Sirens without Lights; Has this ever happened to you?

The other day, I was driving down a busy road in Brooklyn when I heard a siren. I looked in my rear view mirror...no lights. Side view mirrors...no lights. Hmmm, wheres the siren coming from. And the sounds is getting closer but still no lights! A few seconds later, I see an ambulance coming up behind me (without any lights on) and decide that this is the ambulance trying to get through traffic.

This was at about 6:30am on a typical day here in New York.

Has this ever happened to you? You're really tired after that long shift that's just about to end but you get dispatched to your last job for the night. I did it a few times back when I worked as a medic. I think we all do it. Some maybe not as often as others.

Unfortunately, this poses a great risk to us and the public. But theres such an easy fix to this. Whenever the sirens are activated, the lights should automatically turn on for a fixed amount of time (and the lights should stay on after the siren is turned off!). This would at least allow the emergency vehicle to get through an intersection with lights activated. Or maybe just activate the primary lightbar.

Either way, theres no need for any additional accidents when there's an easy fix.

Let's make a difference!

Verve LED lightbar from Shreve PD Wayne Co. Ohio

As the title says, heres a video of the Verve LED Lightbar on a Crown Vic. Thanks for the video! We love the music and editing!!!

Lights and Sirens with Excessive Speeds

Have you ever been driving through an intersection with you suddenly hear sirens blaring and in the corner of your eye you see a flashing lightbar? I'm sure this has happened on a few occasions to most of you reading this. And most of the time this happens its not big deal. Either you continue through the intersection or you stop to let the police car (or any emergency vehicle) go by.

Lets take a look at this situation from the police officer's (or any public safety responder's) point of view. You're responding to an emergency with your lights on and about to come up on an intersection, you activate your siren. Do you slow down? Do you come to a stop before entering the intersection? That car doesn't stop for you. So you better stop for it!

Its very important to have a standard lights and siren approach. It seems unfair to the public for police cars to respond to an emergency using excessive speeds. But what defines excessive speeds? Does your city, state, town or county have a maximum speed that you can drive while responding to an emergency? Are you required to come to a stop when approaching an intersection that has a stop sign or red light? At what point are you required to activate your siren?

While working EMS, I witnessed a near crash of two police cars that were both responding to the same emergency. The two police cars approached the intersection at the same time and nearly collided. What if there had been a pedestrian crossing the road?

Lights and sirens are a tool used to make response times quicker. Unfortunately, once they are activated, there seems to be an adrenaline surge which causes the driver to hit the pedal a bit harder.

Please keep the roads safe and protect yourselves while saving others.

(Please note that this article geared towards all public safety personnel and not specifically towards police officers)

Move Over Law - Creating a Buffer Zone for Police Officers (and Others)

After driving through a few states that I haven't driven through before, I noticed that cars were moving over into the left lane when coming up on a police car doing a traffic stop. Having worked as a paramedic in the past, I've always done this but very rarely saw other cars doing the same. It got me thinking: Are there states that have a law requiring drivers to move away from the nearest lane of the traffic stop?

I found an article from the Chicago Tribune about this topic (State police target drivers who don't yield to Scott's Law for emergency workers

While some drivers are upset after getting ticketed, the author of the article makes it clear: " The best advice is to be alert for flashing lights and steer clear of trouble." My only concern is that while local drivers should be aware of this law, drivers from out of state may not be aware of this law leading to unnecessary tickets. I think there should be signs posted at the entrance to the state.

Overall this is a great law that will reduce public safety deaths!

Abusing the Right to Use Lights and Siren (or maybe we should say "Illegal Use")

Being an supplier of lights and sirens, we are troubled with the way lights and sirens are abused. It may be a government official without the proper authorization, a "wannabe" police officer, or a volunteer EMT/Firefighter using there lights when they arent responding to a call. It can even be a police officer using it to get back to the station after a long shift.

Each case is wrong! This should not be happening! There needs to be stricter laws/guidelines stating who can use a light, does it need to be a lightbar, or when can it be used.

The above video is an example of a county government official using a single dashlight to get through traffic! This is just unfair. Its unfair to the others sitting in traffic and its even more unfair to everyone in his vacinity being that he was putting them all at risk.

Lets all use our LED lightbars or dash lights only when they are needed and only when they're allowed to be used by law!

Customer Video on Mini Verve LED Lightbar

I came across this video and you all know how much we love showing off our customers photos/videos...so here's a video of the Mini Verve in a daytime shot. Hope you all enjoy!

Grandma Kessler Passes Away - July, 6th 2008

Today, my Grandma Kessler passed away. She was a great person and a fighter. We will miss her very much!

Happy Fourth of July!

Beautiful video to remind us what July 4th is all about! Enjoy the weekend.

Police Pursuit '09 Camaro Concept Unit 1:18 "Outfitted" with LED Lighting

I've always thought that model cars are "OK" but after seeing this one, I would say that done right, they are awesome! This Police Pursuit '09 Camaro Concept was fully outfitted in the front with an LED dash light, wig wags, red/blue alternating fog lights. In the back, this police car has two headliner mounted deck lights, and alternating tail lights. The only thing thats missing is side warning (but then again, its just a model car:)

Heres the video:Model Police Car

Red Light Cameras

Living in New York City, I can tell you that there are new red light cameras going up everyday. For all those that don't know what a red light camera is, they're the cameras that will take a picture of your license plate if you run a red light.

While much can be said that no one should be driving through a red light, I find that there are times when I end up on the middle of an intersection as the light turns red. Usually caused by traffic (gotta love the big NYC!). The real issue I have is when I see the light turning yellow and I'm making the decision of if its safe to stop or should I proceed through the intersection, I find myself thinking "Is is one of those intersections with a red light camera?". This just makes no sense, because if the safest thing to do is proceed through the intersection, I should do it and not worry about a ticket.

So do these things really make the world safer? Or is it just a great way to increase revenue?

Check out this article, as it may change the way you think about these cameras:
Red Light Camera Article

Fire Truck Responding - Close Call

Wow! That was a close call. Luckily, everything worked out on that one. It could have been quite a mess - dealing with a structure fire and a rolled firetruck. All at the same scene! Use the lights and sirens but watch your speed.

Police Light Confusion - Is it Smart to Keep 'em On All The Time?

I just came across a great article written about police cars in Washington DC having a white light (not sure if this is a strobe, LED or halogen light) that is always turned on. The purpose is to allow citizens to find police easily at a time of need. The problem is the inconsistency. According to this article, only some police cars were using the white light (and others actually kept their full red/blue lightbars on, even when there is no emergency).

I like the idea of police cars being visible. I feel that the purpose of uniformed officers is to deter crime rather then catch the crime in the act. The other purpose is to be there when people need help.

Maybe a simple single flash of two lights in the front and back of the lightbar (with the primary response colors, but low key) would do the job.

For all those interested, heres the article: http://www.nowpublic.com/lights_camera_confusion_washington_dcs_
police_lights_problem