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Front Warning Lights On Apparatus

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I often wondered the same, why have lights on the cab of large vehicles. I put this out there, it offers better 360 visibility. If an engine is working a scene on the highway, and is blocking a lane, the cars 100, 200m back in traffic can see that there is scene set up. Also, if there is a line of vehicles, say at a traffic light, or just volume on the highway, having the lights above the traffic might be enough for the people in the front of that line of cars some indication that there is an emergency vehicle in the back trying to make their way through. This is assuming that 1) the hear the vehicle and 2) they are paying attention to the environment around them (ie. looking in their rear view mirror occasionally). The reality is that people don't pay attention, they have the radio cranked, or the cell phone in hand and you need that extra warning (lights/siren/horn) to get their attention when you are right behind them.

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Red has the longest wavelength, lowest energy and lowest frequency at measured value of between 675-750 nanometers while blue has a much higher energy, higher frequency and shorter wave length at between 510 to 430 nanometers.

What this means is that one sees blue much quicker because it travels faster with more cycles per second than red, at a greater energy. In addition, it has been noted many times that the human eye sees the color green the best (meaning there are the most defined shades of green), the color blue is closer to the color green on the electromagnetic spectrum.

All this information is based off of the assumption that the equation C(speed of light in meters per second)=V(frequency in hertz)/Lambda(wavelength in meters) is how one determines wavelenght.

Blue doesn't "travel faster" than red, anymore than blue travels farther than red. It's light. It travels at the speed of light. It's a constant (hence the "C" in e=mC squared). That's the whole point. Otherwise things like this and this wouldn't happen.

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I generally have the same response from vehicles when I approach them in this old pig, as I do in my regular rig.

The only difference, is that the old Mack is slower. I do not need people to pull over sooner, it will only encourage my Engineer to drive faster. That may be a training issue, but the reality is that a $10k light package won't get me there faster or safer just because people see me from a further distance. I have found that when people yield too far ahead, it only encourages other cars to cut in and try to get in front of me, which only makes for more confusion.

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Hey... while the Mack may be old, do you have to call it a pig?!? lol

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Blue doesn't "travel faster" than red, anymore than blue travels farther than red. It's light. It travels at the speed of light. It's a constant (hence the "C" in e=mC squared). That's the whole point. Otherwise things like this and this wouldn't happen.

I miss spoke, I should have not included the word quicker. The light does not travel faster as you pointed out, it is just that because it is higher in energy and frequency the human eye sees blue light better and at a higher intensity than red.

Edited by bvfdjc316

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Here's a photo of a rig that is an example of Warning Lights and Siren "OVERKILL" (yes - even the roto ray is too much)

post-80-1234566840.jpg

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Here's a photo of a rig that is an example of Warning Lights and Siren "OVERKILL" (yes - even the roto ray is too much)

You can't count any of the MONSTER RIGS from Mount Horeb.... they are just INSANE

Example: One, of Two Similar "Pumpers" Taken from www.fdmh.org/

post-3766-1234567908.jpg

Edited by EFFP411

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The Rescue has four Q2B3's, two chrome Bells and four Mars lights....OMFG

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Check out their AMBULANCE. it only has one Q though...

Rescue 40

Edited by Slayer61

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Holy hell look at the size of their Ambulances... puts Plattekill to shame... not that I wouldnt want to rock that through the Burgh or anything...

Edited by EFFD4091-MLSS emt

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That thing looks absolutely ridiculous, how can they even fill all of that space?

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