Use of red flashing lights a ‘landmark day for the roadside assistance industry’

The Professional Recovery Operators Safety Executive have announced that the application for all Roadside Recovery, Removal and Tyre industry operators can now apply for a Vehicle Special Order (VSO).

As a result, the VSO will allow operators or technicians to use ‘Red Lamps’ on their vehicles in emergency situations – such as RAC roadside recovery.

New regulations permitting roadside assistance and vehicle recovery operators to use red flashing lights will ‘unequivocally’ help save lives, according to the RAC.

Following years of advocacy by industry groups, operators in roadside recovery, removal, and the tyre industry can now apply for a (VSO, allowing them to equip their vehicles with red lights in addition to the standard amber ones.

Previously, only emergency services were authorised to use red flashing lights.

However, these new rules aim to improve the visibility of roadside workers in emergency situations.

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Following the announcement that roadside rescue and recovery operators can now submit applications to the Vehicle Certification Agency to use rear-facing red flashing lights under specific conditions, the RAC shared its support for the change.

RAC chief operations officer Dom Shorrocks said: “This is a landmark day for the roadside assistance industry as being able to use red flashing lamps will unequivocally improve the visibility of roadside workers and help save lives.

“There have been too many tragic collisions where lives have been lost involving stationary recovery vehicles at the sides of high-speed roads where more prominent red lights might have made a difference.

“This is why we have long been calling for roadside assistance workers and recovery drivers, including our own, to be allowed to use red flashing lamps alongside the customary amber ones.”

The original announcement around red flashing lamps formed part of the previous government’s Plan for Drivers and was followed by an evidence review.