Why ambulance is white in colour

You can often see a directional bar of amber lights built into the lightbar on modern law enforcement vehicles, used to divert traffic either to the left or right around a traffic stop.

While rarely used alone, white emergency lights do sometimes appear in conjunction with other lights on a vehicle, such as in the lightbars of police cruisers. School buses are required to sport flashing white beacons in some areas, and one may see them on postal delivery trucks or other government vehicles as well. You may also see white lights as a signal on vehicles associated with railroads. Green is a recent addition to the spectrum of emergency lights, and typically denotes a vehicle serving a Homeland Security or infrastructure-related function.

The appearance of a green light on a vehicle often serves to indicate that the organization in question is involved in protecting a structure or area from potential terrorist attack.

Traditionally, purple lights indicate a hearse or funeral procession, although as indicated previously, this is not universal, and one may see other colors on such vehicles instead.

At present, countries operate different coloured ambulances - Germany's are salmon pink, Denmark's are Euro yellow, and France's road traffic accident ambulances are red, for instance - and the differences have led to confusion. In Britain, the ubiquity of the white van has also meant that, despite their distinctive sirens, ambulances are not always instantly recognisable.

The colour change is a recommendation of a working group on the European committee of standardisation, which has been considering how to make ambulances as instantly recognisable as possible throughout the continent.

Drawing on research it commissioned, the group found that the human eye's response to a particular hue reaches a peak with the colour "Euro Yellow RAL ". The colour is also distinctive since it is rarely used for other vehicles.

Keith Nuttall, chief executive of the Royal Berkshire ambulance NHS trust, and one of three representatives of the British ambulance service on the group, said that the recommendations - which include paramedics wearing the British uniform of a green squad suit and green and yellow high visibility jacket - would go ahead if they were accepted by the committee and the British Standards Institute, which will adopt them on behalf of the UK.

Having white ambulances reflect sunlight on a sunny day better than any other shade and hue, making it more visible for other drivers on the road. Highlights, such as yellow and white, make roadside ambulatory work safer and more distinguishable. Such easily recognizable vehicles create a less risky clinical environment for first responders.

Paramedics and ambulance medical crew who provide care to the critically ill casualty can operate in peace and relative safety. In conclusion, the colors designated for ambulances are usually white or yellow because of the safety benefits and easy identification. In the pre-hospital and ambulatory field, our medical work involves being responsive and performing quick interventional first aid.

Time is often of the essence, so white and yellow pigments surely complement this end. Panic may not be the best descriptive term to use, but the crew must keeps… Read More. Categories: Uncategorized.