How EMT personal uses a personal flashing beacon light like the Adventure Lights Tag it Light can be very different than what others on the scene of an accident use them. The leading reason for this is not to blind any person that is hurt with too many flashing lights in their eyes. Not only will that cause temporary blindness, but in extreme cases can cause a physical trauma to occur with the reaction to all the lights and activities around them. Because of this, most of the flashing beacons used by EMT personnel actually assisting others are on their vehicles.

The leading purpose of a flashing beacon is to make any person in the vicinity of it being used that there is a person or vehicle present. When an EMT vehicle has their flashing beacons on, they are handling a life or death situation. This is either traveling towards an injured person or carrying them to a hospital. By law if a life in not in jeopardy, the flashing lights cannot be on. You know a death has just occurred in their vehicle when the lights are turned off while traveling towards a hospital.

The most common colors used by EMT personnel are either red or blue, but there are also green, white & yellow. The determining factor is just what the local ordinances have dictated. In many places the use of white or clear lenses on the strobe or flashing beacons is also precedent but in every case, there is also a red or blue light. Civilians are not to use those color lenses on their vehicles by law. It is legal to have them on your person as a personal safety beacon, but you cannot have them on your vehicle.

When EMT personnel are a member of a search party going out at night, they are generally wearing a yellow personal flashing beacon. The testing done for EMT workers have show in their studies that yellow is the light that shows up the best at night. This is different than many of the other studies done where white or clear was the preferred choice. The leading reason given is that white could be from anything including lightning. A flashing yellow light is obviously from a man made source and the reason it is easier to recognize. The yellow lens is the only other color that can be seen up to 3 miles just like the white or clear lens flashing beacon.

If a green lens is being used on an EMT, they are from the local community response team. While still responding to the emergency call to assist those that have been injured, most of them are volunteers with the proper training, but are professionals in other field.

The manner in which EMT personnel use the personal flashing beacons is very different than any other sector of responders to an emergency situation. They will not be dealing with the public, just the injured parties involved. For this reason when they approach the injured person, the flashing light, if they are wearing one, will be shut off.