Flashing Spotlight??

[Strobe Craft]

saw this on the tube, do i see a flashing spotlight, or the officer manually messing with the light?

 

[Hoser]

Wonder if the first patrol car made it, lots of blue smoke coming from the rear..

 

[Strobe Craft]

also saw that. im curious on more info

 

[Hoser]

It appears more like its being used like an oscillator.

 

[Strobe Craft]

as in manually or is this a special feature?

 

[Hoser]

Ive seen officers manually do that during stops (especially OSP troopers at night), but never during a pursuit. Ive never seen a spotlight that does it on its own. Would be cool though.

 

[RescueWV]

Definitely not flashing as much as just being moved back and forth. I could be wrong, but it seems like an officer involved in a pursuit like this would have more important things to worry about as far as warning equipment and keeping the vehicle under controllable than playing with the spotlight?


I don't know much about spotlights, never having driven a vehicle with one mounted. Are the movement mechanisms lose enough that the movement of the vehicle itself could be causing it to move back and forth?

 

[mjozzie143]

I'm not sure how early on in the pursuit this was but he could be trying to flash it in the mirror to make an attempt to deter the driver to stop, knowing it isn't gonna work but might as well try it.

 

[wema628]

I have done a flashing spot light on a car i use to have. just used a flasher out of an old code 3 light bar from that ran the take down lights that also wig wag. just done remember the number for the flasher

 

[twodogs603]

Wonder if the first patrol car made it, lots of blue smoke coming from the rear..

Well it is a Dodge!!!

 

[calebsheltonmed23]

Did it to my Dakota...

 

[wema628]

Just like calebsheltonmed23 did.

 

[MAPMFF86]

Guys in the pickup truck couldn't seem to care less..

 

[Jeremy0966]

Seems to me like moving the light by hand isn't the best of ideas when running code, unless you have a partner in the passenger seat doing it with the light on his side. Having a flasher hooked up would be the most effective and safest way in my opinion. Or if you have the cash you can always put out for Whelen's new LED spotlight/warning light combo. Kinda cool i think killing to birds with one stone.

 

[squad511]

I would guess that its a loose spot light...it seems to be flowing with the bumps in the road...if he was doing it manually..um not smart...but my squad spot lights flip up and down anytime I go over 45....

 

[AKRLTW]

yeah, i'd say that it's damn near wore out and needs some maintenance. I've got unity's on my offroad rig for directional light at night plus put one on my impala after a crash I stopped at. If you don't adjust things right, or they just loosen up with time, you'll get that.

 

[patrol530]

It's being swept by hand. I do the same thing approaching intersections, only takes a slight twist to & fro to cover the intersection.

 

[NFD-102]

could it be the takedowns that are flashing on the truck as its going by?


Also, does anyone remember the ELB or youtube video a while back of the black unmarked (charger...I think) with LED spotlights that flashed with everything else. They were synced up with everything else. Even the lightbar. I think it was when the wecan system first came out. Anyways, they had the spotlights that flashed and it looked really bright and affective. I tried to find it but I couldn't

 

[futurewarden]

I drive that street frequently. Both units were ALCO S/O. The sheriff has stock unity spots. The deputy was either manually operating it or as mentioned above, it was loose. Btw, the nearest un-incorporated area is about a 20 minute drive... must have been a hell of a pursuit.

 

[mhchockey84]

Not flashing either shaking or just moving with the car

 

[RL1]

Wonder if the first patrol car made it, lots of blue smoke coming from the rear..

Edit: Never mind, rewatched it.

 

[theroofable]

Its being done by hand. You can see it going up and down the back of the vehicle the whole video. There arent any other halogen lights on the unit, it can only be that light that is sweeping up and down.

 

[vc859]

If that's being done by hand the deputy must have a lot of confidence in his driving ability. I wonder what his EVOC instructor would say about only having one hand on the wheel during pursuit driving

 

[RL1]

If that's being done by hand the deputy must have a lot of confidence in his driving ability. I wonder what his EVOC instructor would say about only having one hand AND A KNEE on the wheel during pursuit driving

Fixed it for you

 

[rad123]

The first car also has a FS rumbler or Whelen Howler on it.

 

[Strobe Craft]

The first car also has a FS rumbler or Whelen Howler on it.

Sure its not the engine going?.... haha

 

[rad123]

Sure its not the engine going?.... haha

I don't think it is the engine, but i could be wrong. Some of the new cars around the bay area are starting to use rumblers of howlers on their cars.

 

[fireman616wfd]

I see officers here all the time (myself included) during night time pursuits driving and using the spot to blinde the driver in the side mirrors making it harder for him/her to operate the vehicle.. have seen it on cops a couple times also in pursuits, I just thought it was a common practice haha

 

[zacmtz7]

I see officers here all the time (myself included) during night time pursuits driving and using the spot to blinde the driver in the side mirrors making it harder for him/her to operate the vehicle.. have seen it on cops a couple times also in pursuits, I just thought it was a common practice haha

Sounds like a law suit waiting to happen when they crash into a childs bedroom cause the officer tempoary blinded the driver with the spot light. Attorneys would prolly line up for miles on that families door step.

 

[jo_ball13]

If my spotlight flashed, it would be pretty useless. Can't keep the thing in place over 80 mph, always flops back towards the A-pillar.

 

[bcr3106]

I have seen some traffic units in my city with flashing spot lights. Usually they are the ghost cars that don't have too many led's on them.

 

[Muxlow]

Id say the switch is loose. I had this in my charger. It would come on at random times or when it was on would turn off n on. Just had to tighten up the on/off switch and fixed it up

 

[Jeremy0966]

I have seen some traffic units in my city with flashing spot lights. Usually they are the ghost cars that don't have too many led's on them.

Makes sense. If you have limited warning lights on the vehicle might as well take advantage of the spotlights since they're already there. I would like to see it in person to see how well it actually works.

 

[JohnMarcson]

In an episode of some police reality show in the early 90s they rode with a gang unit in LA. They had only 2 rear flashers and a single front red steady. The officer explained that he cleared the intersections by sweeping the spotlight back and forth. This looks like the exact same activity.

 

[JazzDad]

John you're thinking about Dragnet again, the radio show.

 

[Skip Goulet]

For many, many years, Texas DPS cars came with a single spotlight as the sole piece of lighting equipment. They had a switch under the dash that allowed the light to be used both as steady-on and in flashing mode. They also had a red plastic lens with springs to go over the spotlight head to use in pursuit or emergency mode.


From what I saw on the video, that spotlight was flashing way too fast to have been done manually.

 

[Phillyrube]

Sort of a makeshift Mars light. Used to do that meeself...

 

[JohnMarcson]

For many, many years, Texas DPS cars came with a single spotlight as the sole piece of lighting equipment. They had a switch under the dash that allowed the light to be used both as steady-on and in flashing mode. They also had a red plastic lens with springs to go over the spotlight head to use in pursuit or emergency mode.

From what I saw on the video, that spotlight was flashing way too fast to have been done manually.

In the video the spotlight is being moved back and forth it would appear.

 

[Skip Goulet]

Sort of a makeshift Mars light. Used to do that meeself...

Betcha that made your arm tired after awhile!

 

[emtanderson51]

My guess is it was loose and shaking around. It was probably never turned off after he started chasing them once they took off..