I set off when the traffic lights turned green when the artic in front slammed his brakes on, and yes I was very close to becomming the midle to a lorry sandwich, this was to allow a police car to go through a red light.
This is on a major junction at Walton on Thames (Aston Martin) I going from the police station to go over the bridge, and he came from Oatlands and going straight across, and was surprised that whilst he had his lights on the siren was so quiet and neither were noticeable from behind this lorry - do they have different sound levels ?? if so this one should have had it at level top, not bottom, especailly when doing such a dangerous manouvere
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A green light only gives you permission to move if it is safe. The truck driver saw the emergency vehicle and stopped. If you had rammed the truck it is your problem.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 29 Jul 11 at 08:44
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The trucker has better visibility than a car driver and may have seen - or heard - the emergency vehicle before anyone else.
I was driving the CC3 with the top down and pulled over to let a police car through, much to the initial consternation of the car driver behind.
I had seen and heard the police car before he did.
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I had a similar one recently, I indicated left and stopped for a fire engine rapidly catching up on me. The car behind me (who had not seen it in his mirrors) over took me gesticulating wildly, and must have had a heart attack when the fire engine used its "Fog horn" in addition to its siren from a few feet behind him. He probably still hasn't linked me stopping to the fire engine.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 29 Jul 11 at 09:39
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Do you mean bull horn?!
That's probably the biggest problem we see - car A pulling over then car B attempting to overtake car A without checking their mirrors. Another problem is two cars who amazingly manage to stop opposite each other and therefore closing a gap for us to get through.
In answer to the OP, was your window closed and your radio on? Emergency sirens don't have a volume knob, so maybe this is why you didn't hear it.
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>> Do you mean bull horn?!
>>
I was a sailor, we have fog horns. :-)
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A few years ago Durham Police experimented with inserting some 'white noise' in between the bursts of sirens.
Research suggested that combination carried better.
One of the problems is trying to throw any noise forward - where you want it - from a fast moving vehicle.
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cheers Diesel boy an answer to the question - Yes to radio and yes to windows closed, but even when it went past me, it still didn't sound as loud as other normal sirens I hear on a daily basis- I live just of a major road that regularly has emergency traffic on it - so far today 4 vehicles - and with the double glazed windows all seemed louder than that police car
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I live near an A&E. Outside I can hear ambulances on sirens approaching from over a mile away, inside nothing, and I only have standard wooden double glazing. I did not hear the fire engine I mentioned earlier until it was very close, eyes work far better.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 29 Jul 11 at 10:02
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It can be confusing to drivers,you hear a sirene in the distance or closeby and look in your mirrow or around you where the emergency vehicle is.
The other day whilst driving,a car drove towards the ambulance on a emergency call and blocking the driver.Some people's brain shut off what to do.
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The fire appliances in London, have a low, medium and high setting, with three different sounds.
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"The fire appliances in London, have a low, medium and high setting, with three different sounds".
You know this?.....or are just speculating? Cos the ones I used in London had no volume control. Three different ones - wail, yelp and two tone and, more latterly, bullhorn. (and a rather puny roadhorn). No volume control. Why are saying this when you don't know? Can you imagine the dialogue in a court case....."I only had the volume set to 'low' M'lud, cos I didn't want to annoy the neighbours" and it was only a grass fire we were going to??????
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When did you use the ones in London. How long ago. Cause the PRESENT ones have a LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH setting.
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You're right. I'm wrong. Apologies. They changed when the Mercs took over from the Volvos. The fella I spoke to (still serving) said they keep them on high in his experience, but, yes, they have H,M and L options.
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"They changed when the Mercs took over from the Volvos"
Correct. And....apology accepted. :-)
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It's very hard to tell from which direction a sound is coming from.
Particularly true when you are in a closed car.
Research shows most of the sound comes in through the tin roof, because the metal lets more sound through than the windows.
The occupants of the car have the sensation of the siren sound coming from above, or all around, them.
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I believe two tones were better for directional recognition. For drivers and pedestrians alike.
I wonder what the statistics are for blue light traffic accidents with the American style sirens compares with the time when two tones were used?
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I've heard strange croaking noises coming from emergency vehicles recently; sure that's a new thing.
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That might be white noise. It is supposed to help indicate the direction of the noise.
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American police cars use both blue and red light. Why do we use only blue? Is there any scientific reason or just a matter of convention?
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White noise was experimented with quite a while ago. AFAIK no emergency vehicles in the UK have it. The strange cracking noise is just another mode.
Last edited by: Mr. Ecs on Fri 29 Jul 11 at 16:12
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>> I believe two tones were better for directional recognition. For drivers and pedestrians alike.
Agreed, far better, and once passed the notes changed, even if you never laid eyes on the vehicle you'd know it was going away.
As an aside are modern drivers so sickly that they must cocoon themselves in insipid air conditioned isolation like experiments in some secret facility.
What's wrong with having a window open at lower speed, even a couple of inches, smells, sounds and the noise of human existance.
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Smells sounds and noise of human existance?
Keep your windows shut.;)
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>> Agreed, far better, and once passed the notes changed, even if you never laid eyes
>> on the vehicle you'd know it was going away.
Yeah, the doppler affect of the two tones lets you know if its heading towards you and some idea of how quickly its gaining.
Warbles, yelps, don't seem to have an audible doppler affect.
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blues and two's and red lights - Old Navy
