Historically, Virginia State Police only had blue lights on their vehicles, but researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found that red lights are more noticeable during the day.
“Particularly when the vehicle would appear against the sky, because the blue light would disappear against the sky,” said Ronald Gibbons, who led the VTTI study, which began in 2014. “The red really showed up.”
The study began in 2014 and was funded by the National institute of Justice. Researchers spent eight years analyzing which lights and markings on police vehicles would be most effective at getting drivers to slow down, and avoid a collision. The study was intended to help decrease accidents when officers are assisting a disabled vehicle on the highway or has pulled someone over.
The FBI reports that crashes involving cars is the single leading cause of death for police officers. State trooper Brett Southern survived one while on duty. “Every traffic stop’s dangerous,” Southern said. “I mean we’re six-eight inches away from traffic going by us at a minimum of 55 mph. So in the back of your mind, it’s every traffic stop.”
Southern was one of the officers who participated in the study, and researchers used his vehicle to collect data while he was in the field. He points out that roadside collisions often endanger non-officers too.
“And there’s nothing, nothing more rewarding or special about the job that we get to than saving lives,” said Zac Doerzaph, Executive Director of the VTTI.
Doerzaph said by simply adding red lights to police vehicles, drivers were shown to have about three more seconds of response time to avoid hitting an officer, a bystander, or another vehicle. He added that researchers also analyzed which combination of lights would be effective, without adding unintended consequences, like causing some drivers to become too anxious or distracted.
"The benefits are going to outweigh those potential unintended consequences," Doerzaph said.
Two years ago, Virginia State Police began adding red lights to their fleet. As older cars are replaced, new state police vehicles will have both red and blue lights, and some counties are also looking at making the shift.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
