Aerial roof markings
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United Kingdom and Australia and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (July 2020) |
Aerial roof markings are symbols, letters or numbers on the roof of selected
Australia
Different state police forces in Australia use different aerial roof markings to designate specific vehicles, duty types and areas.
New South Wales Police Force
Local Area Commands vehicle bonnet/roof codes
AB | Albury | AS | Ashfield | BA | Barwon | BB | Botany Bay | BK | Bankstown |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BL | Blue Mountains | BN | Blacktown | BR | Barrier | BU | Burwood | BW | Brisbane Water |
CA | Campsie | CB | Canobolas | CC | Coffs/Clarence | CEH | Central Hunter | CF | Chifley |
CM | Cabramatta | CN | Camden | CS | Castlereagh | CT | Campbelltown | CU | Cootmundra |
DL | Darling River | DQ | Deniliquin | EB | Eastern Beaches | ES | Eastern Suburbs | EW | Eastwood |
FA | Fairfield | FL | Flemington | FS | Far South Coast | GF | Griffith | GL | Gladesville |
GN | Goulburn | GV | Green Valley | HB | Hawkesbury | HI | The Hills | HR | Holroyd |
HS | Harbourside | HU | Hurstville | HV | Hunter Valley | JN | Junee | K | Kempsy |
KU | Ku-Ring-Gai | KX | Kings Cross | LE | Leichhardt | LI | Lake Illawarra | LL | Lachlan |
LM | Lake Macquarie | LP | Liverpool | MD | Mount Druitt | ME | Mudgee | MF | Macquarie Fields |
MG | Manning/Great Lakes | MI | Miranda | ML | Manly | MN | Monaro | MNC | Mid North Coast |
MR | Marrickville | NB | Northern Beaches | NTH | Northern Highway Patrol | NCC | Newcastle City | ND | New England |
NS | North Shore | NT | Newtown | NTH | North | OR | Orana | OX | Oxley |
PA | Parramatta | PE | Penrith | PTS | Port Stephens | QH | Quakers Hill | RB | Rose Bay |
RF | Redfern | RH | Rosehill | RM | Richmond | RY | Ryde | SC | Sydney City |
SG | St George | SH | Surry Hills | SM | St Marys | SU | Sutherland | SV | Shoalhaven |
TB | Tweed/Byron | TF | Tenterfield | TL | Tuggerah Lakes | WG | Wollongong | WW | Wagga Wagga |
Fire appliances in New South Wales
Fire and Rescue NSW aerial roof ID codes
AP | Aerial Pump | CT | Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) Tanker | DC | Duty Commander |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIRU | Fire Investigations & Research Unit | H (HH) | Hazmat (Heavy Hazmat) | HH | Heavy Hazmat |
HP | Hazmat Pumper | HT | Hazmat Tanker | ICV | Incident Control Vehicle |
LP | Ladder Platform | LSV | Logistical Support Vehicle | P | Pumper |
R (HR) | Rescue (Heavy Rescue) | RP | Rescue Pumper | RT | Rescue Tanker |
SEV | Service Exchange Vehicle (spare) | USAR | Urban Search and Rescue |
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service fits aerial identification numbers to rural fire appliances with the format consisting of the letter "B" (for Bush Fire) and the last 4 digits of the vehicles RTA approved operations plate. Example: "BF-07967" allocates an aerial ID of "7967". These markings do not denote a vehicles callsign.[1]
The South Australian
United Kingdom
Police vehicles
Police vehicles in the United Kingdom have markings of symbols, letters and numbers on their tops to enable aircraft to identify them. These markings show the use of the vehicle, its force code and a vehicle identifying mark or the police division to which the vehicle belongs.
