A full size LED light bar atop a police vehicle is something that is very difficult to miss if it's flashing at you. It is also very difficult to miss if we see it at the roadside or on the street. We immediately associate a flashing LED light bar with emergency, and that is quite correct.
There are hard and fast rules about how, when and why a police vehicle should or would have a flashing LED light bar. They cannot use them in any old situation or just as they feel. There are set guidelines that officers have to follow on when and how to use their LED light bar units. Authorized emergency vehicles have to have some form of light fitted, and most states insist on at least one red light visible 360-degrees at a distance of 1000 ft under normal conditions. Most states will stipulate also that emergency vehicles have an audible device that can be heard within 10 foot of the vehicle.
As each state rule will differ, so does the requirement for lighting. There is no single standard LED light bar so each police department may have different lighting on vehicles. In most states, the activation of emergency lights and siren will only be condoned in an emergency situation. Even then, in certain areas such as residential areas and school zones, the speed limit must be adhered to even when in an emergency situation. When responding to an emergency in some states officers are prohibited from travelling any faster than 20mph over the posted speed limit, even with flashing LED light bar and siren.
You may think you always see police vehicles with full LED light bar but this isn't the case. They will only deploy the siren and lights when responding to an emergency. When we see a police car speeding down a street with LED light bar flashing and the siren blaring, we probably don't realize it is only doing so because they need to get to a scene quickly. The safest way to get to any emergency for a police car is to try to clear the road ahead by using lights and siren.
In effect, the use of a LED light bar is to warn us of the vehicles approach and to inform us that they need to pass us quickly. Likewise, if there is an accident ahead on a road, you will see the LED light bar used to advise traffic with the use of arrows and flash patterns. The lightbars on the market today are highly sophisticated and can give a variety of different light options. Many of the units contain the traffic advisor lights, alley lights and take down lights, and such units are invaluable to police vehicles.
The next time you see flashing LED light bar on a police vehicle or hear a siren wail streets away, don't sigh and say "not again". In such a situation think, "someone is in need of assistance". If you or a family member were in trouble or danger, you would welcome the sight of the flashing LED light bar and sound of the siren approaching. Safety of our police officers is paramount, how else can they protect and serve us if they cannot proceed safely to assist us
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