What does it mean when a police car flashes red?
Emergency vehicle lights are some of the best tools used by the police department in many countries. Police light is an essential tool for numerous reasons.
In order to undertake the task as soon as possible without disturbing the environment and by keeping pedestrians safe, police make use of emergency vehicle lights of different kinds. One can imagine the impact of this simple lighting solution from the fact that light helps police perform their job smoothly without any hurdles.
Without any sophisticated alerting system like this, it is nearly impossible for law enforcement workers to get anywhere in cities in case of an emergency or just to warn other people.
Police vehicle lights
By judging the success of light bars mounted on cop vehicles, they are extensively modified according to the requirements. One such common modification you can notice is the use of different color combinations.
You must have noticed the use of red and blue rights on squad cars. But have you ever wondered why they use only red color on a certain occasions? In most cases, you would not get a persuasive answer to such questions.
Fortunately, you are in the right place! Here are some of the most commonly asked questions related to the use of red lights on the police car.
Purpose of red lights on patrol cars
One can find namely three different types of lights used on patrol cars, i.e., red, blue, and yellow. Each of them indicates some or the other thing depending upon the state laws of that country.
For example, blue light signifies the presence of cops and that you need to pull over or stop if the light is flashed in your direction. On the other hand, yellow light means the squad car is approaching the vehicle or slowing down.
So, what are red lights used for?
Visibility for the colorblind
There are many theories as to why red lights are used on police cars. Perhaps, the most commonly accepted theory as to why cops flash red lights is to avoid the risk of color blindness.
People who can’t see the blue or yellow spectrum of light rarely have a problem seeing red-colored lights. This helps to ensure that everyone on the roads can see the police vehicle easily, even when it is flashing continuously
Stop
Normally, the red flashing light means only one thing – stop in any case! If a police car is using red flash, you must stop as soon as possible it doesn’t matter what the circumstances or conditions are.
Aside from that, if cops overtake your car and stop at a distance while flashing red lights, you must immediately stop and park behind their car.
To alert
Red light is the symbol of emergency. When a patrol car is flashing red, it indicates a critical situation and alerts the people in that surrounding.
Day time
Blue or yellow light is hardly visible in the daytime. Unlike these two, red light has better visibility and wavelength during the day. This makes them suitable to attract the attention of locals even during daylight.