ALBANY – Next time you encounter a vehicle with a flashing green light on its dashboard allow the auto to pass.Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation known as the Green Light bill that allows mobile crisis staff members to use a green light when engaging in an emergency operation or response.

Volunteer ambulance corps personnel also use green lights when responding to emergency calls.

Congressman and former Westchester County Executive George Latimer requested the green light legislation after the county launched eight mobile crisis response teams as part of Project Alliance, a special initiative that grew out of the Westchester County Police Reform & Re-imagining Task Force. Putnam County has also launched a team of its own.

As the state seeks to increase the number of behavioral health crisis centers, trained mobile crisis response staff members will be responding to various mental, emotional and physical distress calls to prevent critical incidents. The Green Light law allows mobile crisis response staff members to equip their personal vehicles with a green emergency light and use them while responding to emergency calls. Green lights are an effective tool to alert drivers that they must pull over to allow for emergency vehicles to go by. This procedure allows for timely responses to emergency calls.

The New York State Association of Counties noted, “Many counties have created and invested in community-based mobile crisis teams to help individuals experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis. These teams are also critical not only in rapid response for a patient, but also to assist in hospital emergency room diversion.”

Emily Zajicek of Patterson works in crisis intervention: “My vehicle displays flashing green lights and if you see me come up behind you please move out of the way. Although green lights are a courtesy, more times than not I am responding to a severe call.” Zajicek said she was recently summoned and arrived ahead of law enforcement. “Most drivers fail to move out of the way when they observe a flashing green night. One guy even slowed down when they saw me. All it takes is two seconds to pull over. You never know since we can be en route to a family member’s crisis or to someone you know and time is of the essence since every second counts.”

Putnam’s team known as Co-Responders consists of a “mental health clinician and a highly trained deputy. They use a marked vehicle with emergency lighting.”

Putnam Commissioner of Emergency Services James Oster reminded the public anytime a flashing green, blue or red light is observed, “pull over immediately. Green lights are also used by volunteer ambulance corps personnel responding to an emergency while volunteer firefighters use flashing blue lights.”

State Senator Pete Harckham (D, Mt. Kisco) sponsored the legislation in Albany.

from Mid-Hudson News with Hank Gross, Wednesday, January 7, 2026 ; story was compiled by staff at Mid Hudson News.