Ambulance reflective markings

sgt.bilko wrote: »

Someone here might have the answer so here goes :

On both NAS and DFB ambulances, I've noticed that there's narrow reflective markings that go horizontally and vertically , as per images.

My question is: are these markings a H&S requirement on Ambulances or are they at the discretion of the service in question (DFB / NAS)

Battenberg was primarily introduced as a corporate colour scheme for the UK Police and visibility was a secondary concern.
Blue is the least visible colour in the human eye spectrum and that's why the battenberg has to have very large yellow squares to make it visible.
There are no certified tests on either yellow and green or yellow and red battenberg to test their visibility.
The " small" battenberg in use here on ambulances apart from a corporate identity is probably pointless. The euro yellow colour of the ambulance is probably the most effective element of visibility and nighttime visibility would be better if the vehicle had it's outline marked in narrow reflective tape.
The same goes for fire appliances, we spend thousands applying battenberg to lockers and the first thing we do at an incident is open the lockers so you can't see the battenberg.
Interestingly I think, UK police studies showed that battenberg was actually less visible in urban environments and is actually only better on motorways ....