Effect of Emergency Vehicle Lighting, Marking, and Message/Arrow Boards in Reducing Responder-Involved Crashes: Systematic Literature Review and National Level Survey

Emergency responders play a vital role in roadway safety and incident management but remain highly vulnerable to secondary crashes and struck-by incidents. Despite laws such as Florida’s “Move Over” law, fatality and injury rates among responders remain high. This study presents a systematic literature review and a national expert survey examining emergency vehicle lighting, arrow boards, and retroreflective markings on responder safety. From an initial pool of 224 publications, 52 were synthesized. Key findings indicate that lighting configurations—specifically color, flash pattern, flash rate, and placement—significantly influenced driver behavior and compliance with the move-over law. Additionally, the use of arrow boards and retroreflective tapes, along with patterns and chevron markings, significantly improved vehicle visibility and conspicuity of the responder vehicles. The national survey reinforced these findings by revealing the broad variability in lighting systems, arrow boards, and retroreflective markings used, along with variations in cone deployment and other safety measures, across safety service patrol programs. Agencies emphasized the need for national standards and the integration of automated technologies to improve safety and efficiency. Future research should evaluate the influence of field variables such as geometric design, weather conditions, driver demographics, and human factors to guide the development of future policies and standards for emergency-responder safety.