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If the blue light is approaching, you must move as quickly as possible (here everything must go to the emergency lane and make room for emergency vehicles). So why are blue lights blue? Is blue better than the world’s dominant red? So why is it blinking?
The answer is surprising: blue warning lights on police, rescue and fire trucks are an invention of our northern neighbors from their darkest times.
Blue as an idea of the Nazis
In the Third Reich, the Nazis immediately put Germany on the warpath. As early as 1933, police and later fire departments also had to switch from red warning lights to blue. Blue scatters more strongly in the atmosphere and is therefore great up close but difficult to see from attacking aircraft. During World War II, other countries followed the blackout strategy from 1939 onwards.
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Blue is better than red or green
Research says: Blue is much better than the globally preferred red, penetrates fog better and has slight advantages in bright sun. Red is also the natural warning color and was therefore first used as a taillight on trains, then in cars, and later as a warning light. But in daily traffic, it is precisely blue that stands out among the sea of red lights. In addition, color is not often found in nature and therefore immediately attracts our attention.
Yellow is the most conspicuous, but this is used by stationary or slow-moving hazards such as construction vehicles and is rarely used – the Spanish fire brigade uses it, for example. White would be perfect, but it’s already used too often (headlights) and therefore only as an additional light source, like flashing high beam (“bouncing light”). This one still remains green: difficult because it is common in nature and means “free travel” rather than “danger”. says. Thus creating a niche presence (e.g. outpatient clinics in South Korea).
By the way: In the USA, red is preferred despite various studies recommending blue. With local exceptions (e.g., the Ohio Highway Patrol), officials are especially reluctant to break with fire departments’ tradition. After all, blue is often the second color these days. In contrast, in Europe red is sometimes used as a secondary color (e.g. Hungary) or for specific functions (e.g. operations management).
Why is the blue light flashing?
It seems obvious to us that the warning lights are flashing. But this wasn’t always standard either. In California, a solid red light at the front is theoretically sufficient today, just as it was when warning lights began 100 years ago. Lights flashed at some points to draw attention to the increasing traffic. From the late 1940s, early manufacturers (e.g. Auer in Germany or Federal Signal in the USA) converted it into a rotating beacon with a rotating light. Starting in the 1980s, strobe and dual-strobe lights emerged. Advantage: no mechanics. Disadvantage: More difficult visibility in the sun. Today, blue lights use powerful LED technology. It’s so bright, in fact, that there’s now a night mode for dimming.
Switzerland and psychology
Later in this country additional blue lights were allowed at the front (front blinkers in the grille as “road cleaners”) or in the exterior mirrors. Solid blue lights instead of moving vehicles have only been allowed for safety purposes for a few years now, so our emergency vehicles have yellow flashing lights or at least additional indicators.
According to experts, we subconsciously perceive the emergency journey as more urgent, the faster the blue light flashes, the faster the lights flash. But not all warning lights are ever immune to something: Some drivers subconsciously feel so drawn to them that they gravitate towards them and crash into emergency vehicles like moths into a flashlight.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
