Highway Safety - Light Discipline Works!

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From an Austin FD training newsletter:

An interesting story was related to the FTOs by Captain Theron Proctor—Captain of Rescue 14 B shift.

A late night rescue alarm occurred in the southbound lanes of I-35. AFD crews noticed that traffic was backing up in the

northbound lanes causing numerous near misses. Since the southbound lanes were shut down, Captain Proctor had all of the units on scene turn off their

unneeded emergency lights to see if that would make a difference. Turning off the lights made a positive impact on northbound traffic. With fewer distractions to

slow it down, traffic began moving normally. This was again demonstrated later in the incident when a TXDOT vehicle pulled up to

the scene with all of its emergency lights on. Again traffic in the northbound lanes slowed down considerably.

Captain Thayer Smith, FTO-B and Highway Safety Instructor,

Thanks to Captain Proctor for sharing this positive experience.

Studies have shown that light discipline truly does have an impact on traffic flow. This has

been proven so important that Chapter 61 in the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

now requires that emergency responders practice light discipline (as do other national standards).

It is suggested that all forward facing lights be turned off particularly when parked on divided

highways. Also, we should refer to AFD SOG E15. It states: “To avoid distracting or blinding traffic, only

those emergency lights necessary to warn oncoming traffic should be used while parked. This is

especially important during nighttime operations when excessive

lights can be distracting. Use of amber lighting is recommended if available.”

While protecting ourselves is the first priority, we also have a duty to prevent secondary collisions.

Remember that quick clearance also plays a major role in protectingourselves and the motoring public.

As a reminder, federal law now requires that a traffic vest must be

worn while on any federal highway