Blue lights

[lfdlt31]

Am I the only one who is not a fan of all the blue lights on the FDNY apparatus now days since the law was changed and it is allowed now? It just doesn't seem right, blue lights are for police in my head. It looks ok on the Rescues as blue is their color but on everything else it just doesn't look right. Fire trucks should be red with red lights

 

[JohnnyBopp]

Am I the only one who is not a fan of all the blue lights on the FDNY apparatus now days since the law was changed and it is allowed now? It just doesn't seem right, blue lights are for police in my head. It looks ok on the Rescues as blue is their color but on everything else it just doesn't look right. Fire trucks should be red with red lights

...except that blue is safer and more visible allowing us to operate more safely, especially on the highway at night.  We don't care what it looks like.....

 

[Ghetto Gladiator]

Where is Canada anyway ?

 

[Bulldog]

Am I the only one who is not a fan of all the blue lights on the FDNY apparatus now days since the law was changed and it is allowed now? It just doesn't seem right, blue lights are for police in my head. It looks ok on the Rescues as blue is their color but on everything else it just doesn't look right. Fire trucks should be red with red lights

...except that blue is safer and more visible allowing us to operate more safely, especially on the highway At night.  We don't care what it looks like.....

Agreed!!  They can be whatever color you want to be as long as they provide safety for the brothers who operate them.  If you ever are in a large city the blue certainly stands out against the background of red and amber lights on everything else at night!  I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the future fire apparatus in major cities start putting blue lights towards the front also!

 

[fireleebull]

Where is Canada anyway ?

Canada is that giant country to the north.  Your ignorance is disgusting.

 

[lfdlt31]

Soooooooooo I am the only one then? Was just a personal opinion about the look, I am well aware of them supposedly being safer... But I am not sure how someone cannot see any FDNY truck with how lit up they are.

And lots of cities already have red and blue lights to the front and sides.

 

[Ghetto Gladiator]

Fireleebull, you putz, dat was a joke

 

[fireleebull]

Fireleebull, you putz, dat was a joke

My misunderstanding.  Thank you for the clarification.  No hard feelings

 

[raybrag]

They have used blue lights in Europe for a very long time, and it works well.  Having lived there, I can tell you that there's very little confusion when an emergency vehicle heads down a street . . . everybody knows what's coming.

 

[JohnnyBopp]

But I am not sure how someone cannot see any FDNY truck with how lit up they are.

And lots of cities already have red and blue lights to the front and sides.

In NYC, the crowded streets are filled with brake lights (red) and flashing hazard lights and construction vehicles (amber) and you'd be suprised how quickly we blend in, especially a single unit.  The blue is an asset.

 

[1261Truckie]

First FDNY rig I saw with blue lights, on the rear of the rig, was E-226 in the very early 70's. Very distinctive at that time and very visible.

 

[811]

In the 1970s NYC garbage trucks had a single rear-facing flashing blue light above the hopper, it was flanked by alternating yellow lights.  In time for some reason they were removed.

Some FDNY companies "appropriated" these blue lights for their rigs.

 

[Christoph_51]

They have used blue lights in Europe for a very long time, and it works well.  Having lived there, I can tell you that there's very little confusion when an emergency vehicle heads down a street . . . everybody knows what's coming.

At first: Yes, it's me again.  ;D

You're totally right in what you are saying about knowing that an Emergency-Vehicle is coming. That's because it's standardized (it doesn't vary from department to department or from State to State) and every little child learns how to behave when they see a truck with blue-lights.

In Germany the blue lights were chosen because they stick out so much because there isn't much blue in the environment and not even on unnatural things like billboards etc. Red however IS far more common and orange is already in use for the city-services (Garbage-Trucks etc.)

But even down here there are some very very very dumb people who are texting while driving or they drink coffee or they drop something or they are drunk etc...

And then they're crashing into a FireTruck. Now matter how bright it is or which colours the lights are.
These people even overlook reflecting materials or traffic control trailers (http://www.new-facts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/12-2655_start_vsa4_fw-turkheim_new-facts-eu.jpg )  which are used by some departments.

There was very bad accident near the city of Hanau not long ago.
A Truck-Driver didn't see the emergency units which were operating at another MVA.

He crashed into a policecar, an Ambulance and a Fire-Truck at full speed.
2 Paramedics and 1 Firefighter suffered life-threatening injuries.
http://www.op-online.de/region/obertshausen/lkw-kracht-unfallstelle-obertshausen-a3-bilder-5310635.html

 

[raybrag]

But even down here there are some very very very dumb people who are texting while driving or they drink coffee or they drop something or they are drunk etc...

Christoph . . . there is no cure for dumb . . . no matter what nationality you are. 

 

[Nasibova]

l  get what you (CanadianFireman) are  saying about  the BLUE being  taking  some  getting  used  to  for  fire / FDNY.  l  thought the same  when fiirst  started  a few  years  ago.  Was  always  stange  to  me  seeing European  with it ...  But  absolutely  whatever  is  best  for  safety  and  stand  out  visibility.  Suprised  they  did  not start using  them as standard a long time ago  even on  fronts & sides...

Also  did  anyone  else  notice that  Engine 153,  l  believe the  first KME  to  be put  in service  has  blue  on  both  rear  lights  and  no  amber ?  was this  a  fluke  l  assume ?    All  the  others  and  2O13 & 14 Seagraves that I have seen,  have blue  on  left  and  amber  on  right.  One  can  Youtube  "FDNY  Engine 153"  and  see  videos  of  it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JumyFaBfKac

 

[auxlteng225]

well gents I have been reading all the BLUE LIGHT POSTS with great interest and recon it is time for me to stick my two cents worth into the pot. I am a retired Sergeant of a Police Dept. in New York State. Up until the late nineties in NY State in accordance with the vehicle and traffic law regarding color of light for emergency vehicles the BLUE LIGHTS were only allowed on VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER CARS, to be used when responding to fires and other emergencies. The law specified ONE blue light only. The volunteer still had to obey all V&T laws when responding and the other motorists, could as a courtesy, yield the right of way. The V&T law was changed some time late 90's to allow a BLUE LIGHT to be put on the REAR of Police and Fire vehicles as a SAFETY MEASURE after several Police officers where killed while investigating accidents by being rear ended by another vehicle The first FDNY vehicles to have the rear blue lights were the Rescue companies. It now appears that it is common to see flashing or rotating blue lights on Police vehicle light bars so I would guess that the law was further amended.  In closing, as both a retired Police officer and Past fire chief I can state to one and all that the BLUE LIGHT is the most distinctive and best seen in all weather conditions.

 

[Nasibova]

Very Good.  The  more  Blue  the  better  then .

 

[johnd248]

In Connecticut, we have many  fire engines with blue lights on the front and/or the back.

 

[raybrag]

I can't speak for now, because I haven't been there for many, many moons, but when I used to ride through Massachussetts with my parents in the 40's and 50's, many of the small town police cars had blue rather than red lights.  and now, that's common throughout the US.  Here in Virginia, almost all police departments run blue lights, including the state police. Some mix their lights with red.  Most of the fire departments still run all red lights (may be due to state law, I don't know). 

 

[Bulldog]

Ray, Kentucky runs the same set up that Virginia does, I haven't seen any blue on fire trucks here yet.  Fire runs all red with a few yellows here and there, same for ambulances.  State police run all Blue but at least here in Louisville the Metro PD runs Blue on one side Red choose one on the other.  Especially in traffic at night you can definitely see the blue easier than you can pick out the red!