Blues and twos is a colloquial British term that refers to the emergency vehicle equipment of combined flashing lights as well as sirens that the emergency services in the UK and Ireland use when responding to an incident. The origin of the phrase comes from the fact the lights are usually blue and the traditional siren was a two-tone horn, although now most emergency services use combinations of other modern siren sounds. Some emergency services are still using traditional two-tone horns; these include South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, (including their new Scania appliances); Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service; Dublin Fire Brigade; Greater Manchester Police; and, because of their age, many Royal Air Force, Royal Naval Air Service and Civil Defence fire-fighting vehicles are still fitted with compressed air two-tone horns.
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In the United Kingdom, the use of blue flashing lights is regulated by the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, and sirens by the Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986, both as amended by various other pieces of legislation (see right). The 1989 restrictions state that no vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle, shall be fitted with a "blue warning beacon or special warning lamp", or a device which resembles a blue warning beacon or a special warning lamp, whether it works or not.[1]
| Type of vehicle | Blue flashing lights | Sirens | Other exemptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| used for police purposes | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | Yes |
| used for Serious Organised Crime Agency purposes | Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Consequential and Supplementary Amendments to Secondary Legislation) Order 2006 | Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Consequential and Supplementary Amendments to Secondary Legislation) Order 2006 | Yes |
| used for purposes of a fire and rescue authority (or relevant authority in Scotland) | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | Yes |
| used for ambulance purposes | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | Yes |
| an ambulance, being a vehicle (other than an invalid carriage) which is constructed or adapted for the purposes of conveying sick, injured or disabled persons and which is used for such purposes | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | Yes |
| owned by a body formed primarily for the purposes of fire salvage and used for those or similar purposes | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | No |
| owned by the Forestry Commission or by a local authority and used from time to time for the purposes of fighting fires | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | ? |
owned or operated by the Secretary of State for Defence and used:
|
Road Vehicles Lighting (Amendment) Regulations 2005 | Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2005 | Some |
| owned or operated by the Secretary of State for Defence and used by United Kingdom Special Forces in response, or for training or practice in responding, to a national security emergency | Road Traffic Exemptions (Special Forces) (Variation and Amendment) Regulations 2011 | Road Traffic Exemptions (Special Forces) (Variation and Amendment) Regulations 2011 | Yes |
| primarily used for the purposes of the Blood Transfusion Service provided under the National Health Service Act 1977 or under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | Some |
| used by Her Majesty's Coastguard or Coastguard Auxiliary Service for the purposes of giving aid to persons in danger or vessels in distress on or near the coast | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | No |
| owned by the British Coal Corporation (Now Coal Authority) and used for the purposes of rescue operations at mines | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | ? |
| owned by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and used for the purposes of launching lifeboats | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | ? |
| primarily used for the purposes of conveying any human tissue for organ transplant or similar purposes | Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 | Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 | No |
| under the lawful control of the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and used from time to time for the purposes of the investigation of serious crime | Road Vehicles Lighting (Amendment) Regulations 2005 | Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2005 | ? |
| used for mountain rescue purposes | Road Vehicles Lighting and Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 | Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No.4) Regulations 2009 | No |
Each of the emergency services listed above have different policies regarding the use of blue lights and sirens. Most require the driver to be trained to a particular standard in response driving, but currently no national standard exists. Provision exists for a national standard to be required in order to utilise speed limit exemptions, but this has not been brought into force.
In the UK, vehicles used for certain purposes may have exemptions from some road traffic regulations whilst responding to an emergency. Merely being authorised to use blue lights and sirens does not of itself grant exemptions from road traffic law.[2] These exemptions apply whether or not blue lights and/or sirens are being used, although it is mainly desirable:[3]