Why does the Chicago Fire Department have black over red vehicles with green emergency lights?
Chicago is a city of deep tradition. The Cubs didn't put lights on Wrigley Field until 1986 because they wanted to keep the tradition of playing baseball games during the day. Fire departments are traditional too. Fire fighters rode the buck boards of steam pumpers, then the tail boards of more modern fire engines. Now a days, everyone rides inside the cab. So what's this have to do with black cabs and green lights?
The department chiefs drove Ford Motor Company buggies. These cars had black canvas tops that couldn't be painted. Not to mention, the cars were painted black. Red was an expensive paint color, and fire departments wanted their equipment to stand out. Bright red paint with shiny brass was a symbol of great pride in the fire service.
Then, in 1927 Albert Goodrich became a Fire Commissioner. He came from a family with strong ties to the steamship industry. If you've ever noticed a boat, they have red light on the port (left) side, and green lights on the starboard (right) side. This allows other boats, at a glance, to know which way the surrounding traffic is heading. So Commissioner Goodrich put green lights on the right front, and red lights on the left front of all fire department vehicles.
Personally, I'd like to see green lights on all fire department vehicles. And I know amber lights are supposed to mean "caution", but aren't the red lights supposed to mean "stop"? So why are there amber lights on emergency vehicles? To me, amber lights just tells drivers to slow down instead of pull over and stop.
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cfd.html
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