About twice a week I encounter a blacked out sprinter van with four black cars flashing green and white lights blocking cross streets. Nothing official showing anywhere. No red or blue lights.
The van doesn’t stop at intersections or traffic lights.
Any ideas?
What do green lights mean on a car?
The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transport, the fire service (often volunteer firefighters or first responders) and command post vehicles all use green lighting. That’s why you’re most likely to see green lights on a car patrolling a government facility or in a town with volunteer firefighting services.
But while red-and-blue lights indicate police no matter where in America you live, the use of green lights on cars differs by state. In some states, green lights—particularly those that are flashing—indicate an emergency vehicle. See one on the road? Follow these driving tips: Pull over to let the vehicle pass, or slow down, move over and pass it.
Depending on where you’re driving, green lights on cars could indicate:
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Transport (such as road maintenance vehicles in Michigan)
Volunteer firefighters or EMTs (in Canada, Indiana and Washington)
Emergency crowd control, the only time you could see green lights on a police car (in Montana)