Shapes of LED Lightbars on Emergency Vehicles

There are many shapes available to be used for LED light bars. The more popular ones tend to be a long rectangle with differently shaped end caps. Some are taller, some are wider. The question is which ones are the most effective?

With intersection warning being a big player when it comes to lightbars, I would think that the wider the lightbar, the more effective the lightbar will be (specifically for intersection warning). Our idea is to create an LED light bar focusing on side warning. Front and rear warning lights will be built around the intersection lights so that there is not compromise.

Anyone have any interesting ideas?

Sirens without Lights; Has this ever happened to you?

The other day, I was driving down a busy road in Brooklyn when I heard a siren. I looked in my rear view mirror...no lights. Side view mirrors...no lights. Hmmm, wheres the siren coming from. And the sounds is getting closer but still no lights! A few seconds later, I see an ambulance coming up behind me (without any lights on) and decide that this is the ambulance trying to get through traffic.

This was at about 6:30am on a typical day here in New York.

Has this ever happened to you? You're really tired after that long shift that's just about to end but you get dispatched to your last job for the night. I did it a few times back when I worked as a medic. I think we all do it. Some maybe not as often as others.

Unfortunately, this poses a great risk to us and the public. But theres such an easy fix to this. Whenever the sirens are activated, the lights should automatically turn on for a fixed amount of time (and the lights should stay on after the siren is turned off!). This would at least allow the emergency vehicle to get through an intersection with lights activated. Or maybe just activate the primary lightbar.

Either way, theres no need for any additional accidents when there's an easy fix.

Let's make a difference!

Lights and Sirens with Excessive Speeds

Have you ever been driving through an intersection with you suddenly hear sirens blaring and in the corner of your eye you see a flashing lightbar? I'm sure this has happened on a few occasions to most of you reading this. And most of the time this happens its not big deal. Either you continue through the intersection or you stop to let the police car (or any emergency vehicle) go by.

Lets take a look at this situation from the police officer's (or any public safety responder's) point of view. You're responding to an emergency with your lights on and about to come up on an intersection, you activate your siren. Do you slow down? Do you come to a stop before entering the intersection? That car doesn't stop for you. So you better stop for it!

Its very important to have a standard lights and siren approach. It seems unfair to the public for police cars to respond to an emergency using excessive speeds. But what defines excessive speeds? Does your city, state, town or county have a maximum speed that you can drive while responding to an emergency? Are you required to come to a stop when approaching an intersection that has a stop sign or red light? At what point are you required to activate your siren?

While working EMS, I witnessed a near crash of two police cars that were both responding to the same emergency. The two police cars approached the intersection at the same time and nearly collided. What if there had been a pedestrian crossing the road?

Lights and sirens are a tool used to make response times quicker. Unfortunately, once they are activated, there seems to be an adrenaline surge which causes the driver to hit the pedal a bit harder.

Please keep the roads safe and protect yourselves while saving others.

(Please note that this article geared towards all public safety personnel and not specifically towards police officers)

Fire Truck Responding - Close Call

Wow! That was a close call. Luckily, everything worked out on that one. It could have been quite a mess - dealing with a structure fire and a rolled firetruck. All at the same scene! Use the lights and sirens but watch your speed.

Lights Without Siren; Safety or Danger?

Many states allow volunteer EMTs/firefighters to respond in the personal vehicles with lights. This is typically know as a courtesy light (though legally they may be considered emergency vehicles that cars have to yield too). In New York State, volunteer firefighters respond with blue lights and volunteer EMT/EMS personnel respond with green lights. Unfortunately, they arent allowed to use sirens (though many volunteers will use airhorns). The question arises: Is this a safer method of response?

Let's look at the options:

1)Respond without any lights or sirens.
2)Respond with lights and siren and being considered an emergency vehicle (just light any other police car, fire truck or ambulance.
3)Continue to respond using a courtesy light/lights.

Responding without any lights or sirens has the potential to increase response time (very minimal change would be noted because the driver using a courtesy light needs to abide by all motor vehicle laws). I think that this is the better option if your state doesnt allow lights and sirens. Using a courtesy light can create confusion to other motorist (especially when pulling up to an intersection). Also, although very much an opinion, I would say that once the lights are activated, it creates a need for speed by the responding driver.

I think that any state that has a courtesy light law needs to think about changing the law to either allow lights and siren or nothing. Lights and sirens would decrease the response time but would do so in a safe manner. The problem can be that there will be to many people driving around with lights and sirens and it will be hard to know who is authorized. Additionally, any state that does allow lights and sirens should also require volunteers to have 360 degrees of lighting. I dont care how you acheive 360 degree coverage, it could be a roofmounted lightbar, a beacon or surface mount lights that are mounted on all sides of the vehicle. Either way, you need to be seen and heard!