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An emergency vehicle is any vehicle that responds to an emergency. Specialised equipment on board some vehicles helps responders in their tasks. Sirens and/or lights are often used to notify other motorists of the presence of an emergency vehicle. Depending on local laws, non-emergency vehicles may be required to yield the right of way to emergency responders.
Emergency vehicles are usually dispatched from a centre that takes calls from an emergency telephone number, such as 9-1-1 or 1-1-2.
Emergency vehicles include:
a personal car licensed and identified to operate in a specific location
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Colors and livery
Each department tends to have its own color and design scheme for its vehicles. These designs change from time to time, though, so it is possible to encounter two paint schemes for vehicles from the same service, if the older vehicles are not repainted after the scheme is changed. Also, smaller departments may not be able to afford custom painting of their equipment; in this case they will match the color of each new vehicle as closely as possible to the rest of their fleet.
Color and design choices reflect several needs:
identification of the department (New York State Police, City of Tokyo Fire Department) to which the vehicle belongs. In many parts of the United States and other places, ambulances have the word "ambulance" written backwards across their hood, so that drivers of vehicles in front of them can read the word in their rear-view mirror.
a vehicle ID number, which may merely be for the purposes of keeping track of the vehicle (for maintenance, etc) or may also be the unit number. Many vehicles also display their vehicle number on their roof or trunk lid (boot lid), to be identifiable from the air.
visibility – responding emergency vehicles want to be conspicuous, as do emergency vehicles parked at a scene (so they don’t get hit by other vehicles). Many departments use reflective lettering and/or striping to increase their visibility. For police departments, there can be a competing need for stealth. Police departments also use unmarked civilian-like vehicles, which may be similar to their marked units, or may be entirely different. Emergency vehicles are also typically fitted with flashing colored lights.
contact information: in areas where there are universal access numbers (as 9-1-1 in the United States, or 1-1-2 in some parts of Europe), these numbers are often displayed on the vehicle. In other areas, the local telephone number may be displayed. Some departments have started to display their internet address as well.
if a department has significant certifications ("Class 1 Fire Department", ISO-xxxx, etc), these may be noted
some vehicles are painted with cartoon characters and/or slogans that are specific to that vehicle and its dedicated crew (this is most often seen in fire trucks, engines, etc, where the same truck is always used by the same crew.)
Color schemes often include stripes, checker-board patterns, or some other device to make the vehicle conspicuous and different from civilian vehicles. Cars and light trucks may have their doors or fenders painted a different color than the rest of the vehicle. (For additional information about a specific type of vehicle, click on the link above for that vehicle.)
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See also
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