Are Specifications of Signaling Systems for Emergency, School Bus, and Service Vehicles Adequate?

Abstract

Although accident data are limited, a review of the lighting requirements for special purpose vehicles including police, fire, ambulance, highway maintenance, and service vehicles, revealed that lighting systems for these vehicles are poorly specified. A lack of consistancy, rigor, and meaningfulness is evident both in legal specifications and current use of light signaling systems on emergency and non-emergency special purpose vehicles. Adoption of a proposed signaling scheme for special purpose vehicles is recommended. By nationwide implementation of such a scheme both consistancy and meaningfulness could be imparted to special purpose vehicular signaling. Rigor will have to be derived from research aimed at determining the proper parameters to produce conspicuous signal lights.