The NYPD is improving its communications skills.
With LED signs.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly on Tuesday announced that the NYPD is equipping police cars with a scrolling blue colored message display board mounted on the existing police light bar.
The first ten vehicles outfitted with the message boards were deployed earlier today to Manhattan and highway units in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. Eventually, the NYPD has plans to outfit all 2,600 marked police vehicles with the scrolling and flashing message boards, officials said.
“Our tests showed that the blue color messages are highly visible to pedestrians and motorists, in daylight and at night," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said. "Eventually this technology will be installed on all marked police cars, vans and SUVs throughout the city.”
Blue LED light bars were first introduced on NYPD vehicles in February 2008.
The message boards introduced today are pre-programmed with different advisories notifying motorists and pedestrians of emergency incidents and road conditions, and other events
Cops in the vehicle can select the advisory they want from a pre-programmed menu. In field tests, the message bar can be read from distances of 200 feet or 10 to 12 car lengths, police officials said.
