Wig-wag (automobile)

Visual wig-wag (automobile) lights-flashing mechanism

This article is about the wig-wag light-flashing mechanism. For other uses, see Wigwag (disambiguation).

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NWAS ambulance displays the operation of a wig-wag: only one headlight operates at a time, with the two flashing alternately at a preset rate.

A wig-wag is a device for flashing an automobile's headlamps, in its simplest form, so only one of the two headlights operates at a time, with the two flashing at a preset rate. In its traditional form a wig-wag emits the right and left headlamps alternately, with each lamp lit for around half a second at a time. In the United Kingdom, the wig-wag is only seen on the road on emergency vehicles. The 'standard' wig-wag is often used within a cycle of other illumination patterns, such as swiftly alternating the left and right headlights, alternating the left and right headlights slowly, or flashing both headlights together, and using a mixture of high- and low-/dipped-beams.

Although the use of flashing headlights does increase the visibility of any vehicle,[citation needed] it can also create problems. When highbeam headlights are flashed, the wig-wag may create glare or temporarily blind the drivers of oncoming vehicles.

Generally, wig-wags are prohibited on all vehicles except emergency vehicles.[1] However, the road rules in New South Wales, Australia, and some areas in the United States allow school buses to have flashing headlights.[2] In New South Wales specifically, additional wig-wag lights (separate from the headlights) are used on all public transport buses. In the United States, motorcycles are similarly allowed to be equipped with a headlamp modulator to increase conspicuity during the daytime. In the United States specifically, additional Wig-Wag lights (separate from the headlights) are used on all public transport buses, and such buses can use white (clear) lights (LED Headlight with High Low Beam & Parking Light) to increase conspicuity during the daytime.

## Notes

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1. ^ "UK Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989". legislation.gov.uk. UK Government. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2017-04-20.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

## See also

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* Emergency vehicle equipment
* Motorcycle headlamp modulator