Your vehicle’s lightbar has one primary purpose; warning other drivers of your presence and desire to clear the way so you can get to your call as quickly and as safely as possible.
While there are many lightbars on the market, there are a number of different technologies to consider. Warning always needs to be the primary consideration. Having an emergency warning system that doesn’t provide the warning you need means you’ll be sacrificing safety and performance just to save a few hundred dollars on your purchase.
It’s important to recognize that different users have different requirements, though. A high-end lightbar may not be necessary on a Fire department “bush” truck, for example. Those applications may be better served by spending budget money on scene lighting, since traffic clearing in the woods isn’t really a priority.
Here are some factors to consider when selecting a rooftop lightbar;
- Lightbar shape; What?? While most lightbars are a standard “linear” bar, for those customers whose main concern is clearing a path through dense traffic, you may want to consider the Federal Signal “Valor” lightbar. The Valor has a unique “V” shape that has been proven to project far more light to the critical 45 and 90 degree intersection angles than a traditional “linear” lightbar. Federal Signal has a patent on “non-linear” lightbars which is why you don’t see other manufacturers make them.
- Scene Lighting; as pretty much all LED lightbars can emit 2 or 3 colours out of each module, your lightbar can perform additional tasks such as Scene Lighting. The front and sides of the lightbar can be configured to have white light in them (in addition to Red and Blue, or whatever warning colours you require). This allows you to have a full-width front flood light function, as well as side-facing scene lights (often called “Alley” lights). This full-flood feature is a huge advantage in dark areas, and far exceeds the scene light capability of the traditional pair of whites to the front (“takedown” lights). The lightbar can also be programmed to flash white during response mode, so you get a combination of red (and/or blue) and white flashing light, which adds a significant amount of attention-getting high intensity light to your warning system.
- Directional Arrow; the rear of the lightbar can contain 6 or 8 amber modules that can function as a directional arrow. When the arrow is off, these modules will flash red/blue and then when you activate directional arrow the amber can override the red/blue.
- Incident Command lights; for our Fire (and a few Police) customers, the use of a green light on the Incident Commander’s vehicle is quite common. Green is used only on-scene, never en-route, and helps on-scene personnel quickly identify where the IC is located. This is particularly beneficial on large, complex scenes at night. With a multi-colour lightbar, it can be configured with a couple Green modules to front and back so you don’t need a secondary light on the roof for this purpose. It can all be contained in your lightbar.
- Serviceability; While no one likes to think of failures and issues with their equipment, it’s important to consider. Given that we in Canada have few service centers other than in urban areas, having your equipment easy to repair is a big benefit. Unlike other manufacturers who still use a central flasher board then pairs of wires routing through the bar to each light head, Federal Signal uses a patented “ROC” (Reliable Onboard Circuitry) system. ROC is a simple circuit board with the LEDs mounted directly on it, so there are only a few wires inside even the largest bar. Each board has a part number on it (as well as manufacture date, etc.) for easy reference if a replacement is to be ordered. To replace the board, the user removes the top dome of the lightbar, unplugs a single connector from the circuit board, then plugs in the new board. It’s simple and can be done by anyone who has even a very basic tool set.
- Re-use; this is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of LED warning equipment. Longevity of LEDs is a significant benefit to customers. While LED equipment is brighter and has more features (multi-colour, etc.) it can still be relatively expensive. However, it lasts MUCH longer without need for service. An LED lightbar should last you 10+ years. For Fire customers, a truck will often be in service for 10+ years so the bar is never re-used. However, for departments (especially Police) whose cars age out every few years, the ability to re-use your lightbar on the subsequent car is a huge money saver. Why throw it out if it’s working perfectly well and provides the functions you need? While lightbar domes (lenses) do eventually get hazed over due to weather exposure and road grit, some manufacturers have “refurb” kits that you can purchase. For a few hundred dollars, the kit provides new domes, new seals, and other parts. This “refreshes” your lightbar for its next service cycle, allowing you to keep your investment well beyond just one vehicle. This allows many agencies to justify a better lightbar, and then amortize that cost over 10 years or more. Getting a better lightbar will protect you more effectively the entire time, too.
In terms of other factors such as amp draw, warranty, etc., pretty much all lightbars are the same or nearly so. Damage to lightbars is inevitable; tree branches seem to jump out of nowhere, overhead doors get closed too early (or opened too late!) , and other factors can all damage your bar. It’s important to ensure you can get replacement parts; domes, chassis/frames, LED modules, etc. Availability of these parts from your dealer is also important as you don’t want to wait 6-8 weeks to get your vehicle back up and running.
A lightbar is your primary warning device on your car. If you’re going to spend money as an investment to your safety, a rooftop lightbar is definitely the place to do it.
