Emergency Light Bar units could be deemed essential equipment for any kind of emergency or first response vehicle. Poor or unreliable lighting on emergency vehicles can spell disaster for the crews in them as it puts them in danger. Improper Emergency light bar units compromise the safety not only of the personnel but the public and that just isn’t acceptable. No one would argue that proper equipment and kit on emergency and first response vehicles is absolutely essential but lighting often isn’t classed as kit or equipment. Hazard warning, indicators, fog lamps, beacons and strobes are all kinds of emergency lighting for vehicles.
We all face dangers every time we get into our vehicles. Motoring in our cities and towns is fraught with danger and the lights we all have play a part in road safety. Most vehicles will have hazard lights built in, and they can help keep us safe if we break down or need to inform other drivers we are stationary. The lighting on emergency first response vehicles is used for the same purpose we would use our hazard warning lights but you can magnify that 10 times. Emergency light bar units need to be in your face bright and capable of giving road users plenty of advance warning of a vehicles approach.
The Emergency light bar units and sirens provide us with a very effective advance warning and we need that so we can take appropriate actions. The quicker we respond to a vehicle needing to pass the quicker they can get on with the business of dealing with emergencies. The range of light bar units is huge and there are some very specific ones and some very generic ones. The light bars chosen by different services will reflect the job they do and the lights will be used to assist them in their job. Traffic advisors built into light bars would typically be used by police vehicles for instance.
Sirens and flashing Emergency light bar units can prompt us to take action when we see them. We all have a duty to be up to date with any driving and road legislation and we all should know what is expected of any ‘move over’ law our state has. The move over laws will tell us what is expected of us in such circumstances where we see flashing lights and hear sirens. Don’t imagine you can ignore the law and get away with it, ignorance is no defense in law and you will get penalty points and possibly a fine. Deaths of first responders at roadside have increased in recent years and the move over laws was introduced in an attempt to halt that and protect those in such situations.
Road traffic accidents are common and deaths from them tragic but when the death could have been avoided, it is even harder to bear. With a little more care and thought to our driving, we can help avoid accidents and injuries on the roads. You would think common sense would come into play when people see the flashing Emergency light bar units at a roadside incident and they would drop speed and move over to a safer lane to pass. Unfortunately, that is not the case and that is why the move over laws was necessary. The fact we have to legislate for such a thing is a damning indictment of some drivers out there.
