Thread: FDNY Squad 18 Blue rotators

Originally Posted by hotelmedicis

A study done in 2008 called the "Effects of Warning Lamp Color and Intensity on Driver Vision" was conducted at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor and was underwritten by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States Fire Administration and the US Department of Justice. The 54 page study revealed that blue was the most conspicuous color day or night and in any age group. The report strongly recommended that emergency services throughout the USA begin to put blue on all vehicles.

Since the poster failed to provide a link to said study, a 0.37 second Google search yielded...

http://www.sae.org/standardsdev/tsb/...nglamp0810.pdf

Thanks for the link and I'll read the study, but it was underwritten by DHS and FEMA? I'm not going to say what I'm thinking, this isn't the proper forum.

Red (even flashing) doesn't stand out well against a sea of red tail lights and stoplights---which is a common sight in NY.

I notice that most of the people who get butt hurt about NY apparatus running blue to the rear are people from "blue for police, red for fire" states---which is a retarded premise, IMO.

Originally Posted by C420sailor

Red (even flashing) doesn't stand out well against a sea of red tail lights and stoplights---which is a common sight in NY.

I notice that most of the people who get butt hurt about NY apparatus running blue to the rear are people from "blue for police, red for fire" states---which is a retarded premise, IMO.

You have my sincerest apologies for expressing an opinion based on a retarded premise. It shall not happen again.

Minnesota was very similar to NY for most of my life with only allowing red/white/yellow on emergency vehicles. Snow plows had blue. Then in about 1996 the law chnaged to allow blue to the rear on the right side of the vehicle as you looked at it from the rear. This changed again several years later to allow blue anywhere in the rear of the vehicle. Then in 2003-2004 it changed to allow blue to the front and sides as well for all emergency vehicles. Slowly but surely depts have been switching. I think it looks great on all emergency vehicles. The only confusion I have seen ever is that my police dept runs booking vans, (paddy wagons) that look like ambulances. If you try and do a traffic stop with it some people will yield but not pull over thinking its an ambualnce behind them so I advoid doing traffic stops with them when I am assigned the wagon.

Originally Posted by C420sailor

Red (even flashing) doesn't stand out well against a sea of red tail lights and stoplights---which is a common sight in NY.

I notice that most of the people who get butt hurt about NY apparatus running blue to the rear are people from "blue for police, red for fire" states---which is a retarded premise, IMO.

I spend a lot of time on the 95/195 highways in MA and RI. RISP was an all red agency for long time, then I think about 10 years ago they added some blue to the front and rear on some Vista Strobe bars. When they switched to LED bars a few years go they went back to all red, then added two blue modules facing the rear. Last year the bars were all red again. When approaching an sort of incident with a trooper running an all red bar, it is impossible to tell where he is from a distance, which makes traffic more congested.
Having those two blue modules to the rear makes a huge difference in the sea of red brake lights.

The fact that many vehicles now have LED lights standard makes matters worse.