Why do police leave their flashing lights on?

[mikebai1990]

I've often observed that after police catch people (speeding, car accident, driving violation, etc...) and pull them over, they always leave their lights and engine on. Why do they have to leave their engine and lights on? I can imagine that they leave their engine on in case the driver tries to run away, but I don't really understand the point of leaving the lights flashing. I believe that it is one of the major causes of rubbernecking on the highways. If you don't have the purple/blue/red lights blinding you as you drive past an accident, you probably wouldn't be so curious as to see what just happened. I think it would be better if they simply have their hazard lights on or something like that. What do you guys think?

 

[imported_DieselMDX]

for safety reasons the lights are there to let people know a person is on the BDL. You have no idea f how many people drive drunk or not paying attention almost hit trooopers all the time on the side of the road.



We always leave the motor running that way if we have to leave in a hurry we dont have to worry about the car not starting. Also have alot of things running on the car so if we shut the car off we could kill the battery





There is a also a switch u have to hit to beable to put the cruiser in drive

 

[JohnZ3MC]

for safety reasons the lights are there to let people know a person is on the BDL. You have no idea f how many people drive drunk or not paying attention almost hit trooopers all the time on the side of the road.



We always leave the motor running that way if we have to leave in a hurry we dont have to worry about the car not starting. Also have alot of things running on the car so if we shut the car off we could kill the battery





There is a also a switch u have to hit to beable to put the cruiser in drive

It all seems so logical. Good clarification.

Tell us about the location of the switch to put it in drive. Maybe include a pic of the switch, show us the on and off position, and mention if the switch's location is common in all cruisers.

I ask for future joy riding possibilities and future long accommodations in a small room with a roomie named 'Bubba'.

-John C.

 

[imported_DieselMDX]

It all seems so logical. Good clarification.

Tell us about the location of the switch to put it in drive. Maybe include a pic of the switch, show us the on and off position, and mention if the switch's location is common in all cruisers.

I ask for future joy riding possibilities and future long accommodations in a small room with a roomie named 'Bubba'.

-John C.

lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!! I worked in a jail also they are not ALL named Bubba!!

 

[Ctowner]

yo in dc cops constantly leave 2 lights flashing on their roof sirens. So f-ing annoying when I first moved to the city, I always thought that I was being pulled over whenever a chopper (cop) was behind me. I guess it just makes people more aware of their presence so people are more inclined to follow the rule of law. However it's kinda annoying

 

[jimmie jam]

It all seems so logical. Good clarification.

Tell us about the location of the switch to put it in drive. Maybe include a pic of the switch, show us the on and off position, and mention if the switch's location is common in all cruisers.

I ask for future joy riding possibilities :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl

 

[Joshua312]

What others said...For safety reasons. On even the sunniest day you can see cops a mile ahead who have someone pulled over. At night, even further. It also gives you a good reminder to slow down because there may be more close by



Trust me I have been pulled over plenty of times and the lights are embarrassing. But what makes me mad is when people dont get in the lane over when a cop has someone pulled over. That is just unsafe for the driver, the person pulled over, and the cop.

 

[paul34]

Yea. I'm not sure if its still the case, but I believe it actually is (was?) the law that you had to surrender the lane near the pulled over officer, or if that wasn't possible, then you had to slow to 20 or 30 mph below the speed limit.



Regardless, I still move over whenever possible because its just common courtesy (which is lost to many people). Along that line, if I'm on the highway, or even local multi-lane roads, I always surrender the left lane (if possible) to an officer coming up from behind. Technically that is their lane anyway.

 

[imported_Surfer]

What I'm curious of is why when I see people pulled over there area a couple squad cars, not one. And I live in an upscale area, last time I got pulled over, 3 other police cars showed up besides the one that pulled me over and they did othing but stand on the sidewalk? LOL

 

[BlackElantraGT]

What I'm curious of is why when I see people pulled over there area a couple squad cars, not one. And I live in an upscale area, last time I got pulled over, 3 other police cars showed up besides the one that pulled me over and they did othing but stand on the sidewalk? LOL

That happens in my town also. It's considered upscale compared to the surrounding areas, so there isn't much crime here. It's almost like they have nothing better to do. I hate driving in the middle of the night around my town because the cops will follow you around for no good reason and won't hesitate to pull you over the moment you make one tiny mistake.

