Emergency services' use of sirens at junctions when on call

[baccalad]

Most of the time when I see an ES vehicle coming up to a junction and it has its lights on, it will give a quick blast of the sirens just to make everybody aware. But more often than I feel comfortable with, like last night, a police car was trying to turn across me at a set of traffic lights without using his sirens and only having his lights on. I saw him so slowed down to let him through, but the car in the lane to the left of me didn't and came flying through the lights at 40mph and when he saw the police car he did this sort of swerving manoeuvre. It just begs the question why not just give a quick blast of the sirens to save crashes from happening.

[Palms]

I dont think i have ever failed to see them at night
Almost everytime i see the emergency vehicles i spot the reflections of the blue lights before i even see the car.

[Hangcheck]

baccalad said:

. It just begs the question why not just give a quick blast of the sirens to save crashes from happening.

What time was it last night? The reason I ask is having lived previously in a town near to a four-way junction I appreciated them not waking me up at all hours by always using them. They used to go lights only unless they had to at around 11pm.

[Monty Python]

If you can't see the flashing blue lights on an emergency vehicle you need your eyes testing, but a siren won't help if the driver is deaf.

[TooMany2cvs]

baccalad said:

last night, a police car was trying to turn across me at a set of traffic lights without using his sirens and only having his lights on. I saw him so slowed down to let him through, but the car in the lane to the left of me didn't and came flying through the lights at 40mph and when he saw the police car he did this sort of swerving manoeuvre. It just begs the question why not just give a quick blast of the sirens to save crashes from happening.

Night. October. Dark.

Yet numptybks not only didn't see the flashing blues undoubtedly reflecting off everything around, but just blindly tonked through a junction he couldn't see to be clear, without even taking the hint that the other vehicle he could see in the junction was randomly slowing for no apparent reason...

And it's the Police's fault?

Odds on numptybks had his music turned up so bloody high that he wouldn't have heard the sirens anyway. Would that still be the Police's fault?

[Foppo]

I find Ambulances very sensible when they are out on a emergency call.Quick blast on a junction makes sense.It isn't always easy to judge which way a flashing E/Vehicle will go on a junction.

[anonymous-user]

You'd need to have st in your eyes to miss the lights reflecting from everything, lighting up all creation. This is more a "some motorists are dimwitted fks" thread than a "emergency services doing something wrong" thread.

[PompeyPaul]

On occasions Police will not use sirens, such as when responding to a burglary in progress etc.

Agreed - the majority of the time average member of the public bimbles along in their own world, probably forgetting they even have a rear view mirror, let alone actually looking further ahead and forward planning...

[Freddy88FM]

Probably wise to put the sirens on for a second. Though strictly speaking a green light means it's legal to proceed and definitely not mean it is safe to do so, therefore strictly speaking I'd guess the driver of the car to be in the wrong.

[mike13]

Occasionally we are sent to a locus e.g. suicidal patient on a bridge and informed to approach silently, not saying in this instance that's what it was.

[Planter]

I drive an emergency vehicle and typically you will normally give a short blast of the sirens when approaching a junction especially if running through red lights.

However, you kind of judge it by traffic and road conditions. Generally you dont keep sirens on unless needing to work your way through heavily congested areas or for reasons to make people aware.

But a toot at traffic is a sensible idea. You would be surprised even when you have two tones and lights on that people still dont see or acknowledge you.