Not every vehicle displays markings, but those involved in response and traffic generally do. This factor stems from guidelines of the Association of Chief Police Officers relating to police air operations and pursuit management.[2]
Vehicle usage markings
- Armed response vehicle (ARV) used by armed police from various police units – five-point star ★
- General (incident response vehicle or area car)/Traffic– a circle symbol ●
- Dog support unit (DSU) – triangle ▲
- Public order (PO) personnel carrier – square ◼
- Police medics. Some policing vehicles like ARVs and IRVs may have major first aid and fire equipment installed with trained officers aboard – green cross +
On a typical vehicle roof layout, the vehicle usage marking is preceded by an integer PNC Force Identifier; the individual (and within each organisation, unique) Vehicle Identifier, commonly
Unique PNC force code
The Police National Computer (PNC) is used by UK police forces and other government agencies to store and retrieve data about people, vehicles, plant and government locations. Regarding roof markings, their inscription helps identifying the regional or institutional affiliation of each vehicle. PNC force codes are also used when custody records are created, when items are submitted to places such as the Forensic Science Service laboratory, when evidence is stored, or when documents are to be passed from one force to another. They also form the first two digits of any certificate issued under the Firearms Act since the introduction of the National Firearms Licensing Management System. For example, a licence issued by the Metropolitan Police will start with '02'.[citation needed]
Thermal roof markings
In 2004, the UK Home Office, under direction from the Technical and Training Committee of ACPO Air Operations were tasked with improving the recognition and identification of police vehicles amongst other traffic, particularly when operating at night. Colour images show the flashing blue lights but other details are lost, and a thermal camera image would show the vehicles and surroundings, but the livery and roofbar lighting could not be seen. The preferred solution was to make the police vehicle distinguishable when viewed with a thermal camera.
Working with Qinetiq, they developed a thermally reflective marking film and issued the publication "Thermal Roof Markings for Police Vehicles 43/04". These markings reflect infrared light back to the thermal imager, resulting in a contrast between the cold reflection and the ground or vehicle temperature. Being passive in nature, they require no activity on the part of the air observer or vehicle crew, nor any power from the vehicle.[2][3]
Public buses
Vehicles operating London Buses services carry roof markings, as shown in the image opposite. The first three letters denote the operator (GAG is Go-Ahead Group) and the remaining letters and numbers are the fleet number (SEe200), which also appears on the front and rear of the vehicle. From 2023, lozenge-shaped stickers denoting the type of fuel the bus runs on (grey for diesel and 'smart' or 'mild hybrids', orange for electric, blue for hydrogen), placed on the roof below the fleet number of the bus, were rolled out onto every London bus by Transport for London contracted bus operators for ease of identification by the emergency services.[4][5]
Operator codes include:
- ARL, Arriva London
- GAG, Go-Ahead Group
- MTG, Metroline
- ABL, Abellio
- SCG, Stagecoach Group
Germany
Fire vehicles
In Germany, DIN 14035, "Dachkennzeichen für Feuerwehrfahrzeuge" (Roof Marking of Fire Engines), issued in November 1981,[6] defines that fire engines should carry their registration plate number; these include the one-to-three letter abbreviation code of the corresponding Landkreis, thus making regional origin self-evident. The inscription is recommended to be at least 40 cm in size; the font color should, in terms of roof painting, be "white on red", or "black on white and aluminium/metallic".[7]
As DIN standards are, however, not generally binding in Germany, but mere
European Union
Ambulances
CEN 1789, "Medical vehicles and their equipment - Road ambulances", reissued in 2007, recommends in its "informative" annex A "Recognition", that roofs of ambulance vehicles should bear the Red Cross/Crescent Emblems or the Star of Life.
Canada
Aerial roof markings are used by
References
- ^ "Service standard 8.1.2: vehicle marking and identification" (PDF). New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ a b c "Thermal roof markings for police vehicles" (PDF). Home Office Police Science Development Branch. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ "Thermal roof markings for police vehicles (Vehicle roof markings update)" (PDF). Home Office Police Science Development Branch. 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Marius, Callum (12 May 2023). "The reason why London's buses are being plastered in new stickers". MyLondon. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Lyons, Mark (10 June 2023). "First responder stickers for TfL buses". Buses. No. 820. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 19. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Wichtige Normen für den Brandschutz Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2011-03-14
- ^ a b FTZ Gifhorn: Dachkennzeichnung für Feuerwehrfahrzeuge Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2011-03-14
External links
Media related to Aerial roof markings (vehicles) at Wikimedia Commons