Emergency Lights: Ensuring Public Safety Day and Night
The brilliant emergency lights flashing atop police cruisers, ambulances, and fire trucks are highly visible warnings to the surrounding vehicular and pedestrian traffic that a hazardous situation exists and they should be prepared to give way and yield to first responder vehicles. These emergency lights are designed to provide advance warning at all times of day, including during the darkest hours of the night and in the glaring noonday sun. For this reason, emergency lights are available in a variety of colors and configurations in order to ensure the maximum visibility for both day and night use.
Scientific studies have shown that red lights look brighter during daylight hours, while blue and bluish-green lights are more visible at night. It may be for this reason that police cruisers typically feature emergency lights in a combination of both colors, so that in both daytime and night they can be clearly seen and noticed. Amber emergency lights offer extra protection for color-blind individuals because it is usually easier for them to spot and identify yellow tones. As a result, amber emergency lights are often incorporated into lightbars and other warning signals in order to provide the best possible visibility for all members of the public.
Bright white emergency lights, including strobe lights, generally offer the best possible visibility over the longest distances. However, these high-intensity emergency lights are subject to certain drawbacks; even though the light produced is highly visible, it can also create nighttime glare that can impair the vision of first responders and drivers in the area. Strobe lights are especially vulnerable to this side effect, since these emergency lights create extremely bright flashes that can destroy the ability of first responders to see in partial darkness. Consequently, the brightest white emergency lights must be used sparingly as spotlights or floodlights and directed away from oncoming traffic and emergency workers on the scene.
Emergency lights play a vital role in preserving public safety and ensuring that first responders stay safe while en route to crime scenes, accidents, and fires. The color of the lights usually corresponds to the particular agency or department; for instance, blue and red light combinations are usually reserved for police cruisers, while red and white combinations are used on fire trucks and amber emergency lights typically indicate a tow truck or construction vehicle. Regardless of the color, however, emergency lights are designed to provide the most effective protection in terms of visibility and warning for the public and for first responders alike.
