The history and development of mini lightbars
Mini lightbars were developed from the need for emergency vehicles to be able to advertise their presence. They were a direct descendant of the siren and the old rotating beacon. The modern development of the led has made it a practical and low power option.
There are all sorts of reasons that emergency vehicles want Mini lightbars. Mostly it is to do with making certain that the emergency vehicle is seen by other motorists who will take the appropriate action. The action required by vehicles in front of an ambulance or police vehicle is usually to pull to the side of the traffic lane and slow down thus allowing the emergency vehicle to pass.
How did these develop? Well, way back before there were any such thing, police cars, ambulances and fire trucks had no way of clearing the traffic in front of them. Fire trucks were the easiest and they tended to be big, red and had a clanging bell. Oh how the firemen enjoyed watching the people and cars scurrying out of the way. Pretty soon the police and ambulance men also wanted a similar ability so the siren got adapted. But sirens, while making noise, did not actually show the emergency vehicle so they knew they needed more. This was the first step in the development of Mini lightbars.
The next step was to use lights to attract attention. Great idea! Red lights for Ambulances and fire trucks as they really were emergencies and then the police gad for years used blue so automatically a blue light for the police. It was also found that flashing lights were more effective than a steady light so the rotating beacon was developed. This became even better with the emergence of the halogen lamp. The rotating reflector inside a colored dome became standard. Road services vehicles, such as construction crews, street sweepers and garbage trucks also needed an alert so they chose Amber and pretty soon that developed into a standard. Mini lightbars were just a step away.
The odd thing about flashing lights is that the more the better for attracting attention. Pretty soon 1 beacon became 2 and then they got joined together and mounted on a single bar. 2 became 4 and so on. A white light shining forward was a useful especially if its beam could be directed. Then the police cars started using red as well as blue and the full, old style lightbar came into common use with a few rotating beacons all mounted on one assembly. But this was very power hungry and could not be left on without draining the cars battery very fast. Mini lightbars do not have this problem.
The LED lightbar has now more or less totally taken over from the rotating beacon. They are narrow and don’t require domes as there are no moving parts, in addition the LED itself is the source of the color. And because of the electronics involved and very rapid on/off capabilities all sorts of patterns may be programmed. The old strobe beacons were typically just one color but leds have the color built in so can be arranged in arrays at will and be made to flash in any pattern desired. This has achieved the desired effect of Mini lightbars easily deployed on all sorts of emergency and service vehicles.
If one comes across a whole lot of blue and red flashing lights at the side of the road, be it in daylight or after dark one to slows down and exercises caution as it almost certainly is an incident ahead with police and possibly ambulances ahead. The Mini lightbars have achieved what they set out to do.
Extreme Tactical Dynamics is a one-stop shop for
Mini Lightbars and many other items like Flashlights, Deck Lights, police lights, etc. Please visit the site for more details of various items available – http://www.extremetacticaldynamics.com/
Processing your request, Please wait....
