Arrow Sticks on Your Trucks!

SO THERE IS THIS BIG DEBATE AT OUR STATION ABOUT RUNNING YOUR ARROW STICK ANYTIME THE TRUCKS ARE IN MOTION.  I SAY RUN THEM ANY AND ALL TIMES, OTHERS SAY NO IT IS JUST FOR SHOWING CAUTION OR WHEN MOVING SLOW OR STOPPED OR AS A HAZARD.  WELL I SAY THAT FREEKIN TRUCK IS A HAZARD OTHER VEHICLES NEED TO SEE YOU WEATHER RUNNING CODE OR JUST COMING BACK FROM A CALL!!!! WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS???

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splinterheadPermalink Reply by splinterhead on March 25, 2010 at 4:17pm
Most states have a law against auxillary lighting on vehicles, while moving down the road (Yes firetrucks fall under these laws). That is what the trooper said, who followed me to the station and told me to turn it off (arrow stick). So I turn it off so as to not attract attention while going down the road. When approaching a scene I set it to point left or right. Its a great tool, just know when to use it and when not to, its that simple.
Permalink Reply by Michael McKay on March 25, 2010 at 4:37pm
I don't think they should be on if the truck isn't heading for a call. Do you ever drive by people when it's raining really hard and they have their hazards on? It is very annoying. Our trucks are large but not as big as a semi-trailer and they don't drive with their hazards on so why do we need to? SOPs require us to drive as safe as any other driver, regardless of the size of vehicle. As a driver, that truck is your baby and you gotta do whatever it takes to protect it. Then again, I live in South Florida and driving is chaotic 24/7. (This is a good post topic btw, Scott.)
Permalink Reply by James Hawk on March 25, 2010 at 7:55pm
In NY the V&T law says that fire apparatus are allowed to operate emergency lights responding to and returning from an emergency call. That said, it doesn't really make sense to run arrow sticks any and everytime the apparatus is in motion, just leads to drivers blocking them out, which will be bad when they are in operation at an actual emergency.
Permalink Reply by Rusty Mancini on March 25, 2010 at 8:41pm
Jeff, I don't think your confused, you got it right!! Why in the world would you leave the arrow stick on returning from a call? Yikes!!!
Permalink Reply by Joseph Murr on March 25, 2010 at 8:43pm
In NJ it is required, or at least used to be, that and apparatus returning from a call has to have some form of rear facing emergency lights on. On our older trucks we keep the rear rotating lights on, but on our new truck we just leave the arrow stick on.
Permalink Reply by Kyle Cherry on March 25, 2010 at 8:54pm
i say if your running lights and siren, run the arrow stick. but only if you are en route to a call. here in alabama were not allowed to run any lights but our head and tail lights when coming back to quarters from a scene.
Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on May 17, 2010 at 10:32am
I would respectfully disagree with you. When running to an emergency call, definately use your arrow stick in the "warn" or "flash" mode. Once on scene, use the stick in the mode necessary to direct traffic around your vehicle and away from your members. Once you are in service, available for the next call, and returning to the house we should turn off our arrow sticks along with all other warning lights. The lights are almost counter productive in the sense that it draws a driver's attention toward the lights and truck and away from traffic. We have all seen the "rubber neckers" who almost rear end another vehicle because of looking into the flashing lights on the construction or utility vehicles on the side of the street. The arrow sticks are a great piece of equipment that I think should come as standard as steering wheels, but we have to use them and use them correctly.
Permalink Reply by Richard Armstrong on May 17, 2010 at 11:15am
I have to agree with the consensus The arrow sticks are there for a purpose and should be used for this purpose.Traffic needs to know what to make of the light and if it's on all the time it could be confusing for the people that need to understaand the light and what it's telling them to do.
What is the sense in having it on while not responding because that could cause the guy following you to cause havick wondering what he should be doing cause tere is a light on at the back of the truck.When heading to the hall you are no different than the others on the road just a little bigger.No need for anything more than tail lights as far as I'm concerned!!
Permalink Reply by Richard Armstrong on May 17, 2010 at 11:22am
Lets face it there are some people out there that just don't get it so why make it that much more confusing to them and put yourself and others on the road at risk!?
Permalink Reply by Davin Eshelman on May 17, 2010 at 11:34am
I agree w/ you 100%. They should be on all the time no matter what.
Permalink Reply by Avery Dale on May 17, 2010 at 12:17pm
Our's is on anytime the red's are on. During response it is on "Flash Mode" & once we get onscene we change it to the direction needed. If the red's are off the arrow is off unless a situation arises that we need to use it independantly.
Permalink Reply by Marty O'Connor on May 17, 2010 at 1:12pm
This is on a blog I found online...


Start by checking with your state police to find out if there are any specific laws in your state regarding arrow devices on fire apparatus (or any other type of vehicle). NFPA 1901 allows for amber warning devices on the rear of trucks but does not specify that they have to be used. That means that as far as NFPA is concerned you can mount/install arrow warning devices on fire apparatus (NFPA 1901 – Chapter 13). The bigger, the better! Some FDs have been experimenting with arrow devices mounted on the side of the truck so that when it is parked at an angle at an incident, it is more visible to oncoming traffic. I happen to think that is a good idea. See attached photos. Also, arrows should be mounted as high as possible (preferably above hose bed level) for more clear visibility especially when actively involved with laying lines and pulling attack lines. (see photo in the respondersafety.com gallery as example) Arrow sticks mounted below hose beds are often obstructed by tarps or hose from the bed.



As for operation, I strongly suggest that the devices not be activated unless they are being used for traffic control at an incident. In reality, every fire truck or ambulance I see here in VA that has an arrow device has it blinking randomly at all times. That simply helps to desensitize the driving public to the intended use of the arrows. They become just another blinking light on a fire truck and they are not perceived as a traffic control device. Add to that problem the fact that many FDs do not activate the arrow device properly on scene to route traffic around the scene. There is no national law or standard that requires the arrows to flash all the time as many seem to think. The problem is that most manufacturers ship the apparatus with the arrow device programmed to flash continually. That can be changed and should be. Arrows should be OFF at all times except when directing traffic at an incident is the preferred option. At the scene, the arrow device should be activated to move traffic right or left as needed.



Finally, some fire dept’s in about 22 states have “fire-police” who specialize in traffic and crowd control at emergency scenes. Some of these departments have started to equip their fire police units with pretty sophisticated trucks equipped with all types of traffic control equipment including larger arrow devices (see photo in the respondersafety.com gallery as example). I’m not sure if Illinois has fire police but if they do, that is another angle you might want to investigate.

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