Know The Different Types Of Emergency Road Signal Devices

Motorists should be familiar with the types of emergency road signal devices when selecting items for their vehicle’s roadside emergency kit. Each type of flare and signal device offers unique benefits, and some have notable drawbacks.

Traditional Road Flare

A normal emergency road flare is the most commonly used signal device for multiple reasons. First of all, flares are not dependent on prime weather conditions to light. Flares can burn in snow, rain or hail. They also do not need outside influences to light, like matches. Secondly, flares are self-consuming. When motorists break down in a dangerous location, they will never have to venture into traffic and risk their lives to retrieve any remaining debris. Flares disintegrate without issue. Thirdly, flares do not cause confusion among other drivers. All motorists are well aware what a burning road flare means: another driver needs assistance.

Cons include the fact that flares cannot be reused, necessitating a continuing cost for replacement. Also, flares put out heat – a fire risk for dry areas. Grass and brush have caught on fire due to misplaced road flares.

Strobe LED Lights

LED signals are battery-powered. While this feature eliminates fume discharge and fire risk – both detrimental environmental road flare side effects – this signaling option does not come without negatives. When LEDs are placed on a road, they do not emit as strong of a light as a traditional road flare. For this reason, other motorists may not see the stranded car as quickly, especially in adverse weather conditions.

Additionally, other drivers may run over the light and launch it into the air. Even if they notice the light, they may not understand it signals an emergency, so they may not attempt to avoid the device. Flying projectiles are a deadly risk to the stranded motorist and all other drivers on the road. For this reason, LEDs must be retrieved from roadways after use, potentially placing stranded drivers in a more precarious situation when they must again exit their vehicle to reclaim the object.

Chemical Light Sticks

Chemical light sticks also eliminate the risk of wildfire and do not emit fumes, but they are a much less reliable option. Temperature has a significant effect on chemical light stick performance, even products classified as military grade. When the light stick is frozen, it may not work at all. For motorists living in a wintry climate, chemical light sticks should not be the main road signal device on which they depend.

Reflective Triangles

Reflective triangles may offer long-term cost savings – they don’t have to be replaced after a single use like road flares and light sticks, and they don’t require battery replenishment like LEDs. However, reflective triangles depend on daylight or a light source to catch the attention of other drivers. In the dark, if they are not positioned just right, no distant motorist will see the broken-down vehicle until they are extremely close. Also, in rough weather with high winds, reflective triangles can blow away or be destroyed.

Consider the different types of emergency road signal devices carefully before selecting your item of choice, and contact Stauffer’s Towing for professional advice and whenever you seek fast roadside towing assistance.