Vehicle warning lights

Ohio DOT completed some ad hoc testing of vehicle warning lights in October 1989. However, the gathered data are now considered to be too old to be useful or of relevance.
Strobe and LED vehicle warning lights are allowed on DOT vehicles. See Policy 19-002(P), Equipment Lighting Marking and Conspicuity for further information.
Vehicles parked or working in highway right-of-ways when involved in snow and ice, maintenance, or construction are required to use the lights.
There were some initial problems with LED durability but these issues have been since corrected by industrywide improvements in technology. The improvement came from the LED stop/turn/tail lights that became standard on all ODOT dump trucks starting in the 2006 model year.
There are no formal tracking measures on the age and effectiveness of lights on the state-owned vehicles. The department relies on anecdotal feedback from districts on the state-owned vehicles.
The department does not require warning lights for private contractor vehicles in work zones.
LED lights may be the sole warning light on vehicles.
Vehicle warning lights must be either strobe or LED lights and be visible in a 360 degree plane. See Policy 19-002(P) for further details.
Also for more information, see the current vehicle warning light policy on the web site below.