Neuroscience For Kids
Red or Green Fire Trucks
Which are Safer?
December 5, 2014
Think of the color for a fire truck? Did you think of red? Most
people do. But is red the safest color for these vehicles? Research
conducted in the 1990s might surprise you.
Stephen Solomon and James King (1997) knew that many fire fighters were injured when they responded to or returned from an emergency. They also knew that the human visual system is most sensitive to wavelengths between 510 nm and 570 nm (greenish-yellow). Also, in low light conditions, people have trouble seeing red. This led Solomon and King to investigate the number of traffic accidents for red fire trucks and lime-yellow fire trucks over a four year period in Dallas, TX.
The researchers found that fire trucks painted red (or red and white)
were involved in approximately three times more accidents than fire trucks
painted lime green. Also, accidents involving lime green trucks were not
as serious as those with red trucks because there were fewer injuries and
tow aways.
More recent data confirm that traveling to emergencies is
dangerous for firefighters. In 2008, 29 of 114 (24.5%) firefighters who
died on duty were killed in a motor vehicle accident (US Fire
Administration, 2009). So, if lime green fire trucks are involved in fewer
accidents than red fire trucks, whey aren't all fire trucks painted lime
green? The answer is not so simple. First, the earliest fire trucks were
red, so some fire departments want to keep the old traditions alive by
having red fire trucks. In fact, some fire departments who switched to
lime green fire trucks are switching back to red fire trucks. Second,
some studies have failed to find a difference in the number of accidents
for red fire trucks and lime green fire truck. Third, because most people
associate the color red with a fire truck, they recognized the emergency
vehicle as important. Therefore, some people think that red fire trucks
are just fine.
A report from the US Fire Administration (2009) mentions the following steps for maximum fire truck safety:
- Use retroreflective materials to improve conspicuity of emergency vehicles. (Retroflective materials are built to reflect light back to its origin.)
- Visibility and recognition are both important for emergency vehicle conspicuity.
- Contrasting colors can help drivers locate a hazard on the road.
- Fluorescent colors (i.e., fluorescent yellow-green and orange) have higher visibility during the day.
What Does This Have to Do With Neuroscience?
Some neuroscientists are interested in how the brain processes information related to our senses. By understanding how the visual system processes information about color, scientists may be able to help develop better and safer emergency vehicles.
References and more information:
- Solomon, S.S. and King, J.G., Fire truck visibility, Ergonomics in Design, April, 1997, pp. 4-10
- US Fire Administration, 2008 Firefighter Fatality Statistics (2009)
- FEMA Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Study
Copyright © 1996-2014, Eric H. Chudler, University of Washington