 

[Marc Hufnagel]

It all seems so logical. Good clarification.

Tell us about the location of the switch to put it in drive. Maybe include a pic of the switch, show us the on and off position, and mention if the switch's location is common in all cruisers.

I ask for future joy riding possibilities and future long accommodations in a small room with a roomie named 'Bubba'.

-John C.

It's pretty obvious why they leave them on, and it's pretty obvious why you're not going to get an answer about the switch.

 

[Marc Hufnagel]

What I'm curious of is why when I see people pulled over there area a couple squad cars, not one. And I live in an upscale area, last time I got pulled over, 3 other police cars showed up besides the one that pulled me over and they did othing but stand on the sidewalk? LOL

Perhaps there was a wanted person in the car, perhaps it might have been in a bad area of town, or perhaps the person stopped has a notation of an extensive criminal history or known to be armed, combative with officers..

 

[imported_Yal]

The highway troopers here in NYC have even more lights, apart from the standard light roof light bar and such, they also have two hydraulic operated light sticks that they can make pop up on either side of their roof and stretch 6-8 feet into the air. Its pretty cool and you can see them miles away.

Some states now have rules that say you must merge into the next lane if a police officer has pulled someone over, if you don't you will be ticketed and fined.



Oh and yeah if you live in a good neighborhood the cops have nothing better to do. We had 5 squad cars, 2 ambulances and a fire truck show up for a neighbor who was having respiratory issues at her home, 2am It was impressive and I was actually happy to see the response.

 

[uzj100]

Hmmm, very interesting as in CA, the CHP gets as far out of the way as possible with some one they've pulled over and they turn OFF their overhead lights etc in order to be LESS disruptive to traffic flow--i.e. to discourage rubber necking. Also, drunk drivers seem to be fascinated by and are drawn to the flashing lights. Now in the cities it's a different story, seems the more lights flashing the better! And this seems to be peculiar to only the CHP as County Sheriffs seem to keep everything flashing on the fwy

 

[SpoiledMan]

Hmmm, very interesting as in CA, the CHP gets as far out of the way as possible with some one they've pulled over and they turn OFF their overhead lights etc in order to be LESS disruptive to traffic flow--i.e. to discourage rubber necking. Also, drunk drivers seem to be fascinated by and are drawn to the flashing lights. Now in the cities it's a different story, seems the more lights flashing the better! And this seems to be peculiar to only the CHP as County Sheriffs seem to keep everything flashing on the fwy

So, so true! The more lights flashing the more drunks you attract.

 

[uzj100]

Since in most instances the CHP can't use radar, guess they have to come up with new ways to catch speeders. Also, I've noticed more CHP motor officers lately--especially at night, which you hardly ever saw

 

[imported_Surfer]

Perhaps there was a wanted person in the car, perhaps it might have been in a bad area of town, or perhaps the person stopped has a notation of an extensive criminal history or known to be armed, combative with officers..

In boca Raton? Your talking like the 90210 or La Jolla of FL, far from a bad area lol. Like the other day I had to run to Office Depot and there was a younger lady pulled over with 3 cars and looks like they just wrote her a ticket b/c when I came out she left but they were still there.



Funny story, 2 years ago we had a huge X-Mas part at the house and had to borrow some friends tables. So the next day I packed them in my suv and took them back to his house. Now one of their son's was in at the aunt/uncles house in the back of the community. So I drove over there but nobody was home. As I'm driving through there's a Chevy Astro type van following me around every tunr. So I pull into somebodies driveway and just sit there going ***?!? He pulls into somebodies driveway couple houses down and does the same. At this point I'm ready to get out of the car and see what the hell this guys problem is. But I pulled back out and started to drive off to see if he'd follow again. As I get to the front of the entrance a total of 8 cop cars shoot out of nowhere (like straight out of movie) and surround me. Now I'm really like ***??!? One officer comes up and ask for my license and registration etc. So I'm sitting there and the other cops are just looking around the truck (told me to lower all the windows). Eventually I get asked to step out and the second I do they grab me and put me against my truck, funny part was the guy trying to put cuffs on me couldn't, so for some cocky reason I asked him if he'd like me to put them on myself lol. I honestly thought I was being punked or soemthing. Now they all start interrogating me asking the same stuff over and over, now I'm pissed, why the f' am I going to tell you again I just told the other officers the same story (dropping the tables off etc). They were being very cocky back to me saying my story was ******** and they knew what I did, so I got smart right back with them since answering their questions didn't help and they still didn't tell me what the hell I was being cuffed and questioned about.



