SIGforum
Police car lights....no more red?
March 07, 2018, 06:01 PM
jljonesPolice car lights....no more red?
The vast majority of officers that are struck in the hours of darkness are struck by impaired drivers, not due to lights. There is no excuse in this day and age, as every state has a slow down/move over law on the books to try to blame the lights.
I do agree that the lights can be blinding, but there is no "rooster crows/sun comes up" logic in trying to blame the lights in officer fatalities. When you see the lights, you should be getting over, or slowing down just like in any adverse traffic condition.
March 07, 2018, 07:58 PM
MikeNHIt depends on the state. Up till a few years ago in NH, blue was police and red was fire. I did an internship at a Ford dealer that did the maintenance for a PD in the area and there was a minor pissing match when one of their techs refused to pass one of their cruisers for state inspection because they had red and blue in their light bars (I had my inspection license- this is an inspection item). Eventually they got someone else to put the sticker on it and now that rule seems to still be on the books but tons of fire and police departments here have both colors.
March 07, 2018, 08:04 PM
4ftty4CA requires a forward facing solid red light to make enforcement stops. Every agency I know of is red and blue.
March 07, 2018, 08:47 PM
4MUL8RPolice in VA are blue and only blue.
Motorist Assistance is yellow.
Our new LED blue are blinding to us when we work accidents.
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Trying to simplify my life...
March 07, 2018, 10:19 PM
Sunset_Vaquote:
Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Police in VA are blue and only blue.
Motorist Assistance is yellow.
Our new LED blue are blinding to us when we work accidents.
The high intensity blue lights are excellent for long range recognizance, but being stationery at 50 feet and trying to see other objects, those lights are just blinding. Add more than 2 vehicles with those lights going, you are not going to be able to see anything if you are at a random checkpoint, accident.,etc.
美しい犬
March 07, 2018, 10:24 PM
medic451In CA EMS/ fire only has red with optional white strobes for foward facing emergency lights, pd has red/blue/ opt white strobe. State law mandates only a steady red warning lamp is required for emergency response.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."
- John Wayne in "The Shootist" March 08, 2018, 12:32 AM
soggy_spinoutquote:
Originally posted by Black92LX:
quote:
But in the 80s or so when they made the switch to the continuous light bar they made half of the bar red
Seattle is CALEA accredited agency. CALEA requires both red and blue lights for accreditation. CALEA began in 1979 I don't know how long Seattle has been accredited but this could be the reason for going with half red at that timeframe.
I'll take your word for it since being a civilian I apparently can't access the text of the CALEA requirements. But here's the WA state law that I was referring to:
"
RCW 46.37.190
Warning devices on vehicles—Other drivers yield and stop.
(1) Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive marking required by this chapter, be equipped with at least one lamp capable of displaying a red light visible from at least five hundred feet in normal sunlight and a siren capable of giving an audible signal."Apparently this has been on the books since 1970. I do remember there being a small pair of red lights between two outboard blue flattop gumballs on the the light rack on their Mopar cruisers during the decade. The continuous half blue/half red light bars showed up right around 1980 or so, so they could very well have been part of the CALEA standards you referred to at the very start.
March 08, 2018, 01:15 AM
Excam_Manquote:
Originally posted by jljones:
The vast majority of officers that are struck in the hours of darkness are struck by impaired drivers, not due to lights. There is no excuse in this day and age, as every state has a slow down/move over law on the books to try to blame the lights.
I do agree that the lights can be blinding, but there is no "rooster crows/sun comes up" logic in trying to blame the lights in officer fatalities. When you see the lights, you should be getting over, or slowing down just like in any adverse traffic condition.
If you can't see, you can't see.
Close your eyes and move over, slow down... you still can't see.
Slowing down and moving over doesn't guarantee that you won't hit something you can't see.
March 08, 2018, 01:39 AM
chongosuertequote:
Originally posted by soggy_spinout:
quote:
Originally posted by Black92LX:
quote:
But in the 80s or so when they made the switch to the continuous light bar they made half of the bar red
Seattle is CALEA accredited agency. CALEA requires both red and blue lights for accreditation. CALEA began in 1979 I don't know how long Seattle has been accredited but this could be the reason for going with half red at that timeframe.
I'll take your word for it since being a civilian I apparently can't access the text of the CALEA requirements. But here's the WA state law that I was referring to:
"
RCW 46.37.190
Warning devices on vehicles—Other drivers yield and stop.
