# Light bar



## vamike (Aug 29, 2011)

I am NOT a wanker. I live in a very rural mountain community and respond to calls at night from home quite often.  Anyone have a dash light bar they want to sell for a very reasonable (cheap) price?


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 29, 2011)

Try elightbars.org. Those guys are *THEEE* blinky light folks.


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## usafmedic45 (Aug 29, 2011)

> I am NOT a wanker. I live in a very rural mountain community and respond to calls at night from home quite often



If it's that rural why do you need a light?  At night, there should be next to no traffic in such an isolated area.  Just speaking as someone who was on rural departments for much of his ground EMS career.


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## traumaluv2011 (Aug 29, 2011)

You could try www.galls.com I get all of my equipment from there. 

Here's the pages for:

full-size light bars: http://www.galls.com/search;jsessio...ure_id=503185////Vehicle+Lighting+&+Equipment

mini lightbars: http://www.galls.com/search?searcha...ure_id=503185////Vehicle+Lighting+&+Equipment


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## usafmedic45 (Aug 29, 2011)

> I get all of my equipment from there.



My friend, that is something you should not say publicly. LOL


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## ArcticKat (Aug 30, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> If it's that rural why do you need a light?



'cause then the police will recognise your vehicle and undersatnd why you're driving like a maniac to the ambulance station rather than pull you over.  We're rural too and we're actually required to have lights in our POVs and be registered with the police.


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## vamike (Aug 30, 2011)

Thank you Arctic.  Usaf, I asked if anyone had a lightbar for sale, not for a smart assed answer.  I loved reading this site but sarcasm and know-it-all attitudes just get old.


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## usafmedic45 (Aug 30, 2011)

> Thank you Arctic. Usaf, I asked if anyone had a lightbar for sale, not for a smart assed answer. I loved reading this site but sarcasm and know-it-all attitudes just get old.



It's not sarcasm nor a know-it-all attitude.  It was a simple question.  Just because the fact that you don't like having your motives or line of thinking questioned does not imply that the person doing so is either being sarcastic or anything else other than the fact that they are asking why.



> 'cause then the police will recognise your vehicle and undersatnd why you're driving like a maniac to the ambulance station rather than pull you over. We're rural too and we're actually required to have lights in our POVs and be registered with the police.



Ah, here in the states you'll still get pulled over for driving like that.  They are courtesy lights and don't give you the right to violate any traffic laws.


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## Lady_EMT (Aug 30, 2011)

ArcticKat said:


> 'cause then the police will recognise your vehicle and undersatnd why you're driving like a maniac to the ambulance station rather than pull you over.  We're rural too and we're actually required to have lights in our POVs and be registered with the police.



I agree with USAF... People who think emergency lights are excuse to drive like an a**h*** are the people who get themselves killed going to a call. 

But back in topic, try your local town garage or PD. They usually will rotate lightbars and lights off if the cruisers, and will sell them/give them away to members or other fire/EMS departments


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## adamjh3 (Aug 30, 2011)

ArcticKat said:


> 'cause then the police will recognise your vehicle and undersatnd why you're driving like a maniac to the ambulance station rather than pull you over.  We're rural too and we're actually required to have lights in our POVs and be registered with the police.



Why are you driving like a maniac? Can't help anyone when you're dead. 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## traumaluv2011 (Aug 30, 2011)

Yea if you talk to your captain, he/she might be able to help. It would just be easier to buy one though. Ebay isn't a bad choice either. Plenty of whackers selling lightbars on there.



usafmedic45 said:


> My friend, that is something you should not say publicly. LOL



I'm a whacker. I know.


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## usafmedic45 (Aug 30, 2011)

> I'm a whacker. I know.



Then you should do something about it.  Ceasing to feed your addiction would be a good start.


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## ArcticKat (Aug 30, 2011)

Sorry, maniac was a poor choice of terms, and I, for one would be the first to jump onto the maniac bashing bandwagon. 

By maniac I actually intended to convey that there might be occasions that the POV might be driven contrary to the Traffic Safety Act.  Legally, as it is officially exempted from the act when responding to an emergency.  Using the light and siren (if equipped) clearly identifies the vehicle as an emergency vehicle (in the eyes of the law) and that, when activated, is requesting the right of way.  

If a police officer sees my car roll slowly through a stop sign, then accelerate away to a speed that might be as much as 25% (our maximum allowed speed) over the posted limit without an emergency beacon flashing, then he'd be far more likely to attempt a stop, whereas, with a light activated he, and everyone else on the road, knows that we are responding to a 911 call.

