| According to the police, purple and pink are among the colours deemed to be quite acceptable, but blue, red, green amber and white would be out of the question. The colours at issue related to lighting for one of the increasing number of stretch limousines to be seen on Dundee’s roads.
Operators of Sir Normal Limousines were asking for a variation of their taxi licence to allow them to fit ground lighting to the underside of a stretch limo.
A police officer said the lighting requested was not illegal, as it reflected light on to the road surface rather than shining it directly outwards. But, he said, the police would want a condition attached prohibiting the use of blue, red, green, amber and white.
That, apparently, is because the public associate those colours with things like traffic lights and the flashing lights on emergency vehicles.
Councillor John Corrigan, looking slightly bemused, asked “What colours can they use then; what’s left?” Purple and pink were put forward as acceptable colours, but it was pointed out there were myriad shades of different colours, which could be acceptable.
The possibility the lights might distract other drivers was not seen as a problem as the nature of the vehicles was such they were going to draw public attention anyway.
Having ascertained the reason for the lighting was purely for show, Lord Provost John Letford opposed the application. However, he was unable to find a seconder and his motion fell.
Councillor Neil Powrie, who said he had seen the kind of lighting requested on other vehicles and felt it was quite attractive, moved approval of the application and it was formally granted by the committee. |
