It is quite evident that light bars have emerged to be the clear choice as warning lights in police vehicles. Other active visual warning devices like single or double roof mounted beacons, and information matrix signs, are less used in police vehicles these days, while passive visual warning devices like high visibility markings or bold lettering find extremely limited use.
It is obvious that a light bar, especially a LED light, is the winner from the point of view of its visibility factor, and user conveniences. And because manufacturers come up these days with plenty of options in sizes, shapes, and color combinations, there is no dearth of availability of light bars as well.
So it appears that all users need to do is select a good light bar and selecting may not appear to be a daunting task on the face of it. But LED light bars are expensive, though its utility value is high. To make the investment worth it, the individual buyer, or the department, has to evaluate the suitability of the lightbar to the purpose at hand and its long term cost effectiveness.
The first thing to consider in a light bar is the length of its life. LED light bars have a long life and manufacturers are ready to give a warranty of even up to ten years for some LED lights. In reality, many of these last more than that. Some LED lights have a life of even 100,000 hours and if the user is likely to use it for that long, the investment would be worth it.
But will the vehicle, on which the light bar is fitted, live that long? The peak performance period of a motor vehicle is likely to be over long before that. Private vehicles may be used even after its peak performance period is over, but police vehicles need to be very fast and in the best of conditions for the police to do their job satisfactorily. So police vehicles essentially have a short life span. Once the vehicle is pensioned off, what will happen to the light bar on it that is still young and many years of active service in front of it?
The cost effectiveness of a LED light bar in such a situation would depend upon how the department would use it. If the lights on a vehicle that is past its prime will be shifted to a new one, the investment will be cost effective. But if the concerned department does not have that policy and the light bars would go into oblivion together with the host vehicle, the deal may not be worth it. In such cases, it might be better to have lightbars that uses halogen technology, which will be cheaper and has a shorter life.
The size and quality of a light bar should also be proportionate to the use to which it will be put. Crowded cities with partying crowds where DUI driving and crime rate are higher, high performance lightbars will be necessary round the clock for police vehicles. As against this, police vehicles plying in sparsely populated areas would require only smaller light bars with lesser light output. In short, the user's requirements, and the way in which he can conserve its light output, will decide the suitability of a light bar for a vehicle.
It is obvious that a light bar, especially a LED light, is the winner from the point of view of its visibility factor, and user conveniences. And because manufacturers come up these days with plenty of options in sizes, shapes, and color combinations, there is no dearth of availability of light bars as well.
So it appears that all users need to do is select a good light bar and selecting may not appear to be a daunting task on the face of it. But LED light bars are expensive, though its utility value is high. To make the investment worth it, the individual buyer, or the department, has to evaluate the suitability of the lightbar to the purpose at hand and its long term cost effectiveness.
The first thing to consider in a light bar is the length of its life. LED light bars have a long life and manufacturers are ready to give a warranty of even up to ten years for some LED lights. In reality, many of these last more than that. Some LED lights have a life of even 100,000 hours and if the user is likely to use it for that long, the investment would be worth it.
But will the vehicle, on which the light bar is fitted, live that long? The peak performance period of a motor vehicle is likely to be over long before that. Private vehicles may be used even after its peak performance period is over, but police vehicles need to be very fast and in the best of conditions for the police to do their job satisfactorily. So police vehicles essentially have a short life span. Once the vehicle is pensioned off, what will happen to the light bar on it that is still young and many years of active service in front of it?
The cost effectiveness of a LED light bar in such a situation would depend upon how the department would use it. If the lights on a vehicle that is past its prime will be shifted to a new one, the investment will be cost effective. But if the concerned department does not have that policy and the light bars would go into oblivion together with the host vehicle, the deal may not be worth it. In such cases, it might be better to have lightbars that uses halogen technology, which will be cheaper and has a shorter life.
The size and quality of a light bar should also be proportionate to the use to which it will be put. Crowded cities with partying crowds where DUI driving and crime rate are higher, high performance lightbars will be necessary round the clock for police vehicles. As against this, police vehicles plying in sparsely populated areas would require only smaller light bars with lesser light output. In short, the user's requirements, and the way in which he can conserve its light output, will decide the suitability of a light bar for a vehicle.
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