6                                 LAWS OF MARYLAND                          [CH. 4

293.

(b) No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use
upon a vehicle any siren, whistle, or bell, except as otherwise per-
mitted in this subsection. It is permissible that any vehicle be
equipped with a theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that
it cannot be used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal. Any
authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a siren, whistle
or bell, capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions
from a distance of not less than 500 feet and of a type approved by the
Department, but such siren shall not be used except when such vehicle
is operated in response to an emergency call or in the immediate pur-
suit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, in which said latter
events the driver of such vehicle shall sound said siren when neces-
sary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof.
Provided, however, that notwithstanding the provisions of this sub-
section, vehicles from which ice cream products and similar products
are sold may be equipped with, and the driver thereof may use, a
bell not exceeding three and one-half (3-½) inches in diameter, or
a set of such bells; provided that no such bell or set of bells shall
be OPERATED BY MECHANICAL OR ELECTRICAL MEANS
OR BY ANY MEANS OTHER THAN MANUALLY, NOR BE
AMPLIFIED BY ANY ELECTRICAL OR ELECTRONIC MEANS,
NOR BE capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions
from a distance of more than four hundred (400) feet; and provided
further that no such bell shall he used for any purpose between the
hours of ten o'clock p.m. and eight o'clock a.m., nor be used as an ordi-
nary warning signal at any time.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act is hereby de-
clared to be an emergency measure and necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public health and safety and having been passed
by a yea and nay vote supported by three-fifths of all the members
elected to each of the two houses of the General Assembly, the same
shall take effect from the date of its passage.

Approved March 5, 1964.

CHAPTER 4
(House Bill 126)

AN ACT to add a new Section 269A to Article 66½ of the Annotated
Code of Maryland (1957 Edition), title "Motor Vehicles," subtitle
"Operation of Vehicles upon Highways," to follow immediately
after Section 269 thereof, providing for the time of retirement for
any person regularly employed to operate a school bus who is a
member of certain retirement or pension systems, and relating
generally to the time and manner of any such person retiring from
or ceasing such work.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That a new Section 269A be and it is hereby added to Article 66½
of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1957 Edition), title "Motor Ve-