Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 8-1720 (2026)

Lamps and lights on authorized emergency vehicles; alternately or simultaneously flashing head lamps

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KS-LEGkslegislature.org JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

8-1720. Lamps and lights on authorized emergency vehicles; alternately or simultaneously flashing head lamps. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), every authorized emergency vehicle, in addition to any other equipment required by this act, shall be equipped with signal lamps mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, which shall be capable of displaying to the front two alternately flashing red lights located at the same level and to the rear two alternately flashing red lights located at the same level, or in lieu thereof, any such authorized emergency vehicle shall be equipped with at least one rotating or oscillating light, which shall be mounted as high as practicable on such vehicle and which shall display to the front and rear of such vehicle a flashing red light or alternate flashes of red and white lights or red and blue lights in combination. All lights required or authorized by this subsection shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at 500 feet in normal sunlight. Every authorized emergency vehicle may, but need not, be equipped with head lamps which alternately flash or simultaneously flash.

(b) A police vehicle when used as an authorized emergency vehicle may, but need not, be equipped with:

(1) Head lamps which alternately flash or simultaneously flash;

(2) flashing lights specified in subsection (a), but any flashing lights, used on a police vehicle, other than the flashing lights specified in K.S.A. 8-1722, and amendments thereto, rotating or oscillating lights or alternately flashing head lamps or simultaneously flashing head lamps, shall be red in color; or

(3) rotating or oscillating lights, which may display a flashing red light or alternate flashes of red and blue lights in combination.

History: L. 1974, ch. 33, § 8-1720; L. 1975, ch. 39, § 21; L. 1989, ch. 43, § 1; L. 1991, ch. 41, § 1; L. 2005, ch. 18, § 1; July 1.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2021 · leading case: Thornton v. Shore, 666 P.2d 655 (Kan. 1983).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Thornton v. Shore, 666 P.2d 655 (Kan. 1983). · cites it 6× “8-1738 and visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of the vehicle.”

Rhoten v. Dickson, 223 P.3d 786 (Kan. 2010). “8-1738 and visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720 ... ." K.S.A. 8-1506. Without explanation, the Court of Appeals treated Rhoten’s claim as if she alleged a violation of K.”

Divine v. Groshong, 679 P.2d 700 (Kan. 1984). · cites it 2× “K.S.A. 8-1720 reads in part as follows: “Every authorized emergency vehicle .”

Robbins v. City of Wichita, 172 P.3d 1187 (Kan. 2007). “8-1738 and visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of the vehicle.”

Jackson v. City of Kansas City, 680 P.2d 877 (Kan. 1984). “8-1738 and visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A, 8-1720, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of the vehicle.”

United States v. Mesa-Roche, 288 F. Supp. 2d 1172 (D. Kan. 2003). “8-1530 provides in relevant part: (b) The driver of a motor vehicle upon approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle, when the authorized emergency vehicle is making use of visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720, and amendments thereto, or subsection…”

State v. Simpson, 732 P.2d 788 (Kan. Ct. App. 1987). “8-1738 and visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of the vehicle.”

State v. Thompson (Kan. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “This statute provided in relevant part: "(b) The driver of a motor vehicle upon approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle, when the authorized emergency vehicle is making use of visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720, and amendments thereto, or…”

Littell v. Maloney, 593 P.2d 11 (Kan. Ct. App. 1979). “8-1738 and visual signals meeting the requirements of K.S.A. 8-1720, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of the vehicle.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.