How Does Aspirin Find a Headache? by David Feldman

Author:David Feldman [Feldman, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Published: 2009-10-13T05:00:00+00:00

If there is any reason why waiters might prefer cash, it might have to do with three letters—IRS. Obviously, tips put on credit cards leave a paper trail; increasingly, the IRS is trying to find ways to chase after undeclared income from workers who derive most of their money from tips.

Submitted by Maria Scott of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Why Do Beacons on Police Cars Flash Blue and Red Lights? Why Are the Blue Lights on the Passenger’s Side and the Red Lights on the Driver’s Side?

Police work is serious business. We’ve always wondered why officers in fast pursuit of bad guys flash two-tone signals from their beacons. We called many big-city police departments to find out who their color consultant was.

We quickly discovered that there is no national law specifying the colors on police car beacons. Yet in practice, the choices are few. A law enforcement information specialist at the National Criminal Justice Reference Library who wished to remain anonymous told Imponderables that at the time when red and blue lights were chosen for most police department beacons, high-intensity lights were not in use. So there was a practical advantage to using two colors—blue was easier to see during the day, and red was more clearly discerned at night.

From time to time, there have been attempts to make yellow (the easiest color to observe from long distances) the official color of beacons throughout the United States, but the expense and effort of defying tradition and passing the legislation have killed such attempts. A federal regulation would cause disruptions in states like Pennsylvania, which have laws designating the color of beacons (in this case, blue and red for police). And opponents argue that yellow flashing lights would be confused with construction or street lights.

Blue was probably chosen initially for its long association with police (e.g., blue lights in front of police stations, blue uniforms), and because of its high daylight visibility. And red has long been a symbol of warning and danger, and a signal to stop. Police departments in Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City all use the red and blue beacons. Chicago and the Virginia State Police, on the other hand, have switched from red and blue to all-blue beacons.

Several of the police officers we contacted argued that blue is the most effective color for beacons because no other emergency service uses it (both firefighters and ambulances use red beacons, and most construction and emergency transport cars employ yellow or amber). According to Bill Dwyer, of beacon manufacturer Federal Signal Corporation, big-city police departments, in particular, tend to prefer blue beacons, because the color distinguishes them from the many other emergency vehicles. And no other emergency vehicle features a two-colored beacon.

Why is the red light on the driver’s side? We received the same answer from everyone, but Officer Romero, of the Los Angeles Police Department, put it best:

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