blue lights on emergency vehicles

monday, 7 may, 2007 10:50 MAT

we were driving to uni this morning and noticed an ambulance vehicle with blue and red beacons. that prompted me to investigate why it had blue lights. this is different to what i am used to in america.

There is practical advantage of using two colors for high intensity lights on police car beacons. Blue is easier to see during daytime and red more clearly discerned at night. Blue also is chosen for its long association with police in US (e.g: blue lights in front of police stations, blue uniforms in many states) and because of its high daylight visibility. Red has long been a symbol of warning and danger and a signal to stop. No other emergency service uses blue in its beacon. Firefighters and ambulances use red. Construction and emergency transport vehicles (towing etc.) use yellow or amber. Only police beacons are two-colored.

i guess in australia, it isn't regulation that only police cars use blue lights. i also didn't realise that in america ambulances and firefighters use only red. i always thought it was red and white. i'll have to pay more attention, i guess.

source: http://www.garamchai.com/askadesi/askgov08.htm

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