Why don't ambulances have their sirens on constantly when they are on a call, rather than just the blue lights and then sounding the sirens only at junctions or when somebody is blocking them?
The reason I ask is that I often see ambulances getting held up, because somebody hasn't been paying attention, and is only aware of them once they are right behind with the siren blaring.
I saw it today, and the ambulance was held up for a good few seconds, while the driver figured out what to do.
About half a mile further down the road, he still wasn't much further ahead, even though it is a wide, straight, main road.
There would have been a much better chance of him realising the ambulance was on its way and taking action, if the siren had been on all the time.
Is there a policy of not using sirens in built up areas except for the minimum time needed?
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Our local ambulances (and other emergency vehicles) seem to have a siren on unless the road is clear policy. I live near an A&E so see and hear plenty of ambulances.
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Could make a good way of weeding out the inattentive drivers, take a big traffic car with plenty of lights out and about and if you fail to move (or acknowledge them when you can't move), on the spot 3 points.
Wouldn't take long.
(jesting btw!)
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My daughter says that they will use the siren if the road ahead is 'clearable' and drivers can get out of the way easily.
She will not use the siren when trapped in a jam as this just gets people flustered and desperate to get out of the way leading to the possibility of an accident happening in front of them, to which they would have to stop and attend .
She would rather be held up for 10/15 seconds than have to abort the call and have another ambulance sent out.
Last week she did a 10 hour high speed driving assessment course and passed with merit...that's my girl !
Another point, often not realised is that emergency vehicles, particularly ambulance and fire, will use the siren when near to an incident, even if the road is quiet, in order to let the victim know that they're nearly there.
Police cars will turn them off if attending a ' Theives on ' call so as not to advertise their approach.
Ted
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Thanks for that, Ted.
My experience is that some morons will sit in their cars, music so damn loud, that they are totally unaware of the approaching emergency vehicle.
Also, when confronted by one, haven't a clue what to do.
This morning, for example, after dropping the kids off at school, was heading home along a suburban backstreet, and there was a 300m queue of traffic on the other side of the road, and a police car on the wrong side, with sirens and lights, heading towards me. I pulled across the side road to the left - thus blocking anyone trying to get out - and the stupid bint behind me passed me, and then sat wondering what to do as the cop car approached at speed. Eventually she pulled into a driveway, thus delaying the coppers by at leat half a minute.
WHAT PART OF THE CORRECT PROCEDURES DIDN'T SHE UNDERSTAND?
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As I understand it another reason ambulances try to avoid using the siren is that it can cause more stress to the passenger eg: ooh, crumbs, I must be really ill if they need to hurry this much...
Incidentally, I live quite close to a hospital that has been in the national press a lot lately - keep tripping over tv crews in the street. The only vehicles that do not get a close examination from security at the moment are emergency ambulances.
Last edited by: Alastairw on Fri 22 Jul 11 at 18:18
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>> As I understand it another reason ambulances try to avoid using the siren is that
>> it can cause more stress to the passenger eg: ooh, crumbs, I must be really
>> ill if they need to hurry this much...
>>
I see as many ambulances heading away from our A&E on sirens as heading for it, if not more. I assume they are heading to an incident and then come back loaded with a non critical customer.
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Been in an ambulance at full pelt, with the twos and blues.
And yes its right - it does scare you, halfway to hospital they thought I might have a punctured lung, and the paramedic in the back told the driver to "step on it" so the sirens came on and the driving got a bit rapid. SO you can see why you get a bit anxious.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 22 Jul 11 at 19:26
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>> you can see why you get a bit anxious.
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But not as alarming as hearing "you might as well turn it off now" :)
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We went in this evening, Alistair to visit DiL and 1 day old son...just 2 security men at the entrance to the car park and we weren't stopped.
I guess security at maternity is pretty good anyway.
Baby home now and screaming healthily !
Ted
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I am glad Ted says they will not turn on the sirens when it's not going to help. Idiot drivers might cause an accident and then that becomes the call they are on.