Edit:
On another related note, we can occasionally find ourselves responding to MVCs or other roadside incidents.  Up here there is a law on the books requiring drivers to slow to a maximum of 60kph when passing an emergency vehicle.  If we only have our OEM factory flashers activated these vehicles will not slow down, but a couple of LED strobes work wonders.


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## Aidey (Aug 31, 2011)

vamike said:


> *I am NOT a wanker.* I live in a very rural mountain community and respond to calls at night from home quite often.  Anyone have a dash light bar they want to sell for a very reasonable (cheap) price?



I can't decide if this is the most hilarious typo ever or not. :rofl:

My suggestion, don't bother. If you insist on getting a light get a small light that plugs into your cigarette lighter port and just use it to mark your vehicle on scene. There are waaaaaaay too many MVCs involving emergency vehicles that are bright colors and have multiple lights and are reflective. The risk of getting into an MVC in your personal vehicle isn't worth it.


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## MrBrown (Aug 31, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> If it's that rural why do you need a light?  At night, there should be next to no traffic in such an isolated area.  Just speaking as someone who was on rural departments for much of his ground EMS career.



It is possible that there may be a legislative or ordinance requirement for him to use some form of emergency light on his vehicle?


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## usafmedic45 (Aug 31, 2011)

> I can't decide if this is the most hilarious typo ever or not.



I am going with "yes".



> It is possible that there may be a legislative or ordinance requirement for him to use some form of emergency light on his vehicle?



Not damn likely.  If it were, the department would be telling him what to get or probably providing it.


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## vamike (Sep 2, 2011)

Just wanted to clarify. I dont want a 48" lightbar. Just an itty bitty light that goes on the dash.  Thanks for the input all.  I just wish i understood what was so funny about my original post.......:sad:  LOL


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## lightsandsirens5 (Sep 2, 2011)

vamike said:


> Just wanted to clarify. I dont want a 48" lightbar. Just an itty bitty light that goes on the dash.  Thanks for the input all.  I just wish i understood what was so funny about my original post.......:sad:  LOL



It's that wacker (whacker?) :-S is the common colloquialism used to describe the image you were attempting to avoid. Wanker has.....how shall we say....other....connotations? 

I wonder though, with the apparent vicious and deep seated abject hatred of said wackers and other overly zealous people that this site seems to posses...I bet the wanker would be more welcome than the wacker. Hmmmmm......

I am just kidding of course.....but if you agree with the above statement, I don't think I want to hear anything about it. :rofl:


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## JJR512 (Sep 2, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> It's not sarcasm nor a know-it-all attitude. It was a simple question. Just because the fact that you don't like having your motives or line of thinking questioned does not imply that the person doing so is either being sarcastic or anything else other than the fact that they are asking why.
> ...
> Ah, here in the states you'll still get pulled over for driving like that. They are courtesy lights and don't give you the right to violate any traffic laws.


I'm going to agree with *vamike* and *ArcticKat* here. Not so much that I think you, *usafmedic45*, were being sarcastic or know-it-all-ish, but I do think your first post in this thread served no constructive purpose. Vamike asked for help finding something. If it was me, I'd assume he knows why he wants to find that something, and if I can tell him where to look for it, I will, and if I can't, I'll keep my mouth shut. Simple as that.

Furthermore I don't believe when ArcticKat said "driving like a maniac" that he meant that literally (which ArcticKat has himself confirmed above). The lights, whether on a marked municpal ambulance, a private company ambulance, or a POV that is authorized by local law to have and use them for this purpose, _do_ (in conjunction with a siren) give the driver of the vehicle the authority to violate certain traffic laws, _as long as the driver still drives with due regard to the safety of others_. The laws are different in each state and individual locality, of course, as to what can be violated and to what extent. Perhaps some states or localities are exactly like you say, usafmedic45, and the lights serve no purpose other than decoration. But that is not the case here in Maryland, one of the states where you said emergency lights "...are courtesy lights and don't give you the right to violate any traffic laws".

Finally, being a "whacker" isn't a social disease. It isn't in the DSM-IV. It isn't something that needs to be cured. And just because someone responds in a POV, even one with lights, doesn't make that person a whacker, not if that's just the way things are done in that area.


