operate a red/blue strobe light but it can't be from a moving vehicle. You could be walking along the sidewalk and it'd be fine I think. Don't take my post as gospel because I may be misremembering

JulianP · Jun 17, 2013

Good question. I have decided not to buy the SRT for that reason. You could be charged with 'impersonating a police officer' by an over zealous cop, and then you'd have to explain to a judge why you are in possession of such a flashlight. Imagine you or a friend accidentally turning it on in a public place: by the time you pay your lawyer, the SRT would have cost you $3,000.

Edit: political comment removed.

Norm · Jun 17, 2013

JulianP said:
I resent living in a nanny state, but that's reality.

This has nothing to do with living in a nanny state, it's common sense that blue lights are reserved for emergency vehicles.

Further political comment will see this thread closed and you can if you wish restart the discussion in the underground. - Norm

roadkill1109 · Jun 17, 2013

I use the Red and Blue to deter possible robbers when the dogs start barking loudly at night at home. To a civilian using it in a moving vehicle would usually be illegal. I just use strobe to warn / ward off wayward drivers on the road.

tsask · Jun 17, 2013

in the USA, (Maryland specifically) any light on front of vehicle any color besides amber or white is ILLEGAL. this even includes green, (which I favor in blinding rain storms at night!) . the official reason is a 'dazzling display of distracting lights" In other States like Pennsylvania while boating , blue lights are not allowed at all as they are used by the dept of Natural Resources Police. IMHO if more was widely known about LED lights, there might be some form of ban or restriction on lumens, throw or power supply.. FWIW the Powertac Camelon has a strobe multi colored feature, yet the blue and red do not strobe. the SRT 7 does have that function; yet the green does not strobe. ANYBODY (civilian) displaying blue/red is asking for a far more serious charge of impersonating a police officer! :caution:

dlead73 · Sep 6, 2013

I am in Australia so can only comment on our jurisdictions. Common sense would prevail here. If in a public place and you were just playing around with the light, if pulled up on it by police, I would expect a stern warning would be the end result. Unless you were actively engaging in some sort of activity such as mounting it on your dash and scaring other drivers, well yes you would be in alot more trouble and you may be charged.

In an emergency where you could be in danger then I am sure you could justify it's use in that instance. I think you just have to look at the context its used in. Most or if not all of us would not go out in public and use it under any circumstance, its something you would only use in the privacy of your own home. Other than probably to assist you get out of a life threatening situation i couldn't see any reason to use it.

There is no law that says you cannot have this feature, its how you apply it. Not unlike having a big carving knife at home, it's legal to buy one and people use the to prepare food etc.but you know you can't take out and walk around the streets with, it's common sense and knowing it's application in the right environment.

Lips · Sep 6, 2013

Nitecore SRT 7 in action at a Motorcycle Wreck

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?369485-Nitecore-SRT-7-and-Motorcycle-Wreck-in-action

passive101 · Sep 6, 2013

Use it with common sense. It's not nearly bright enough to ceiling bounce it so if someone broke into a home you could even try to scare them by letting them think the cops were outside or anything. I like the Red & Blue lights, but I don't have a need for it's strobe effect.

ETA - I have the SRT3 and SRT5, I'm not sure if the 7 is brighter.

Bronco · Sep 6, 2013

I'm considering replacing my 4Sevens RGB with the SRT7 for in the truck duty precisely because of the red/blue strobe option. LA freeways are a dangerous enough place when everything's going right. Get stuck on the shoulder - or worse yet, in a carpool or fast lane - and now you're talking about real terror. This situation is all the more dangerous at night and having a light that strobes red and blue will get the attention of oncoming traffic like nothing else I can imagine you reasonably being able to carry in a vehicle. Like passive101 says, use it with common sense. Employed in the manner I just described, or in the way Lips demonstrated via his linked thread, this strobe feature could easily save your life or the lives of your family. And when something like that is factored into the equation, then, quite frankly, I don't care what the "law" says. If an overzealous police officer who has lost touch with common sense has a problem with me using a flashlight in this way, then I'll take my chances with the judge.

tsask · Sep 7, 2013

Bronco said:
I'm considering replacing my 4Sevens RGB with the SRT7 for in the truck duty precisely because of the red/blue strobe option. Get stuck on the shoulder - or worse yet, in a carpool or fast lane - and now you're talking about real terror. This situation is all the more dangerous at night and having a light that strobes red and blue will get the attention of oncoming traffic like nothing else I can imagine you reasonably being able to carry in a vehicle.

