Battenburg markings

A Volvo fire appliance from South Australian Fire with red and yellow Battenburg markings

Battenburg markings or Battenberg markings^[a] are a pattern of high-visibility markings developed in the United Kingdom (UK) in the 1990s and now used on the sides of emergency service vehicles in the UK, Crown dependencies, British Overseas Territories and several other European countries such as the Czech Republic, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium as well as in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Trinidad and Tobago. The name comes from its similarity in appearance to the cross-section of a Battenberg cake.

History[]

Northern Constabulary vehicles that were changed to Battenburg markings

Battenburg markings were developed in the mid-1990s in the United Kingdom by the Police Scientific Development Branch (now the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology) at the request of the national motorway policing sub-committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers. They were first developed for traffic patrol cars for United Kingdom police forces; private organisations and civil emergency services have also used them since then.

The brief was to create a livery for motorway and trunk road police vehicles that would maximise the vehicles' visibility, from a distance of up to 500 metres (1,600 ft), when stopped either in daylight or under headlights, and which distinctively marked them as police vehicles.^[1]

The key objectives were to create markings that:^[2]

• Made officers and vehicles more conspicuous (e.g. to prevent collisions when stopped)
• Made police vehicles recognisable at a distance of up to 500 metres (1,600 ft) in daylight
• Assisted in high-visibility policing for public reassurance and deterrence of traffic violations
• Made police vehicles nationally recognisable
• Were an equal-cost option compared to existing markings
• Were acceptable to at least 75% of the staff

Conspicuity[]

A Czech ambulance with green and yellow Battenburg markings

Battenburg design uses a regular pattern and the contrast between a light and a dark colour to increase conspicuity for the human eye. The lighter colour is daylight-fluorescent (such as fluorescent-yellow) for better visibility in daytime, dusk and dawn. For night-time visibility, the complete pattern is retroreflective.

The Battenburg design typically has two rows of alternating rectangles, usually starting with yellow at the top corner, then the alternating colour, along the sides of a vehicle. Most cars use two block rows in the design (so-called full-Battenburg scheme). Some car designs use a single row (so-called half-Battenburg scheme) or one and a half rows.

Unless precautions are taken, pattern markings can have a camouflage effect, concealing a vehicle's outline, particularly in front of a cluttered background.^[3][4] With Battenburg markings, this can be avoided by:

• Making rectangles large enough for optical resolution from distance—at least 600 × 300 mm.^[1] A typical car pattern consists of seven blocks along the vehicle side. (An odd number of blocks also allows both top corner blocks to be the same fluorescent colour.)
• Clearly marking cars' outlines in fluorescent colour along the roof pillars
• Avoiding designs with more than two block rows (even for higher vehicles) by including a large area of plain or daylight-fluorescent color.
• Avoiding hybrid designs of Battenburg markings and other high-visibility patterns or check patterns.^[2]

The Battenburg livery is not used on the rear of vehicles; upward-facing chevrons of yellow and red are most commonly used there.

Sillitoe tartan[]

A Victoria Police vehicle with blue-and-white Sillitoe tartan

In the development of Battenburg markings, one of the key goals was to clearly identify vehicles associated with police. In this regard, the pattern was reminiscent of the Sillitoe tartan black-and-white or blue-and-white chequered markings first introduced by the City of Glasgow Police in the 1930s, which were subsequently adopted as a symbol of police services throughout the United Kingdom and as far away as Chicago Police Department, Australia,^[5] and New Zealand. (Although Sillitoe patterns identified vehicles associated with police and other emergency services, they were not highly visible.)

After the launch of Battenburg markings, police added retro-reflective Sillitoe tartan markings to their uniforms, usually in blue and white.

Safety[]

Belgian Red Cross ambulances with yellow and green Battenburg markings on the side and chevrons on the rear

It is important for emergency vehicles to be conspicuous, to reduce accidents when they are in unusual traffic situations—e.g. stopped in fast-moving traffic, or moving at different speeds or in different directions. The Battenburg side markings, often with chevron front and rear markings, provide this conspicuity.

Several criticisms of the Battenburg scheme were raised at the 3rd Annual US Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Safety Summit in October 2010 about their use on ambulances, including:

• The difficulty of applying them to small, curved, and oddly-shaped surfaces
• The high costs of adopting the markings
• The confusing pattern caused when several parked Battenburg vehicles visually overlap
• Obscuring the vehicle's shapes against complex backgrounds, or with open doors and hatches
• Combinations other than police yellow/blue being less effective, and sometimes even making emergency personnel harder to see
• Confronting the public with unfamiliar markings

The pattern's use by services other than UK police, and in other countries, was also criticised.

