The Colour Of Fire Engines

[Elton]

I caught a bit of a news story tonight that said that there's to be a study conducted into what is the best colour for a fire engine in order that other road users see it.

 

This study is going to take two years!

 

I'll stick a fiver on 'red'

[Newt]

I took part in a study conducted by the US Coast Guard a few years ago to determine if it was easier to see an icebreaker with an international orange hull or a white hull on frozen or partly frozen ocean or lake.

 

I'm not sure who asked for the study though. I'm sure it wasn't us (the Coast Guard) since we did a good part of the boat spotting from our Orange helos flying off our Red-orange painted ice breakers.

 

To no one's amazement it did turn out that orange or red-orange was easier to see than white.

[DJMCJERICO]

And how much is that going to cost us?

 

I'l match your fiver and raise you a fiver that it will be realtree or red, but a different shade of red and all the fire engines will have to be painted again and nobody will notice the difference!

 

Time is of the essance with fire and we all know red is quicker

[Vagabond]

we all know red is quicker

 

Yep, even Sleppy (the local village lad who was an example of "why cousins should't marry") knew that.

 

Came out with "Sam Fossick down The Brook's got a new motybike. it dunnarf goo - its a red one"

 

Another of his gems was that the Canadian soldiers fished the local manor-house ponds during the war "using angling aids"

 

Will let you think about that one...

 

BTW When I was a kid, our local fire engine was dark green. It has now been bought by a private owner and restored to "as new" condition

[Guest Jan V]

Never seen anything but red fire engines. Never occured to me they would be any color but that. But then again, as a child I thought all police cars were white with red flashing lights. Found out that didn't stand true in the many different places I have lived or visited.

[ayjay]

A similar study was conducted some years ago for cars, I seem to remember that yellow was deemed to be the most visible colour.

[RobStubbs]

I'd recon red as well. Did they say how many millions will be spent on it ? And what about the following equally complex questions - what is the best colour for buses, should they be allowed to be similar to fire engines (what if we get them confused ? ). I think I'm going to submit a study proposal - I'll do it in one year for half the fire engine study costs

 

Rob.

[Elton]

I really need to find the article. One of my first thoughts was about the cost, too.

 

Probably find the person leading the study will get an OBE for 'Services To Fire Engine Colouration' at the end of it

[Brian Carragher]

The Home Office conduct these study's on a regular basis as there is evidence to suggest that the main identifying colour recognition can change in a generation. It's not too long ago that a fire engine was painted purple as an experiment as a means of making it stand out from other traffic. Green Goddess' were the mainstay of the fire service for a long time and have until recently been used as a back up to fire cover

 

Next time you have a fire engine coming towards you at high speed, just have a look in your rear view mirror and see what colour the tender is now. It won't be red, the majority of tenders now have white cabs on them with just a splash of red as that colour combination is the most visible to drivers and avoids confusion with other large road users. It's for that reason that most van and light goods vehicles do not come in red as a standard colour as insurance statistics seem to suggest that red as a colour is involved in more crashs (per ratio) than other colours.

 

Next time you go past a fire station have a look at the range of colours and combinations on the tenders and you will see how they have evolved over the years. Steve Coppollo on the sea forum will have first hand experience of this as he's employed by the LFB

[poledark]

Vagabond..."boom boom"

 

Den

 

PS, bangers wrapped in clay