What Are Those Flashing Blue Lights In Parking Lots For?

Sometimes, if you're out shopping late at night (and perhaps lost where you parked your car), you might notice a blinking blue light in the parking lot. This isn't a standard parking lot light, but a certain type of security system is typically called a mobile surveillance trailer by manufacturers. However, they're also known in a variety of locations by LiveView Technology's brand name for the trailers, Lot Cops. While Lot Cop isn't the official name for these security setups, it has nonetheless become a more common name for mobile surveillance trailers, and regardless of the name or manufacturer, all work similarly.

If you get close to a Lot Cop, you'll notice that it often has security cameras and a solar panel on it, and that it isn't cemented into the ground like most lamp posts. These trailers are meant to survey the area 24/7, alerting authorities to potential suspicious activities. They're also very easy to spot at night,  This is on purpose, as the light — a clear implication that authorities are watching the area — is intended to help deter crime in the first place.

Lot Cops aren't the only security devices that use blue lights. There are also emergency blue light phones, which are typically placed in areas that tend to be more isolated at night, such as an empty parking garage and particularly dark areas on a walkway. They are also another type of safety device you can find in outdoor parking lights. Similar to Lot Cops, the blue light is meant to serve as an easy indicator that the emergency phone is there so you can get help if you need it. These phones also tend to rely on internal Wi-Fi and VoIP systems for a connection instead of typical cellular lines — so if the emergency features on your smartphone don't end up working, you don't need to worry about a stable signal with a blue light phone.

The security devices have a few differences, even if their intent is largely the same. For example, you can't directly call for help from a mobile surveillance trailer, though the feed is being monitored. Blue light phones, on the other hand, only start blinking when you use them — otherwise, they have a solid blue light. This all might leave you wondering about something, though: Why blue lights, specifically?

The reason why these devices use blue lights, as opposed to red or another color, comes down to how we perceive these lights in other settings. Blue lights are often associated with police vehicles, particularly when cops are using cruise lights to alert a neighborhood that they're in the area. Just like those cruise lights, the blinking blue lights of Lot Cops alert people nearby that law enforcement is keeping an eye on the area, whether that means in the case of someone needing help or in the case of deterring crime.

Red lights, on the other hand, are often associated with ambulances and fire trucks — emergency vehicles that you stop and pull over for. Yellow lights are typically used for utility vehicles like garbage trucks, and other light colors will vary by situation. Given that blue lights are already used by the police and are easier to see at night, it makes the most sense that Lot Cops and emergency phones adopt the color.