The high-visibility chevrons often used on the rear and front of Battenburg-marked vehicles, "through popular opinion rather than by a scientific process of testing and research", were found ineffective at reducing rear-end collisions. Stationary vehicles on high-speed roads were likely to be noticed, but not the fact that they were stopped. Parking at an angle was found a far more effective way of indicating the vehicles were stopped.^[2]

Usage by country[]

Australia[]

A New South Wales Ambulance response vehicle, with red/white Battenburg markings and additional reflective stripes intended to increase overall visibility

In Western Australia, St John Ambulance Western Australia uses green/yellow markings, while New South Wales Ambulance uses red/white Battenburg markings on ambulances and patient transport vehicles.^[6] Western Australia and New South Wales are the few states in Australia that utilise Battenburg markings, with most other emergency departments of other states utilising the similar Sillitoe tartan markings.

Common Battenburg markings used in Australia
	St John Ambulance Western Australia	Yellow / Green
	New South Wales Ambulance	Red / White
	South Australian Country Fire Service	Yellow / Orange

Belgium[]

Ambulances in Belgium, 2018

Fire services vehicle, 2018

In response to the terrorist attacks on 13 November 2015 in Paris and 22 March 2016 in Brussels, the Belgian federal government conducted an analysis on the functioning of the emergency services during terrorist attacks. The main issue identified regarding the emergency medical services was that their recognizability (of both vehicles and personnel) had to improve, so that emergency workers would be able to identify qualified medical providers more quickly during an intervention.

An agreement was made between the federal government and the Communities and Regions to implement the same new vehicle markings and uniforms. Specifically, emergency ambulances and response vehicles would keep the yellow base color, whilst non-emergency ambulances would get a white base color. Both types of vehicles would be marked with retroreflective yellow/green Battenburg markings, similar to British ambulances.

A new uniform for medical personnel was also introduced, with different colors for the Star of Life for the different types of workers.^[7]

Aside from medical vehicles, some new fire brigade, Civil Protection and highway services vehicles also use respectively yellow/red, blue/orange and yellow/black Battenburg markings.

Common Battenburg markings used in Belgium
	Emergency medical services	Yellow / Green
	Police force (Antwerp) [8]	Yellow / Blue
Uncommon Battenburg markings used in Belgium
	Fire services	Yellow / Red
	Roadside assistance Taxicabs in Brussels	Yellow / Black
	Belgian Civil Protection	Orange / Blue

Ambulance in the Czech Republic, 2012

Czech Republic[]

Common Battenburg markings used in the Czech Republic
	Emergency medical services	Yellow / Green

Denmark[]

Danish emergency vehicles can have one of two options. Either a series of diagonal lines or a Battenburg pattern. The diagonal lines must be either red/white or red/yellow at an angle of 45° ± 5° and have a width of 100 mm ± 2,5 mm. In the front and rear of the vehicle, the marking must be made symmetrical in a way that traffic is lead around the vehicle.^[9]

Battenburg used in Denmark

	Police	Yellow / Blue
	Ambulances, doctor cars and similar	Yellow / Green
	Fire Department	Yellow / Red

Vehicles may have a reflective text in the above colors, describing their function, for example "POLITI" (Police), "ALARM 112", "AMBULANCE", "LÆGEVAGT" (Doctor), "INDSATSLEDER" (Incident Commander) or similar text.

The above patterns aren't obligatory. For example the Danish Emergency Management Agency have chosen to simply not have any reflective marking on their vehicles.

Germany[]

All rescue vehicles in Bavaria, which have been procured uniformly since 2017 have a foiling in the Battenburg marker.^[10] From 2019 the ambulance service in Schleswig-Holstein started to adapt the design.

Bavarian Red Cross Schleswig-Holstein Ambulance

Orange / Yellow

Hong Kong[]

Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory until 1997. Some emergency vehicles and special vehicles in the Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong Fire Services Department, Auxiliary Medical Service, and Hong Kong St. John Ambulance use Battenburg markings.

Common Battenburg markings used in Hong Kong

	Police Force, Traffic Branch Headquarters	Yellow / Blue
	Police Force, a few other vehicles	White / Blue
	Fire Services Department, Mobile Casualty Treatment Centre	Yellow / Green
	Fire Services Department, Hazmat Tender, and Fire Motorcycle	Yellow / Red
	Fire Services Department, Mobile Publicity Unit, and Fire Safety Education Bus
	Fire Services Department, Emergency Medical Assistant Motor Cycle, Rapid Response Vehicle and Paramedic Equipment Tender
	Fire Services Department, Mobile Command Unit, and Forward Command Car	White / Red
	Auxiliary Medical Service, Paramedic motorcycle	Yellow / Green
	Hong Kong St. John Ambulance, Ambulance

Ireland[]

A Land Rover Defender field ambulance from Dublin Civil Defence, Ireland

Emergency ambulance in Dublin Ireland

In Ireland, a similar system to the UK is used with some variations.