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## jjesusfreak01 (Sep 2, 2011)

JJR512 said:


> Finally, being a "whacker" isn't a social disease. It isn't in the DSM-IV. It isn't something that needs to be cured. And just because someone responds in a POV, even one with lights, doesn't make that person a whacker, not if that's just the way things are done in that area.



...waits for the DSM-V


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## usafmedic45 (Sep 2, 2011)

> Finally, being a "whacker" isn't a social disease. It isn't in the DSM-IV. It isn't something that needs to be cured.



LOL  Obsessive-compulsive disorder is in there. 



> But that is not the case here in Maryland, one of the states where you said emergency lights "...are courtesy lights and don't give you the right to violate any traffic laws".



I know, remember...I used to live and work there. It's one of the many things that makes me roll my eyes at Maryland.


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## JJR512 (Sep 2, 2011)

usafmedic45 said:


> LOL Obsessive-compulsive disorder is in there.
> 
> 
> 
> I know, remember...I used to live and work there. It's one of the many things that makes me roll my eyes at Maryland.


 
Some whackers may be OC. Some doctors are also OC. Some garbage truck drivers are also OC. Being a whacker doesn't necessarily involve obsessive-compulsiveness, at least not to what I understand a whacker to be.

And I'm sure Maryland isn't the only state that authorizes emergency vehicles to violate certain traffic laws to at least some extent. In fact, I'd be surprised if Maryland was in the minority in this regard. Emergency lights and sirens aren't there to win prizes at parades. They're there to request the right of way, which in and of itself is a violation of traffic laws; at least, I know that if I started flashing my lights and honking my horn (in my non-emergency POV) to get slow drivers out of my way, I'd be in a lot of trouble.


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## usafmedic45 (Sep 2, 2011)

> Being a whacker doesn't necessarily involve obsessive-compulsiveness, at least not to what I understand a whacker to be.



Well, most of the ones I have run into have some form of diagnosable psychopathology....


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## NomadicMedic (Sep 3, 2011)

This thread has denigrated into another "lights are bad, mmmkay?" thread. 

The OP was given alternate places to find what he's looking for. I suggest this thread be locked. 


Sent from my iPhone.


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## lightsandsirens5 (Sep 3, 2011)

n7lxi said:


> This thread has denigrated into another "lights are bad, mmmkay?" thread.



Agreed. 



> The OP was given alternate places to find what he's looking for. I suggest this thread be locked.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone.



Mmmmmmm......how about we try to shape it up first. I don't like to just go and...BAM! lock threads without giving people a chance to come about to a proper heading. I will however lock it down if the nastiness continues. 

Thanks!


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## vamike (Sep 3, 2011)

Whacker/Wanker.... sorry too many beers when i did that first post.


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## JPINFV (Sep 3, 2011)

lightsandsirens5 said:


> It's that wacker (whacker?) :-S is the common colloquialism used to describe the image you were attempting to avoid. Wanker has.....how shall we say....other....connotations?



Actually, wacker and wanker have exactly the same connotations, but wacker is the predominant colloquialism in the US. I believe wanker is more common in Europe, especially the UK.


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## ArcticKat (Sep 3, 2011)

n7lxi said:


> This thread has denigrated into another "lights are bad, mmmkay?" thread.
> 
> The OP was given alternate places to find what he's looking for. I suggest this thread be locked.



I agree, if I want to find out what the predominant thinking is regarding POV lighting I'll just conduct a search using the keywords Whacker, Light, and POV.





usafmedic45 said:


> Well, most of the ones I have run into have some form of diagnosable psychopathology....



Name one of us on here who isn't.


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## usafmedic45 (Sep 3, 2011)

> Name one of us on here who isn't.



Touche'


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## clibb (Sep 3, 2011)

QRT's with lights and sirens on personal vehicle is a scary thought. I've seen them blow through intersections when their lights are red without stopping.


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## adamjh3 (Sep 3, 2011)

clibb said:


> QRT's with lights and sirens on personal vehicle is a scary thought. I've seen them blow through intersections when their lights are red without stopping.



Eh... anecdotal at best. I've seen ambulances roll through red lights with no lights or siren. Doesn't mean every ambulance on the road does it.


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## JJR512 (Sep 4, 2011)

ArcticKat said:


> I agree, if I want to find out what the predominant thinking is regarding POV lighting I'll just conduct a search using the keywords Whacker, Light, and POV.


 
You can do "whacker" and "light" but "pov" will be excluded because it's only three letters.


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