Police moggies on the road

[moggiethouable]

Can someone tell me what restrictions there are on HMs highways ref police badges and top boxes etc ?

[geoberni]

I'm surprised nobody has replied to this yet....

So here's the position, with references:
As far as the law is concerned you can drive around in a replica, authentic appearance, police vehicle except for the Blue Light.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/198 ... on/16/made

The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989

16.  No vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle, shall be fitted with–

(a)a blue warning beacon or special warning lamp, or

(b)a device which resembles a blue warning beacon or a special warning lamp, whether the same is in working order or not.

'Emergency Vehicle' is defined as

“Emergency vehicle”

A motor vehicle of any of the following descriptions–
(a) a vehicle used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes;

(b) 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;

(c) a vehicle owned by a body formed primarily for the purposes of fire salvage and used for those or similar purposes;

(d) a vehicle owned by the Forestry Commission or by a local authority and used from time to time for the purposes of fighting fires;

(e) a vehicle owned by the Secretary of State for Defence and used–
(i) for the purposes of the disposal of bombs or explosives,
(ii) by the Naval Emergency Monitoring Organisation for the purposes of a nuclear accident or an incident involving radioactivity,
(iii) by the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service for the purposes of rescue operations or any other emergencies, or
(iv) by the Royal Air Force Armament Support Unit;

(f) a vehicle primarily used for the purposes of the Blood Transfusion Service provided under the National Health Service Act 1977(4) or under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(5);

(g) a vehicle used by Her Majesty’s Coastguard or Coastguard Auxiliary Service for the purposes of giving aid to persons in danger or vessels indistress on or near the coast;

(h) a vehicle owned by the British Coal Corporation and used for the purposes of rescue operations at mines;
(i) a vehicle owned by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and used for the purposes of launching lifeboats; and
(j) a vehicle primarily used for the purposes of conveying any human tissue for transplanting or similar purposes.

As to potentially 'impersonating' a police officer, it's governed by the Police Act 1996 s90
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/16/section/90

First line of which is

Any person who with intent to deceive impersonates a member of a police force or special constable,

So driving around in a Morris Minor, which is not current Police equipment by almost 5 decades cannot be with intent to deceive.

But as you can see above, having a blue light is against the Lighting Regulations.
Even if it were covered while on the highway, it would technically still be fitted, so could still be an issue.

I have an Amber beacon that I can use if the Moggie breaks down and was using it when the Police came to my aid when I broke down on the A1 in Leicestershire (see my avatar image). To the letter of the law, it's not an authorized beacon for a private vehicle, but the Cops weren't bothered about it.