Emergency vehicles such as police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks often have various colored flashing lights installed on them. One color that is becoming increasingly common on these vehicles is purple. But what exactly do these purple emergency lights mean and why are they used?
The Meaning of Purple Emergency Lights
Purple emergency lights serve a couple of key purposes on emergency vehicles:
- Memorial Lights – Purple lights are often used as memorial lights to honor fallen first responders. They may be permanently installed on vehicles to pay tribute to officers, paramedics, or firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
- Funeral Processions – Purple lights may also be temporarily installed on vehicles participating in funeral processions for fallen first responders. This helps identify the vehicles in the procession.
- Cancer Awareness – The color purple is associated with cancer awareness, especially cancers that impact first responders such as lung cancer. Purple lights demonstrate support for cancer patients and research.
- Alert Signal – In some cases, purple lights serve as an alert signal to complement the standard red, blue, and white emergency lights. The purple color stands out and adds an extra visual cue.
Why Are Purple Lights Used on Emergency Vehicles?
There are a few key reasons why emergency vehicles utilize purple lighting:
- Unique Color for Special Meaning – The purple color is distinct and uncommon on emergency vehicles compared to red, blue, and white lights. This makes the purple lights easily recognizable as signifying memorials, funerals, or cancer awareness rather than standard emergency response.
- Increased Visibility – Studies have shown that purple LED emergency lights are highly visible even in bright daylight conditions. The unique color makes them stand out compared to other colors.
- Honoring Tradition – There is a long tradition of using purple on emergency vehicles to honor fallen personnel dating back to the late 1990s. This tradition continues today across police and fire departments.
- Cancer Support – As cancer awareness and support has become an important cause among first responder organizations, the color purple has been increasingly embraced to recognize these efforts.
When are Purple Emergency Lights Used?
There are some key situations when purple emergency lights are likely to be seen:
- Police Processions – Police vehicles often activate purple lights when participating in processions for fallen officers, such as funerals or memorial transports.
- Fire Truck Dedications – Fire trucks may use purple lighting when driving to dedicate a new fire station to a fallen firefighter. The lighting honors their sacrifice.
- Ambulance Cancer Awareness – Ambulances may shine purple lights during cancer awareness month or while participating in events to support cancer patients and research.
- First Responder Funerals – Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances may all incorporate purple lighting to be part of funeral processions for fallen first responders.
Purple Lighting Laws and Regulations
Though many emergency vehicles use purple lights, the laws governing their use varies by state. Here are some examples of state laws regarding purple emergency lights:
| State | Purple Lighting Laws |
|---|---|
| California | Purple lights permitted on emergency vehicles to honor fallen personnel |
| Florida | Purple lights allowed only for funeral processions of law enforcement officers |
| Illinois | Use of purple lights prohibited without authorization |
| New York | Purple lights limited to volunteer emergency vehicles |
As the above laws demonstrate, certain states only allow purple emergency lights for specific purposes such as funerals, while other states have broader allowances. Check your local laws to understand regulations in your region.
Uniformity and Standards
While purple emergency lights are increasingly common, there are no set universal standards on their use. However, some common principles and practices have emerged:
- Purple lights are often placed in similar locations as other emergency lights, such as light bars, grills, and rear windows.
- LED bulbs are most common for purple lighting due to brightness, efficiency, and longevity.
- Steady burning purple lights are preferred to flashing lights which can be disorienting.
- Brighter purple lights are used for daytime/outdoor use, while softer purple lighting may be used for evenings.
- Brighter lights placed higher on vehicles provide the farthest visibility.
While specific protocols vary between regions, following basic principles can help ensure purple emergency lights are used safely and effectively.
Examples of Purple Emergency Lights Usage
Purple emergency lights can be seen on many types of vehicles and for various symbolic purposes:
- Police Cars – Steady burning purple LED light bars to honor fallen officers.
- Fire Engines – Soft purple lighting on the sides during cancer awareness month.
- Ambulances – Large roof mounted purple lights to identify hospital cancer center vehicles.
- Police Motorcycles – Purple undercarriage neon tubes as part of funeral escort processions.
These examples illustrate the diverse ways purple emergency lights can be installed and used on public safety and rescue vehicles to convey special meaning.
Conclusion
Purple emergency lights serve important symbolic purposes on police, fire, EMS, and other public safety vehicles. Whether honoring fallen personnel, showing cancer support, or designating funeral processions, purple lights convey unique meaning. This distinctive use has led to growing purple lighting use, though regulations vary by state. Following basic principles of placement and lighting type can ensure purple lights are easily recognized and safely utilized as their prevalence continues to increase.