(OT) Police car headlights

[Paintedcow]

Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but those lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his brights turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side view door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the window, and since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold last night, I was not going to open the window and adjust it, which still leaves the right mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than most. I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side window to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the shoulder to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time I've had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that blind me, and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

[Terry Coombs]

Better-than-even chance he had his brights on , attempting to induce you to do something he could cite you for . Had a Utah HP prick (no other word would do in this case) ride my ass with brights back a few (decades) , I decided more speed was in order . Lights came on as I passed 80 ... but he screwed up , I was out of the jurisdiction of the JP he was colluding with .

[Paintedcow]

Yep, I still think his brights were on. But rather than speed up, I slowed down, hoping he would pass me. I had been doing 50 in a 55 zone, and I slowed down to around 40. Of course I did not know it was a cop until he passed me. I would have pulled over sooner, but I knew that stop sign was not far ahead.

[bob haller]

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

[Ashton Crusher]

You are correct. They have become too bright, esp at night. Don't know how the lights are set up these days but when I used to spec light bars the good ones included an option to automatically dim them at night. I don't know if anyone uses that option anymore. The police aren't known for their consideration of others and in fact in some situations they want to blind you so you can't see them.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Oren:

None of that addresses the issues raised - and I agree that they are both too bright and too loud around here and have become their own hazard.

Also around here, the driving of those vehicles also seems to have become more hazardous..... admittedly just anecdotal observation, but I've seen responders go around a blind turn against a red light (risking certain death for whoever would have been unlucky enough to be in that head-on crash).... and observed the same 2 vehicles a few blocks later pulled over with the occupants doing nothing more than directing traffic.

Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

And now we have school buses with white strobe lights on the roof. These things are yellow and as big as a small house.... no problem seeing

*that*..... but there is something about a strobe light that forces people's eyes to flick over to it - sort of a involuntary reflex....not what I would call a good thing when drivers (already plenty aware of the school bus) have to be looking for other moving objects.

[Paintedcow]

Funny this was mentioned, becuse last week there was a local "holiday parade". They had the usual fire trucks and ambulances. When they went past me, I noticed the red and yellow LED lights on those vehicles were almost blinding.

[Ed Pawlowski]

While you have that opinion, many people still don't see or hear them. Most cars come with good sound systems and many people play them loudly. What would you suggest to overcome it other than be louder?

Evidently you see a lot more emergency vehicles than I do. Maybe one a month? I don't care how bright and loud they are as long as it works.

[Gordon Shumway]

One can only assume that you were blinded by their flashlights when you were being arrested. How inconsiderate of them. Tsk, tsk.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Ed Pawlowski:

First off, I would suggest that the operate more carefully.

Secondly - and I grant that this does not help any - I would observe that, for me, at least, the sound from most emergency sirens and horns comes across as non-directional. i.e. I know something is going on, but cannot determine where the sound is coming from.

Maybe this is the argument for louder and louder sounds - accepting the fact that people cannot locate the source, but trying to make as many people aware and, therefore, looking as possible.

OTOH, maybe beyond a certain volume, sound perceived from within a closed car becomes non-directional.... I wouldn't bet a paycheck on it, but I suspect that I can locate the location of a honking horn when I am driving.....

Maybe it's the logical thing to do.... But it's tough on unprotected pedestrians, cyclists, and people trying to sleep at 2 AM.... And it was not that way 50 years ago when the operators at the ambulance/fire club I used to hang out at had to log every use of the siren.

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

+1000 He's probably one of the ones that doesn't pull over.

[Tekkie®]

[e-mail] posted for all of us...

Why didn't you flag he or she down? A few taps on the horn would have sufficed. Maybe they have too much equipment in the back and their headlights need adjustment. Did you get the car #? Call the chief and discuss it with him. WE can't help you, only you can help yourself...

[Tekkie®]

(PeteCresswell) posted for all of us...

It's called traffic preemption. There is a acknowledgment sent back to the EV that the signal is giving them the green.

Unnecessary in my view. They were started so buses would be visible in fog. The gov't critters must have a BIL in the strobe light business. Censored

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

Oren, again, right on.

[Tekkie®]

Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us...

From operating and training on EV use, no lights or sirens are bright or loud enough. Some NYC f/f's have hearing problems from the siren mounted on the front bumper.

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

But he has RIGHTS!

[Tekkie®]

Gordon Shumway posted for all of us...

Good one! Now the flashlights have a strobe function on them-to disorient knuckleheads. Evidentially it's working on some of the posters...

[Tekkie®]

Terry Coombs posted for all of us...

Still could have cited you. Law of "Hot Pursuit" and fleeing and evading.

Gee how much time would it cost to just pull over and let the car pass? You have something to hide? That's what crack dealers do when they see a cop car they speed up and make infractions so they bring attention to themselves.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Oren:

Here's something form what *seems* like a credible source - which seems to downplay the utility of lights/sirens on EMS vehicles:

A few clips:

"There is an over reliance on the ambulance sirens to alert drivers of other vehicles to the presence of emergency vehicles. As a result, collisions occur every day with tragic outcomes. "

"A Department of Transportation report concluded that sirens will never become an effective warning device."

"The use of lights and sirens while transporting a patient has come under scrutiny many times over the years. While this seems to still be a come practice in the year 2010, many studies have shown that this is of little value in the patient?s outcome. Most of the research that has been completed on this issue dates back to the mid to late 1990s."

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

The cow wants to be milked...