NCJ Number
218301
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 66,68-72,74,75
Date Published
April 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article describes the benefits of LED lightbars for police vehicles and describes some of the LED lightbar products on the market.
Abstract
The article focuses on both mechanical and tactical reasons to make the change from strobe and halogen police vehicle lightbars to LED lightbars for police vehicles. Such reasons include low power draw from the vehicle battery, low maintenance, long service life, increased light output, and increased visibility and safety. The benefits of using LED lightbars on police vehicles also include their durability and the “trueness” of their colors. Many police departments chose to program LED lightbars to flash in varied patterns, which can indicate the type of police action occurring, such as a police pursuit versus controlling an intersection. Police departments across the country are seeing the benefit of LED lightbars and are slowly converting their lightbars as new inventory is ordered. The author describes several sources of LED lightbars and their products, including 911 EP Inc.’s Galaxy Series lightbars, Federal Signal Corp.’s ROC and Solaris LED reflector technology, SoundOff Signals, ETL-5000 lightbar, and Whelen Engineering Co.’s LFL Liberty SX Series LED lightbars. Features of the different lightbars are described and the author offers suggestions about what to consider when purchasing LED lightbars, such as the agency’s goals and objectives as well as the manufacturer’s reputation, service options, product life, warranties, and speed of service. Figures