What’s the Reason Some Maine Police Cruisers Use Amber Lights?

Normally, when we see a police cruiser with its lights on, they are strobing blue.

Most everyone knows that when you see those blue lights come on you need to look for a safe place to pull over.  Either they police are stopping you for some reason or they need you out of their way because they are on their way to an incident.  Regardless, they are a signal to drivers that they need to pull over as soon as it is safe to.

But, what about other colored lights?

Honestly, I had never seen them used until recently, but over the last few weeks I have seen several Augusta Police Department cruisers using amber (yellowish) colored lights.  Most recently, I saw an APD cruiser parked at Cony High School using amber lights.

Curious, I sent a quick message to Augusta Police Department Chief Kevin Lully.  He was nice enough to get back to me ASAP with an answer to my question.

He explained to me that the cruisers have a variety of colored lights, including blue and amber.  He explained that the amber lights are typically used facing rear and they are often activated to flash in a direction.  This is intended to let people know that they should go left or right around the cruiser.  Chief Lully also mentioned that the amber lights are easier on the eyes.

Considering the cruiser we saw at Cony High School had the amber lights flashing to the left, that all makes sense.

Obviously, whenever you are driving near a police cruiser (or, any first responder vehicle), slow down and use caution, regardless of the color lights they have on.  And, of course, move over so that any first responder who is outside their vehicle has room to walk.