TIME Task Force Welcomes You!
Welcome to the TIME Task Force blog. Lets start talking about Incident Management.
7 Responses to “TIME Task Force Welcomes You!”
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Welcome to the TIME Task Force blog. Lets start talking about Incident Management.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
December 14th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Every member of the TIME Task Force is invited to contribute to this blog. Virtually no topic is off-limits, as long as it is relevant to the focus of TIME - keeping metro Atlanta’s roads open and safe.
At our last TIME Board meeting, Major Dan Branch of Gwinnett County PD mentioned a study about the use of lights on emergency vehicles - especially police cars - that provided real data to support the importance of “blue light discipline.” Essentially, installing more lights (especially of different colors) on vehicles leads to more collisions, not less. The study mentioned a “carnival effect” that draws drivers toward the lights, rather than warning them away.
In the last few days I have experienced this “carnival effect” while driving on the Downtown Connector. In two or three spots there have been police vehicles on the right shoulder, assisting stalled motorists or investigating accidents. Traffic has been slowed to almost a standstill until we’re all past the bright lights. A couple of the police vehicles have almost been sideswiped.
Blue light discipline seems to be a vital part of first responder safety, but it doesn’t seem to be widespread. We asked Major Branch to present this study at the next TIME Task Force Quarterly Meeting (date and location to be announced shortly). We hope all of you can join us to learn more about it. In the meantime, your opinions and comments about blue light discipline and responder safety are welcome. Welcome to the TIME Blog!
December 18th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Monica, while I do not question your attention being drawn to an emergency vehicle with warning lights in operation, I would be cautious in depicting your attention being drawn based on the color of the lenses, suggesting blue does not have the same effect. This issue is not a new one and there are several legitimate studies that support the use of various colors to compensate for day-night blindness, visual acuity based on color recognition by the optic system and creation of a “strobe” effect as a means to attract attention. With that said I believe the effect you describe is not color oriented but more the “moth to light” scenario where vehicle operators subconsciously steer towards the light source regardless of color. If you or Major Branch are aware of another study that refutes the aforementioned please forward me that information. Many thanks,
Ric Moss, Chief of Police
Woodstock Police Department
January 4th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Monica, In addition I would like to add that there have been studies to show that red and blue lights have a drawing effect whereas they tend to be hynotic and draw the person to them. The studies have shown where at least one amber light has a breakup effect and in addtion gives depth perception. This is why you see most all new light bars with at least one amber light on them. They can be ordered without them, but it at request of the purchasing body. This includes fire equipment, if you ahve seen a new fire truck recently, you will notice that they have an amber light on one corner of the truck in the rear for the same reason mentioned above.
On another note that is somewhat related, I saw a story on TV where in Europe they have been testing white noise (the static sound you heard on old TV’s when the station went out) in place of the current sirens (wail, yelp, & pier). They have found that the white noise can cut through even the most sound proof cars with top of the line stereo systems from a greater distance then most current siren systems. This has allowed them to reduce the amount of lights on their cars for attention when in pursuit or running emergency as it gets the drivers attention quicker and allows them to get out of the way. This does not help when stationary as the above discussion is reffering to. The draw back or con has been that it has been affecting the low pitch hearing of the officers and they have had to go to wearing headsets with microphones while driving. A major set back that is still being looked at as the test as only been in operation a little over a year. If I see more on it I will pass it on
January 11th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hey bloggers, don’t call me by my real name! But this is a great beginning. What else (incident management-related) would you like to discuss? I’m sure we could get tons of entries if the topic were the virtues of the BCS vs. a collegiate football playoff system, but there are plenty of blogs about that.
Firedog, I don’t think I could easily associate white noise with a speeding emergency vehicle. White noise reminds me of the film “Poltergeist.” What do local responders think?
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