Some lady pulls up and says "yes that's him". Again, ***?!?! Eventually the lead detective who happened to be nice came to me and asked what I was doing at the high school? Huh?!?!? Apparently somebody broke into the high school right there and tried to take some dvd players or something and this lady that pulled up saw them and they took off running towards this area. Finally I got him to check out the house literally a block away and told him where the tables were etc. They release me, they wouldn't go to the house before b/c they said "I made up the story" and I look suspicious driving around with a beanie on :rofl . Hello, it was about 38 degrees out and windy, friggen cold for South FL.



I find out the next day they captured the kids who broke in, that went to that high school. And this is not a racial take or anything, but both were black and about 6'5 (they were on the schools basket ball team). I'm 5ft 9" and Irish/Italian, yet I "matched' the description after the lady said "that's him". What is she friggen blind lol. I got a nice apology from the department when the Chief heard about it and knew who my family was. They were mainly rookie type cops that pulled me over.



All I could think of was they were looking for a tool box with tools that oculd be used to break in (screw driver etc). Luckily I cleaned my truck a few days earlier and forgot to put my emergency tool kit back in. If they found that, would've been an interesting night!



Don't have anything against cops, just those stupid rookies lol.

 

[boywonder]

for safety reasons the lights are there to let people know a person is on the BDL. You have no idea f how many people drive drunk or not paying attention almost hit trooopers all the time on the side of the road.



We always leave the motor running that way if we have to leave in a hurry we dont have to worry about the car not starting. Also have alot of things running on the car so if we shut the car off we could kill the battery





There is a also a switch u have to hit to beable to put the cruiser in drive

:werd: To further clarify what Diesel said....



Let's say that a CV P71 (Crown Vic Police Package) has this light bar on the top of it:

That light bar with the Arrow stick on the rear of it consumes 60 amps by itself because of the various moving parts. I have read that many PDs have to do a LOT of alternator replacements because of the severe draws on the alternators. That does not include the other electronics and lighting (e.g. Radio, computer, auxiliary lighting).



This is the reason why many police departments are switching to LED light bars and auxiliary lighting. The current draw on many LED bars is 1/4 (or less) of what the above bar is.

 

[boywonder]

I've often observed that after police catch people (speeding, car accident, driving violation, etc...) and pull them over, they always leave their lights and engine on. Why do they have to leave their engine and lights on? I can imagine that they leave their engine on in case the driver tries to run away, but I don't really understand the point of leaving the lights flashing. I believe that it is one of the major causes of rubbernecking on the highways. If you don't have the purple/blue/red lights blinding you as you drive past an accident, you probably wouldn't be so curious as to see what just happened. I think it would be better if they simply have their hazard lights on or something like that. What do you guys think?

One would think that, but you have to look at it from the cop's point of view. The reason they do that is mostly for increased visibility and safety. In Chicago, they have started switching light bars to Code 3 X 2100s from Whelen Edge Strobes because of the visibility. Illinois State Police have started using Code 3 X2100s over the old Code 3 MX series bars. Some jurisdictions use different LED bars (e.g. Whelen Liberty, Code 3 X2100, Tomar Blade, Whelen Edge LED, Federal Signal Arjent SL/S2) because the LED bars are actually brighter than their strobe and halogen counterparts.



Federal Signal Arjent:

Code 3 X2100:

Tomar Blade:

Whelen Liberty:

 

[mikebai1990]

The highway troopers here in NYC have even more lights, apart from the standard light roof light bar and such, they also have two hydraulic operated light sticks that they can make pop up on either side of their roof and stretch 6-8 feet into the air.

Ah! So that's how they get those light sticks raised into the air. I thought that highway troopers had to come out of their cars and put the lights on the roof. Interesting fact...

Some states now have rules that say you must merge into the next lane if a police officer has pulled someone over, if you don't you will be ticketed and fined.

How exactly would you get ticketed? If the police is busy writing up a ticket for someone else, I don't really think the police would be able to enforce this law.