Do cops ever think their lights are "a bit much"?

My son in law is on the county police force here.

Lights are about safety – nothing more and nothing less. They want to make sure that, when stopped, other vehicles see and avoid them.

And when moving (like to the scene of an accident, burglary, etc.) they want to be sure that other moving vehicles see and avoid them.

Same thing with sirens – in my county, there are three different siren tones that can be used. The main reason to choose one or another is to make sure that other vehicles don’t get in the way.

Safety. not glitz.

@elbanditoroso “Lights are about safety – nothing more and nothing less.”

I guess (and I’m certainly no expert) it seems hard to believe that the vehicles with “lots of lights” would be any harder to see than a vehicle with “extreme, seizure-inducing numbers of light.” Like way past the point of diminishing returns on visibility.

It didn’t help a cop in my state recently, wrong way driver slammed into him and his “light show” !

@Tropical_Willie idiot drivers are still idiots

@gorillapaws I don’t know who or what you are quoting, so it is hard to respond to your opinion.

They sometimes seem like significant hazards, to me. Especially since many people have greater sensitivities to such lights, and so drivers may be distracted, disoriented, or even incapacitated by them.

I think that simply spinning or flashing red lights from mid-20th Century emergency vehicles were enough.

I remember when the Hollywood, CA PD pursuit vehicles were mounted with rotating, multi-LED balls. When they were on, motorists caught Disco fever, felt compelled to pull over, and boogie on down to Funky Town! ;o

@gorillapaws You’d be surprised how many officers, when they finally stop someone, are told, “I didn’t see you,” and it’s not just because the driver is impaired. When I see lights in my rearview mirror, my heart races and I get the hell out of the way, as intended.

Also, I’ve heard that in large cities like NYC or LA, that quite a number of drivers don’t get out of the way and even ambulances have problems getting through.

Personally, I don’t mind if it’s overly much.

@Brian1946 the problem with the red bubble gum machine lights is that lots of people are colorblind and can’t see red.

I don’t know what cops think, and I’m fine with cops having lots of lights, but there are some districts where the lights are significantly brighter and just more lights than average. I think it’s too much, it can be blinding.

Most cop cars have red white and blue lights, so most colorblind people can see either the red or the blue unless they are completely colorblind.

Yes. It’s ALL about being seen.
Whether on the side of the road, or blasting through an intersection, or sometimes the police need to ensure everybody knows they are there.

They used/still do, park in front of big bars, or in big events, and (in theory,) projecting police presence lowers crime.

I have to believe, that some of the lights, were esthetic. But. That’s part of what American Law Enforcement, is supposed to be. Just like the US military, we want everything to look nice, have the appearance of being state of the art, and officers are kept to appearance standards, depending on agencies.

I know, that many police departments, have a few “power projecting” vehicles.
Ones that say, you’ll never outrun this car, so why try.

I have to admit, that when I was 18–21, I didn’t care WHAT the cops were in, I was not stopping. What I considered good luck/skill, probably gave me a false sense of superiority on motorcycles, or in fast cars.

In my years, I never had a set “my” vehicle. It wouldn’t have made sense, for what I did.
But I had an office/desk.

I think they also want to be able to say “there’s NO way, you didn’t see my lights,” if you didn’t stop.

From what I heard from other LEO’s, it can suck having a vehicle. People often are covered in one bodily fluid, or the other, when thrown in the back. The officers have to keep their cars “clean.” Fill out stuff, for repairs and it’s kind of a lot.

Thanks for all of the GAs! The projection of police presence aspect makes a lot of sense and was something I hadn’t considered.

^It’s not always strategically appropriate.
For whatever crime they think their presence is preventing, it’s also letting people know where they are.
As a LEO, you really want to be obvious about who you are, in hopes people respect your authority, and to make sure a person knows you are a LEO.

Having worked with narcotics, we wanted to be unseen. Until, we make an official move.

At the end of the day, police really don’t want to take a bunch of people to jail. Keeping your car lit up, hopefully keeps the idiots from doing something stupid.

But. An actual criminal, that has a criminal lifestyle, like buying or selling drugs, or trafficking guns, is likely pleased with the heads up.
Many “DUI checkpoints,” are posted several days before hand, usually, and they want to make people feel like “there are cops everywhere tonight, I’m not risking it tonight.”

Police and LEOs, have a lot of different services that they provide. Sometimes, they are supposed to help with security at large festivals. At any rate, most people who place you, want you to have an obvious presence. If you get told, “we had some break-ins in a few cars in DumbOak Plantation.”
This means, a person/or persons, have complained or had crimes committed.
In those cases, they are going to add that neighborhood, to their nightly route, and hopefully be seen every couple hours, in said place.
I’ve said it a million times; criminals are opportunists.
Minimum risk of being recognized somewhere, or minimum risk of being caught, are how crooks usually pick their targets.

So again (in theory,) more LEO presence, less crime.

In a lot of places around my area, prostitutes sell narcotics.
A man will pull into a hotel lot, with two “girls,” and he keeps watch, while the girls sell themselves and/or drugs (they knock door to door, at the really nasty old hotels.)
When they have, I guess, maximized their potential or are in trouble of being caught, then they go to another hotel and so on. Those small time pimps, are typically armed, carrying prepackaged drugs, and have a warrant.
If they see a cop car, they’d prefer to be somewhere else. Some guys are so guilty, they glow!

The cities shinning and fancy looking vehicles, are supposed to be deternce. Shock, and awe.

They definitely get your attention, which I guess is important in most cases. But I ended up having to put blackout curtains on my bedroom window because my bedroom window faces the parking lot of our apartment complex. The only time in ambulance or fire truck has pulled up in front of my building is when I had to call 911 because I had to go to the hospital. But there’s somebody down the road just a little ways, who maybe has an elderly person living there, and at least once a month they would have to call an ambulance in the middle of the night. Even though the truck was parked a distance away, those flashing bright lights would come right in my bedroom window and wake me up every time. Not a problem anymore.