Disclaimer
This article was written by a contributing author, and is not meant to be taken as legal advice, nor is it intended to replace the state statutes. Do your due diligence, cross-check the statutes linked, and communicate with your local municipalities, registrar, or commissioner to ensure that you remain compliant and avoid costly fees.
Kindly contact us if you have any suggestions to improve this article here.
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As a courtesy, we are happy to connect you to an expert in your state who will guide you on being compliant with your emergency vehicle lighting and other warning equipment.
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As a professional wrecker or tow truck service, safety as you know is crucial. Overall safety protocol separates the professionals from their competitors. People depend on high-quality wrecking and towing services that well integrate and exceed safety standards. Going beyond the trust factor is crucial for any wrecker operator to establish within the client relationship. One critical aspect of safety operations is having the right LED emergency lights installed on your wrecker fleet. These LED warning lights alert others on the road to know to drive carefully and safely around you as you work hard to get the client’s disabled vehicle to its destination.
Wrecker and Tow Truck LED warning lights don’t just protect people on the road and the client, but they also protect the truck drivers themselves. Since tow trucks and wreckers often work in high-traffic areas or at night, the right LED emergency warning lights with the right flash pattern are necessary and a vital part of any service professional’s operations. LED warning lights can come in a variety of lengths, patterns, and colors – so it is critical you install the right configuration for code compliance.
What Wrecker and Tow Truck LED Warning Lights are Available?
When shopping for wrecker and tow truck LED warning lights, there are many different options available to you. Options may differ in size, where they are positioned (inside versus outside of the truck), color, price, and what their purpose is. Knowing which LED light or lightbar is the best fit for your tow truck or wrecker will be a lot easier after reading this guide.
Exterior Light Bars
Exterior light bars come in a variety of lengths as well as light options. Single or dual colored lights bars are available at most retailers. Some standard lengths are 44″, 49″, and 54″. Depending on the size of your emergency vehicle, you may want to adjust which length you get. These lights often offer a multitude of flashing pattern options, and some also offer a function that allows you to create your own unique flashing pattern.
LED warning light bars are especially useful for larger trucks. If you have a large truck, you may need the longer sizes. These lights are so effective that any driver or motorist will be able to see you when they approach, ensuring your safety and theirs. Should you not have any room or space on the interior, the exterior tow truck light bars are a great option taking advantage of available rooftop space.
Interior Front Windshield Lights
The beauty of interior front windshield lights is that they’re easily installed while providing very effective lighting. These serve great as emergency lighting, helping you alert traffic on your way to your destination. Typically pretty inconspicuous until they’re turned on, they make for a great subtle option that doesn’t take much space in your truck, as well as can then provide the maximum amount of light when you do need it and turn it on.
LED Strobe & Beacon Lights
Strobe and beacon lights are small and promote great flexibility in terms of placement. They can easily be mounted at any time and any place on your vehicle – tow truck or wrecker. Even though these lights are smaller in nature, they are extremely bright. The best practical use is for them to illuminate your workspace. The most common color is amber, however LED beacon lights are available in a variety of colors – blue, red, white, yellow, green, and dual-color options.
LED strobe lights are perfect to place around your truck or wrecker and help create a safe work environment for your workers by providing 360° lighting around your vehicle. When workers can see where and on what they’re working, they’re less likely to make mistakes, and therefore have a higher likelihood of staying safe and uninjured.
LED Work Lights
An LED work light array is a necessity for working safely at night. Disabled vehicle hook-up and off-loading operations performed by the tow truck driver can be well lit. They provide light for larger workspaces versus other lights, like the strobe and beacon lights. These are considered heavy-duty lighting since they are high intensity LEDs with ultra-high lumens. LED work lights are available in 4 and 6 LED.
Dash Lights
Dash lights are extremely easy to adhere to the front of your dash, since they stick via suction cups and side mounted L-brackets. These are an inexpensive option in comparison to roof-mounted LED light bars. They provide a wide flood beam, and help create a safer environment for your workers and other motorists with its bright light. Dash lights are also versatile as they can be mounted onto the inside of any vehicle regardless of size.
If a vehicle is also used for other purposes outside of towing or wrecking, then these can easily be taken down and/or are simply not visible when turned off. They remain hidden in the front of your dash or on top of your visor, so they allow for much flexibility in use.
