Police vehicles on motorways need to be distinctive for safety and security reasons and the blue and yellow ‘Battenburg’ livery now being used by police forces across the country is underpinned by high quality ergonomics research.
This research has been recognised for its excellence by the presentation of the Ergonomics Design Award to ergonomists from Loughborough Design School, Loughborough University, at the Ergonomics and Human Factors 2013 Conference at Robinson College, Cambridge in April.
This is the first nationwide livery to be adopted for police vehicles and motorcycles and was developed according to strict criteria set by the Home Office. Driving is a complex and dynamic task, so it is critical that motorists see police vehicles as soon as possible, particularly as they could be engaged in an emergency operation. Therefore, the livery had to be conspicuous both day and night and in all weather conditions because high visibility not only reassures the public and deters criminals but it also enhances officer and public safety.
The Loughborough team investigated previous research relating to visual perception and identified factors relevant to distinguishing objects against their backgrounds. Yellow was chosen because it is one of the colours easiest to see and it was used in large blocks of colour with blue, a colour already associated with the police, because these are more visually effective.
Input from users is always an essential element of any ergonomics project. Therefore, the team undertook a series of laboratory, field and road trials involving users. In the laboratory trials, the findings demonstrated that the proposed livery outperformed the civilian and police vehicles it was assessed against. The views of police drivers from 12 different forces were gathered as part of the road trials, with the result that 86% of those questioned considered it was more conspicuous than existing livery, with 70% in favour its introduction.
Fleet managers provided their opinions regarding livery performance relating to its repair, interaction with fuel and the effects of power washing. In addition, the new livery should ideally offer a cost-neutral option.
Other emergency services in the UK are adopting the Battenburg livery format, though the colours used with yellow might differ. The same design is also being used by emergency services across the globe including those in the USA, New Zealand, Sweden and Hong Kong.
The Ergonomics Design Award is an annual competition organised by the IEHF to recognise the best application by ergonomists or designers of ergonomics and human factors to a project, product or design. The award is sponsored by IEHF Registered Consultancy, CCD Design & Ergonomics.
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