A concern I have these days and it's probably iPhone users I mostly blame. A lot of people these days are driving with headphones! Why can't they use the car stereo? And if the music is on an iPod/iPhone then (a) use an FM sender or (b) you have the original MP3s so burn a CD?
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Funny how things jog a memory lurking in a dusty corner of the mind.
In about 1971, fairly new on the Road Patrol, a colleague and I were on patrol in a Triumph TR4A with the Surrey top. ( Posing mostly, turned back gloves and Aviator sunspecs ! )
We got a call to a burglar on premises where the police had fitted a silent pressure alarm pad. It was a good quality, but run down, private house and the old dear had been regularly targeted.
We kept the lights on but turned off the music about a 1/2 mile away and arrived in silence, together with the divisional van and Reg, the dog man.
The owner was in the street so Fella was pushed in the front door and we soon heard frenzied screams and barking from upstairs. Fella was leashed and the unfortunate felon was pulled from under a bed where he had sought refuge.
He was , I recall, rather violent and had he come quietly, I'm sure he wouldn't have missed his footing at the top of the stairs. By good fortune there were two officers in the hall who managed to stop him rolling out of the front door !
Still, he got a free ride in a Morris J4 van...what more could you want ?
If we'd left the siren on he'd have ' 'ad it away on his toes ' as the Met boys say !
Ted.
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>> wouldn't have missed his footing at the top of the stairs. By good fortune there
>> were two officers in the hall who managed to stop him rolling out of the
>> front door !
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>
Did they stop his progress with their knees? That would have been helpful.
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...wouldn't have missed his footing at the top of the stairs...
Hope he wasn't black, Ted, you'll have people on here calling you a racist.
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I know police cars have the "American style" sirens which make it hard to tell what direction they are coming from but I don't know why ambulance and fire engines do as I think it would be useful to drivers to know if the vehicle is approaching or not.
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He didn't start off black,Iffers.
But probably ended his descent with a mixture of black and blue.
Ted
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I work on a 'big yellow taxi'.
When the road is clear, sirens are off. When there is traffic, sirens are on. If I am stuck in a queue of traffic that I cannot immediately get through, sirens are off to avoid harassing those in front.
When we are close to the incident, sirens are off. When we need to get to hospital with a time critical patient, sirens are off wherever possible.
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>> ...wouldn't have missed his footing at the top of the stairs...
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>> Hope he wasn't black, Ted, you'll have people on here calling you a racist.
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Black AND blue Iffy by the time he'd reached the bottom!
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>> Why don't ambulances have their sirens on constantly when they are on a call, ............
Unwarranted use of sirens causes unwarranted disturbance to nearby residents.
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that makes me wonder about some films on tv now! - when crooks are "on the job" and you can plainly hear sirens in the background, you never hear a crook say "never mind fingers - its just an ambulance, their using the siren"! - come to think about it further, they never say "urry-up dynamite dan! i can hear the cops comin" either! - as they roll-up outside sirens blaring.
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A police officer told me the exception to Ted's 'no sirens approaching arrival' is when dealing with a pub fight.
The tactic there is to make as much noise as possible on approach in the hope the idiots will stop fighting and scatter, thereby reducing the risk of the coppers having to become involved and being filled in themselves.
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Nobody rushed to fights anyway, Iffy. Either on foot or mobile. Let the beggers tire themselves out, then wade in and clip a few ears.
In my day, a policeman didn't run, unless chasing someone, a gentle saunter in a dignified manner was the order of the day.
I was stood in a shop doorway minding my own business when a guy sidled up to me and said, conversationally, ' We're waiting for an ambulance, a chap's just fallen, round the corner ' Showing mild interest, I followed him at my usual saunter, round to the incident.
He was right, a man was lying on his back in a steel wheelbarrow, having fallen from scaffolding about 7 floors up. He was quite dead. I'm just glad I didn't compromise my dignity by running there. It was the main Post Office in Brown Street, then under construction and he turned out to be the architect. Took ages to find his car afterwards !
Ted
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A now retired Durham copper once said to me: "Never run - it might panic the public."
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Ambulance sirens - Old Navy
