Improving The Visibility Of Emergency Vehicles

The importance of addressing vehicle characteristics and human factors to help positively affect the safety of emergency workers operating along the nation’s roadways is starkly established by first responders’ morbidity and mortality experience. Over the past decade, numerous law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS workers were injured or killed in roadside crashes throughout the United States.

Previous studies conducted across the United States and in other countries suggest that steps to improve emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity hold promise for enhancing first responders’ safety when exposed to traffic both inside and outside their response vehicles (e.g., patrol cars, motorcycles, fire apparatus and ambulances). A recent study conducted by the U.S. Fire Administration explored commercially available vehicle conspicuity products with the goal of increasing their use in helping to enhance emergency vehicle visibility and roadway operations safety for both emergency responders and the general public. Features such as retroreflective striping and chevrons, high visibility paint, built-in passive lighting and other reflectors were examined.

Key Findings
Some of the key findings from the U.S. Fire Administration’s report are as follows:

• The increased use of retroreflective materials holds great promise for enhancing the conspicuity of emergency vehicles.
• Both visibility and recognition are important facets of emergency vehicle conspicuity.
• The use of contrasting colors can assist drivers with locating a hazard amid the visual clutter of the roadway.
• Fluorescent colors (especially fluorescent yellow-green and orange) offer higher visibility during daylight hours.
• There is limited scientific evidence that drivers are “drawn into” highly visible emergency vehicles.
• It is theoretically possible to “over-do” the use of retroreflective materials and interfere with drivers’ ability to recognize other hazards.

Opportunities For Improvement
In addition to the key findings, the report cited the following opportunities for improvement:

• Outline vehicle boundaries with contour markings using retroreflective material, especially on large vehicles.
• Concentrate retroreflective material lower on emergency vehicles to optimize interaction with approaching vehicles’ headlamps.
• Consider (and allow) the use of fluorescent retroreflective materials in applications where a high degree of day-/night-time visibility is desired.
• Use high-efficiency retroreflective material to improve conspicuity while reducing the amount of vehicle surface area requiring treatment.
• For law enforcement vehicles, retroreflective material can be concentrated on the rear to maintain stealth when facing traffic or patrolling.
• Apply distinctive logos or emblems made with retroreflective material to improve emergency vehicle visibility and recognition.

A PDF of the full report, which concludes with a call for additional research into the subject matter, can be downloaded at usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ fa_323.pdf.

Source: U. S. Fire Administration