Mini Light Bars
Mini lightbars are exactly what they sound like – smaller versions of the full-size LED warning light bars. Mini light bars are also more cost-effective than the full-sized versions. These emergency lights also offer a lot of versatility, most often coming in permanent or magnetic options. This portability feature allows you to transfer the light between vehicles, if necessary, or sync several up so they flash together at the same time in the same pattern. If working in a fleet, this can be extremely helpful.
Mini light bars typically come with a different number of head options. The standard options include 6, 10, and 14 LED lights. They are also offered in single or dual colors.
When to Use Each Light?
There are many different lights, as you’ve just read, but now you want to know how and when to use each light. It can be confusing to know when to use what for which situation, but this will be cleared up for you as you read on. When deciding on requirements for your tow truck lights, it’s important to also take into consideration safety, legal precautions, as well as your truck and fleet size.
Safety
During nighttime hours, it can be incredibly difficult to see – for you and other drivers. As a tow trucker company and tow truck service, it’s crucial to offer safety to those working for you as well those around you. That’s why LED warning lights are essential to use, so that other night drivers are aware of you and can avoid you, giving you the space you need to perform your work safely. LED warning lights are also helpful to use in order to clear space and alert other drivers of you so they can safely move out of your way. Make sure however that you are not blinding oncoming traffic, as this creates a hazard rather than preventing one. As you are using these to make for a safer environment and to be respectful to others on the road, it’s important to reciprocate in the same way.
Legal Use
Depending on the state you live in, there may be different laws and regulations determining how, when and which LED warning lights to use. These emergency and construction light regulations can vary greatly, so it’s important to check in with your local law enforcement agency in order to avoid any kind of fees that are completely avoidable if well prepared. The last thing you want to add to your tax list by the end of the year is a list of fees accumulated due to negligent use of light bars or simple ignorance of the law. By using these the way they are intended to and according to local laws, you are also able to provide a safe environment for yourself, your employees, and other drivers.
Location & Teams
Depending on the size of your truck, the budget you have, the size of your fleet, and where you are conducting your business may impact which light you choose to use. For larger trucks and vehicles, you’ll want to consider the larger lights, while smaller ones may only require the mini light bars. When you are considering your budget for these lights, several mini light bars may be able to accommodate a larger fleet while still being budget-friendly, while a team of one may have the necessary budget for a full-sized light bar and/or interior front windshield light. Depending on the work you or your team is performing, you may need more or less lighting.
Practicality
LED warning lights are clearly not just used to look great and shine brightly (though they do that as well). They are there to provide safety to the tow drivers, the wreckers, and anybody else involved; while helping you alert traffic that you are currently at work. They also help you operate within the legal guidelines, and avoid any kind of confrontation or difficulty with law enforcement officers.
LED warning lights can be extremely practical in the application as many offer removable options that aren’t permanent. These can be attached and removed with ease via magnets or at times by simply removing them via a screwdriver. Having such versatility, also allows you to test out different kinds of lights.
If you’re truly lost as to what kind of lights you need, we at Brooking are here for you. Simply describe your vehicle, the job you’re looking to do with these warning lights, and what your desired intent and expectations are for them. Let us know what state you reside in, so we can take local state laws and guidelines into consideration. If you have any preferences such as dual or single light or the exact color of the light, this is also important to mention.
There’s no need to overspend on lights that don’t fit your fleet, your needs, or your budget.
Get LED Warning Lights for Your Wrecker and Tow Trucks
LED warning lights can be bought anywhere, but if you’re looking for high quality equipment and fantastic customer service, you want to consider a company that’s dedicated and stocked to supply and support your entire fleet and not just one truck. At Brooking Industries, you can have faith that your and your employees’ safety is of utmost importance. A family-owned business, Brooking Industries Inc. has serviced hundreds of professionals with their warning lights need since 2008.
Brooking Industries is known for exceptional quality products for reasonable prices in practically no-time delivery, which is virtually impossible to find. When using Brooking Industries’ LED warning lights, you and your fleet can rest assured that we worked hard to produce durable, mission-critical solutions. If you’re unsure what lights are the best fit for you, your truck, and your business, simply contact us today to talk to a specialist.