I was thinking the same thing back in July, on a bright sunny afternoon along an interstate hiway in a congested, urban setting when my car's cooling fan failed causing critical overheating. I was fortunate to be near a section of shoulder to pull over. I immediately thought of my EDC, an SRT 7 on my belt and placed it on the roof of my car strobing red/blue at the oncoming traffic. Even though it was daylight, the strobe could still be seen. I definitely expected the RED/BLUE Strobe feature to be unknown to the general public, so it did get noticed.

passive101 · Sep 7, 2013

It worked out well for him and I think most of the time it would in how he used it, but to play devils advocate. What if a single car crashed at that place and thought it was a cop? Imagine the police impersonation charge coupled with a possible death?

I wish it had another LED to strobe other then red & blue, but that's my only complaint about the SRT series.

aau007 · Sep 7, 2013

Use of flashing and colored lights in a vehicle is heavily defined and regulated in the California Vehicle Codes. In general, it is a no no on red/blue strobe in a privately owned civilian vehicle and non LEO vehicle and even LEO vehicle not performing the duty as law enforcement. I am not even sure if a LEO is allowed to use red/blue strobe in their own private vehicle unless they have permission from their department.

Here is the link to the CA Vehicle Codes regarding flashing and colored lights
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd12c2a7.htm

Now, what if you use it in other places other than in a vehicle? All places in US I know of have laws against impersonating a LEO. I think if you just walk down the street with the SRT7 on red/blue strobe on, it will really be up for interpretation and you can definitely try to explain it to the officer when someone reports you.

Bronco · Sep 7, 2013

passive101 said:
What if a single car crashed at that place and thought it was a cop? Imagine the police impersonation charge coupled with a possible death?

Perhaps you could restate your hypothetical. I don't understand the scenario you're trying to present here.

Bronco · Sep 7, 2013

aau007 said:
Use of flashing and colored lights in a vehicle is heavily defined and regulated in the California Vehicle Codes. In general, it is a no no on red/blue strobe in a privately owned civilian vehicle and non LEO vehicle and even LEO vehicle not performing the duty as law enforcement. I am not even sure if a LEO is allowed to use red/blue strobe in their own private vehicle unless they have permission from their department.

Here is the link to the CA Vehicle Codes regarding flashing and colored lights
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd12c2a7.htm

Now, what if you use it in other places other than in a vehicle? All places in US I know of have laws against impersonating a LEO. I think if you just walk down the street with the SRT7 on red/blue strobe on, it will really be up for interpretation and you can definitely try to explain it to the officer when someone reports you.

Again, we can all understand that there are ways in which a civilian using a red/blue strobe in a vehicle would be ill-advised, irresponsible and perhaps even legitimately illegal. If someone is operating a strobe for the purposes of impersonating an officer or trying to force their way through a traffic jam, then I would applaud their arrest. But if a civilian uses one at the scene of an accident, for example, in a way that might help to protect or save lives, then we can and should expect our LEOs to be able to exercise their discretion in enforcing the law.

But either way, what kind of man would put the lives of his family at risk for fear of violating some ridiculous law?

passive101 · Sep 8, 2013

Bronco said:
Perhaps you could restate your hypothetical. I don't understand the scenario you're trying to present here.

If you are committing a crime and someone dies from your actions you can be charged for their death in many states even if your actions didn't directly kill them. The same as if someone commits a crime and someone else kills someone. Everyone involved is charged with the death.

If their was an accident while someone is using a red and blue strobe police would be much more likely to charge you with a crime such as impersonation of a police officer.

aau007 · Sep 8, 2013

The vehicle codes in California is very specific about installing and/or using flashing and colored lights whether stopped or moving. However, outside of an vehicle, I have only read and heard about impersonating a LEO, which may or may not include the use of red/blue strobe. I can imagine that will base heavily on intent. I guess in an emergency situation where you are trying to defend your life or someone else's with immediate danger, you can justify it whatever means immediately available. Premeditated responses may not suffice.

As far as using the red/blue strobe in an accident or roadside emergency, there is a reason why they have flares and reflectors in car emergency kits and not give you a red/blue stobe.

Nitecore SRT7 Red/Blue Strobe and the LAW

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