Citation

Terry T, Fitchett V, Gibbons RB. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2020; 144: e105662.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2020.105662

PMID

32622156

Abstract

More than 1500 U.S. law enforcement personnel fatalities occurred from 2007 to 2016, with 39 % of these related to automobile crashes. This study looked at various types of lighting on police vehicles to determine if changes made to the visibility of a police vehicle can impact the surrounding traffic behavior and increase safety for both law enforcement and the general public. Unmarked and marked police vehicles were positioned behind a civilian vehicle on the shoulder of five different multi-lane highways in Virginia, simulating a routine traffic stop. The data collected indicated that more lighting and the use of red in a light bar impact traffic behavior in terms of merging and speed when passing a police vehicle. The benefits may be attributed to the symbolic influence of red as denoting a different type of emergency than a traffic stop in addition to red's chromatic contrast against the blue sky during the daytime.

Language: en

Keywords

Human factors; Law enforcement; Visibility; Emergency lighting; Merges; Move-over; State police; Traffic behavior