Emergency Police Light Bars And Their Purposes

When you see flashing lights and hear a siren in the distance it generally means a police officer is headed to an emergency. An officer can also use their lights when the car is parked for an incident that’s in progress such as a traffic stop or a domestic dispute outside of someone’s home. A flashing police light is a warning to move out of the way and allow the police to proceed with their duty. There are different lights that flash, each with its own meaning. Any light should be met with attention and action.

Using Light Bars For Emergency Situations

It’s possible to purchase led light bars for your personal vehicle but none that mimic emergency services. Many variations such as led light bars from https://www.buyledlightbars.com are available that would be suitable.

The emergency light bars have at least two colors including red which denotes an immediate emergency and blue designating that there is a police person present, and they can be seen even from a significant distance. Night-shift officers incorporate white lights to bring significant brightness to dark areas, to spotlight suspects on foot, or those who are being interviewed. Patrol cars will use a yellow light to warn vehicles that they are slowing, or they are parking on a busy road. There is the potential for all lights to be employed simultaneously.

In a lot of the police departments, patrol car lights offer a base rotator that allows the lights to turn 360 degrees so the glow can spread in all directions. Some light bars offer a strobe feature along with a main LED light to enhance the brightness.

Purpose For Police Lights

Emergency vehicles are fitted with light bars for a multitude of reasons, most of which involve warning the public to some capacity of their presence.

The lights themselves are helpful for anyone who may have a hearing impairment and be resistant to the sirens and the sirens assist for those who aren’t paying attention to the lights. In the case of a routine traffic stop, an officer uses the vehicle lights in an effort to make commuters aware that there are parked vehicles along the road.

These lights aid with accident scenes in having those driving past reduce their speed or come to a full stop when necessary. The flashing lights warn pedestrians and other vehicles to steer clear when a police officer is in pursuit of another vehicle or if they need to park to enter into a business or residence. Here are some reasons for the colors they flash.

Other Types Of Light Bars Used In Police Work

In some instances police have a need to use unmarked vehicles for their work, but the vehicle still needs to have light bars incorporated in some fashion. These ‘interior lights’ may be less evident to those in the public spectrum, but they are meant to be just as effective. For plainclothes officers or detectives, mini light bars generally have a place behind a windshield or fitted in the back window. In undercover situations, there are typically portable lights hidden away until they are needed for emergency purposes.

Portable globes needed for emergencies are usually placed on the vehicle’s dashboard before the officer drives off. Many of the patrol vehicles come with small spotlights in close proximity to the driver/passenger side mirrors for night officers to point beams at suspects or into dark buildings.

Summary

An approaching police light and siren is startling for civilians, but it can be of assistance to an officer in getting to their emergency if the public were vigilante about pulling off to the right of the road and stopping. If a violent incident such as a bank robbery is taking place, you won’t likely hear a siren as they are kept silent to prevent the criminals from fleeing. But when you see a police officer traveling at a high speed either with lights and sirens or only lights, it’s an indication to move out of the way and let them pass.

The light bars fitted on their cars are the only assistance an officer has to get them to the aid of those that need them.  These simple boxes of light could be the difference between life and death.