Vehicles of the IRCG

Common Battenburg Markings Used in Ireland

Battenburg	Service	Colours	Example
	Garda Síochána (police) Airport Police Service	Yellow / Blue
	HSE National Ambulance Service St John Ambulance Ireland	Yellow / Green
	Fire and Rescue Order of Malta	Yellow / Red
	Civil Defence	Blue / Orange
	Coast Guard	Orange / Yellow
	Mountain Rescue	White / Orange
	Red Cross	Red / Blue

New Zealand[]

A New Zealand Police car

The New Zealand Police use yellow/blue Battenburg markings on some vehicles.^[11] Until October 2008 general duties vehicles were marked in orange and blue, with yellow and blue for highway patrol units; orange and blue was phased out in 2014.^[12] Vehicles of New Zealand's St John's Ambulance Service/ Wellington Free Ambulance are marked with green and Yellow Battenburg markings or rows of green and yellow half-chevrons. On 1 July 2017, New Zealand's urban and rural firefighting organisations amalgamated into Fire and Emergency New Zealand, with a new brand including Battenburg markings to be rolled out to the fleet.^[13]

Common Battenburg markings used in New Zealand

	Police	Yellow / Blue
	St John Ambulance/Wellington Free Ambulance	Yellow / Green
	Fire and Emergency New Zealand	Yellow / Red

Sweden[]

Swedish Volvo V90 police car with Battenburg markings (2017)

Saab 9-5 (2011)

Originally Swedish Police vehicles were painted with black roofs and doors or black roofs, bonnet, and boot. During the 1980s the cars became white with the word "Polis" written on the side in a semi-futuristic typeface. Later the livery became simply blue and white, then in 2005 was changed to a light blue and fluorescent yellow Battenburg livery. Swedish police cars have been Saabs, Volvos or Volkswagens, with the same livery all over Sweden. A recent Swedish trend is to also use Battenburg markings on road maintenance vehicles. These are then marked with orange/blue, as in the UK rail response type shown above. A study by the Swedish Road Administration showed a significant traffic calming effect when using orange/blue Battenburg marking to improve the visibility of road maintenance vehicles.^[14]

Common Battenburg markings used in Sweden
	Police	Yellow / Blue
	Ambulance	Yellow / Green
	Fire Brigade	Yellow / Red
	Road maintenance	Blue / Orange

Switzerland[]

Swiss Border Guard vehicle

The first Swiss ambulance service with Battenburg markings was the emergency medical services in Zofingen. Since 2008, they have Battenburg markings on a Volkswagen Crafter and a Mercedes Sprinter. They use white and red markings on their ALS units.

Another Swiss service with Battenburg markings is the Swiss Border Guard agency, which uses yellow block markings on its vehicles.

Common Battenburg markings used in Switzerland
	Swiss Border Guard	Yellow / Navy Blue

United Kingdom[]

A BMW X5 of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, with half-Battenburg markings

A Land Rover Discovery used by Highways Agency Traffic Officers with black and yellow Battenburg

A Network Rail van with a narrow strip of orange and blue Battenburg

In the United Kingdom, the majority of the emergency services have adopted the Battenburg style of markings; nearly half of all police forces adopted the markings within three years of their introduction, and over three quarters were using it by 2003.^[1]

In 2004, following the widespread adoption and recognition of the Battenburg markings on police vehicles, the Home Office recommended that all police vehicles, not just those on traffic duty, use "half-Battenburg" livery, formalising the practice of a number of forces.

In the United Kingdom each emergency service has been allocated a specified darker colour in addition to yellow, with the police continuing to use blue, ambulances using green, and the fire service their traditional red. Other government agencies such as immigration enforcement have adopted a variation, without using the reflective yellow.^[15]

The use of these colours in retro-reflective material is controlled by the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989, with vehicles only legally allowed the use of amber reflective material (and red near the rear of the vehicle),^[16][17] A number of civilian organisations have also adopted the pattern, which is not legally protected, and a number of these also use other reflective colours.

An alternative to the use of reflective materials is the use of fluorescent or other non-reflective markings, which may be used by any vehicle.

Common Battenburg markings used in the United Kingdom^[18][19]

Battenburg	Service	Colours	Example
	Police Forces	Yellow / Blue
	Ambulance and Doctors	Yellow / Green
	Fire and Rescue	Yellow / Red
	NHS Blood and Transplant, Blood Bikes	Yellow / Orange
	Highways Agency Traffic Officers, Welsh Government Traffic Officers and DVSA	Yellow / Black
	Rail Response	Orange / Blue
	Mountain Rescue and Lowland Rescue	White / Orange[19][20][21][22]
	HM Coastguard	Yellow / Navy Blue
	Immigration Enforcement Border Force	Sky Blue / Navy Blue[15]
	Highways England contractors	Pink / Black

United States[]

Battenburg markings on law enforcement vehicles in the US are rare; however, the Miami Township Police Department in Ohio has previously used ones similar to those found in the UK on their police cars.^[23]

Battenburg markings are also used in Charleston, SC on Charleston County EMS vehicles. ^[24]

See also[]

• Sillitoe tartan
• Aerial roof markings
• Blues and twos
• Panda car
• Jam sandwich (police car)

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battenburg markings.

• High Conspicuity Livery for Police Cars 14-04
• High Conspicuity Livery for Police Motorcycles 47-06