ERM said:
Now hear me out, but looking at this from a totally logical perspective, why do you need the brightest bar? Correct me if I'm wrong, but every vehicle that may be of concern to you is already facing you. The traffic you are most concerned with is oncoming traffic in either direction. Brightness is not a pro for you in this sense, it's a con. Blinding oncoming drivers makes them hit you.
Brightness is for trying to get the attention of drivers in front of you heading in the same direction (requesting the right of way), or at intersections, when you are penetrating an intersection that is not green for you. In either scenario, you are not allowed to do either.
As I said, not trying to rain on your parade, but in your case, brighter is not necessarily better. You need effective warning, and that's lights put in the right spot.
If you're having a light battle with the competition, then I see you point, but for safety, all of the people you need to worry about are facing you. Trust me, the lookie loos are looking.
Tony
I have all the lighting I need. This is not so much a matter of needing a far brighter bar, but more of a deal where I am in need of a different lightbar for an older truck, and would like to use the Justice from this truck.
I need effective lighting, which in this case is a bright lightbar. I'm not sure why I would possibly want a lightbar that is dimmer than necessary. When parked on the side of a major interstate (Of which we have two that intersect only 5 miles from our shop), I want the brightest, most effective lighting possible.
Check out my install thread here:
http://elightbars.org/forums/f34/2014-ford-f550-updated-5-4-14-a-63165/ if you want to see the secondary lighting on the truck. There is plenty of light, and I am only interested in changing out the lightbar.
I have been doing this for a long time, and I know what is needed to be seen. I never go overboard on my lighting, because I am well aware of the moth effect with impaired drivers. I set my trucks up with lower modes of lighting so they provide adequate lighting in situations that do not necessitate the full lighting package. I train my drivers to use only necessary lighting, and to not use scene lighting in situations that may blind oncoming traffic.
Safety is a huge consideration for me, and I have put a great deal of time and effort into trying to figure out ways to increase safety for my drivers and myself. That is why my trucks have bright and effective lighting. That is why my trucks have reflective chevrons on the rear, and reflective stripes on the insides of door jams. That is why my uniforms meet and have met ANSI standards for a long time. My drivers have been wearing high-visibility uniforms for years, long before it was made a federal requirement for workers on federal highways. I train employees to be as safe as possible whenever they are faced with dangerous circumstances.
What I am trying to say here is that I do not want a bright bar just to look cool and beat out the competition. I want a bright bar to have effective and reasonable lighting on a truck that will spend a large amount of its life out on a highway, protecting my drivers, the public, and myself from harm.