(1) Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive marking required by this chapter, be equipped with at least one lamp capable of displaying a red light visible from at least five hundred feet in normal sunlight and a siren capable of giving an audible signal."Apparently this has been on the books since 1970. I do remember there being a small pair of red lights between two outboard blue flattop gumballs on the the light rack on their Mopar cruisers during the decade. The continuous half blue/half red light bars showed up right around 1980 or so, so they could very well have been part of the CALEA standards you referred to at the very start.
I've worked for two CALEA certified agencies and neither had any red in their light bars.
I am not a fan of the blindingly bright newer LED bars. Try being second or third in a chase at night...
Our newer vehicles lock the lights into a slow flash when the vehicle is put into park. That makes a big difference. They also have options for different levels of lights, i.e. steady on, rear only, etc.
Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.
Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN
"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
March 08, 2018, 03:09 PM
flashguyBy recent observation, LEO here in Dallas have both red and blue lights (lots of them).
flashguy
Texan by choice, not accident of birth March 08, 2018, 03:31 PM
recoatliftI too noticed the Mi. State Police use of the super sized red B/G on the roof, also some red flashers on their hoods.
I dont know if true, I was told the use of blue lights are more noticeable at night or in fog. Of course,the fog answer made sense to me as we lived in Mt Airy, NC, lots of fog. The mythical Mayberry.
Ps. The Michigan St.Police single,bulbous B/G is hideous. Not a clean look to me. Looks like Tom Servo from MST 3000, loved that series.
March 08, 2018, 04:20 PM
vthokyquote:
Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Police in VA are blue and only blue.
Cruisers in Blacksburg have red and blue.
Or so I'm told...
God bless America. March 08, 2018, 05:47 PM
DaBigBRCALEA accreditation does NOT require any specific color of lights. My guess is that the member posting that works for an accredited agency where everything that changes is blamed on the CALEA bogeyman. It's also possible that an accreditor SUGGESTED multicolored lights and the agency went for it to further suck the crank of the CALEA gods, but either way, the standards manual does not specify light color. The applicable standards are 41.3.1 and 41.3.2.
March 08, 2018, 06:00 PM
4859quote:
Originally posted by 41:
I think the whole point of using blue has been missed......they are a lot easier to see in all types of weather and I like them.
People need to slow down when the police or fire are operating in the area. Give them a BRAKE!
And there has been studies done that Blue lights are more visible at night. Heck, it could be a Pink or Green light flashing and I would see it!
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Always carry. Never tell.
March 08, 2018, 06:04 PM
4859quote:
Originally posted by shovelhead:
New Mexico used to require tow trucks to have blue lights, at least while I lived there in the 1970's to 1980's.
Minnesota DOT has to use Blue and Yellow lights on Snow Plows by Law.
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Always carry. Never tell.
March 08, 2018, 06:04 PM
TMatsFor decades in Colorado, snow plow trucks had signs on the back that said, “blue light means snow plow;” the flashing lights on snow plows were all blue. For at least the last 15 years or more, snow plows have the same amber lights that any other highway department truck carries—with the exception of one blue rotating light on the back, left corner of the plow. No longer is there a “blue light means snowplow” sign on them.
It occurs to me that probably no one cares
_______________________________________________________
despite them
March 08, 2018, 06:14 PM
4859quote:
Originally posted by TMats:
For decades in Colorado, snow plow trucks had signs on the back that said, “blue light means snow plow;” the flashing lights on snow plows were all blue. For at least the last 15 years or more, snow plows have the same amber lights that any other highway department truck carries—with the exception of one blue rotating light on the back, left corner of the plow. No longer is there a “blue light means snowplow” sign on them.
It occurs to me that probably no one cares
In North Dakota the DOT Plows use to only use Yellow lights. A number of years back they changed it to Yellow and Clear lights and the Plow drivers noticed people paid better attention to them. At night Clear strobe and LED lights are blinding!
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Always carry. Never tell.
March 08, 2018, 08:44 PM
vthokyquote:
Originally posted by 4859:
At night Clear strobe and LED lights are blinding!
Even worse when there's snow covering the ground, I presume?
God bless America. March 08, 2018, 10:16 PM
LunaseeCan some people being colorblind be the reason they added blue lights?
I can hear it now. "No Officer. I didn't see the red lights behind me. I'm color blind."
March 09, 2018, 05:31 AM
Todd HuffmanWe used to have a regular customer in our county that was epileptic. When officers got on scene with him they'd turn their strobes off so they wouldn't trigger a seizure. If he wasn't complying, the strobes went back on.
One particular lieutenant used to leave his strobes on and laugh at the results. I always thought that was pretty low, unless the guy was fighting or something.
Here's to the sunny slopes of long ago.