The Virginia State Police is equipping the newest vehicles in its fleet with emergency light bars that also include red lights to improve visibility and safety.
researchers of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute They have found that drivers pay attention a few seconds earlier when an emergency vehicle on the side of the road is flashing red and blue lights.
Institute researchers investigated a variety of light patterns across the state, in cities and rural areas.
“One of the real benefits we found was that sometimes the blue light was lost against the sky. Sometimes the blue light at night would get lost with other things,” Gibbons said. “So adding the red really added another dimension.”
During the day, Gibbons said the researchers found that the addition of red light provided greater distance and visibility.
“We can work between those two to have the optimal blue at times and the optimal red at other times,” Gibbons said.
The Virginia State Police says the upgraded emergency lights are already on the road on new police vehicles, which will gradually replace older vehicles in the fleet.
