Since 2000 police, fire and ambulance vehicles in Queensland have been fitted with blue and red lights but this has not always been the case.

Blue has always been the colour of emergency lights used on police vehicles in Australia and other parts of the world. Even in 2020 you often see police vehicles in England and some parts of the USA having only blue lights on their vehicles.

I know from my time in the Commissioner’s Office, the colour blue has always been reserved for police vehicles and the only organisations I recall being given permission to use the blue lights were Military and Air Force Police.

Having known that a change from blue to blue and red lights arose from research conducted by the National Police Research Unit, I asked former Senior Sergeant Ian Gordon, APM, who in 2020 and aged 72 is the Service Manager of the Public Safety Business Agency Fleet Assets Alderley workshop (formerly Police Garage and Police Transport Section and Fleet Management Branch), for his views about the change.  Ian has responded as follows:

I can recall information which originated in America and came through the then National Police Research Unit which had a rep from every state Police Force on the Unit. Advice was on a flat surface well away in the distance one could approach a police vehicle, which had red on the left and blue on the right of the roof bar, and the natural eyesight would identify red before blue and as one came closer the full ID of red and blue would be evident.  This thinking has held up to the current day.

In Queensland I don’t think in the late 70’s and early 80’s there was much support generally for the idea.  I recall using some old round red Hella lights from Triumph motor cycles accompanied by a blue version of which we had to purchase, and mounting them on the outer extremities of the roof bar which only carried the revolving blue light and the siren in later times.  There were certainly no flash LED systems in those days.

Former Snr. Sgt Denis McGrath and I set up a couple of cars – one at Landsborough and one with Sergeant Arthur Frohmuller at Cooroy - followed by a few others when we could find suitable parts. These were wired to a flashing unit which allowed them to flash on and off.

Inside was a stop and tail bulb with the base soldered to give maximum lighting effect – primitive on today’s standards.  Arthur used to swear by these lights as the best warning system he had ever used at night time road accidents, etc.

The red and blue combination would have come in from the mid 1990’s whereby the roof bar was purchased with red and blue revolving lights, alley and take down lights and in some cases the siren all being built into the roof bar.

The visual test has stood the test of time. Currently we have a wide assortment of warning equipment generally and roof bars in various configurations to suit all applications. The current LED lighting is super effective but there is always someone in the field complaining about equipment.  They should have been with us back in the 60’s and 70’s.

I know that in Jim O’Sullivan’s time as Commissioner – and I am sure direct from Jim – that the idea of red and blue lights on other than QPS vehicles was not a chance. However, early in the administration of Commissioner Bob Atkinson the total emergency fleet quickly became decked out with red and blue lights.  This could easily have been a whole of Govenment decision rather than one by the Commissioner.

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From my knowledge and recollection, I know that the Queensland Emergency Services Minister had been unsuccessful in gaining approval from the Queensland Police Service to fit blue and red lights to Fire and Ambulance vehicles but this was overcome in 2000 when the QPS Administration changed.

I recall when this occurred there were some mumblings about motorists not knowing which service vehicle might be trying to make its way through traffic.  Ian’s view on this is that after the change occurred any person expecting the arrival of police would have no idea who the first responder was but these days that feeling does not seem to attract much attention.

THE FIRST ‘POLICE’ LIGHT ON QUEENSLAND POLICE VEHICLES

After the above article was written and circulated to members of the State Management Committee of the Queensland Retired Police Association, former Commissioner Bob Atkinson reminded Ian and myself of the first ‘police’ light   on Queensland police vehicles.

That got Ian’s memory working and he recalls the first light – known as a taxi hail light – was made of plastic and depicted ‘police’ in red letters and later on the red letters were changed to blue.  They were fitted to all traffic vehicles and limited suburban cars.  This was in the early 1970s in the Whitrod era.

According to Ian, the first light had four single contact indicator bulbs (approximately 40 watts) and a flasher unit and when activated they simply flashed all four bulbs on and off. 

Some amusing words from former Cadet Ian Gordon:  I recall driving an XP Falcon with the first roof light on it down Roma Street (wasn’t one way at that time) when a male person came from the kerb as I had stopped in traffic.  He jumped in and said ‘take me to the Valley’.  I replied ‘are you in the job?’ and he looked a bit startled and said ‘is this a taxi?’ to which I replied ‘no a police car’.  He alighted at the next stop, looked at the roof sign closely and said ‘apologies, sorry mate, thought you were a taxi’.

In the early 1970s – again in the Whitrod era - the department moved from the ‘police’ sign to an initial revolving blue light.  This light had a stationary quartz halogen bulb and the reflector rotated 360 degrees around the lit bulb. 

The attached photos depict:

• ·           The first ‘police’ light which depicted ‘police’ in red letters and later on the red letters were changed to blue – referred to as a taxi hail light – the only identification it was a police vehicle - early 1970s in Whitrod era;
• ·          Vehicle with similar ‘police’ light with ‘pineapple’ fixed to front doors – driver Constable Noela Holman (later Gordon) – early 1970s in Whitrod era;

• ·         the first blue light and other markings on police vehicles – probably in the mid 1970s in the Whitrod era; and
•   fairly recent photos which depicts all of the lights mentioned by Ian Gordon – a vast difference these days.