Anyone Agree That Emergency Vehicle Sirens Are WAY TOO LOUD?

... in my opinion, the sirens on police cars, ambulances and fire trucks are too bloody loud!

... man, when those emergency vehicles zoom by me i have to put my hands on my ears to block out the deafening sound. i just don't see any reason why sirens are as loud as they are. you can hear them miles away and in fact flashing lights with NO SOUND is more than sufficient to alert you to their presence. and i'll bet you anything the cabs of those vehicles are soundproofed to keep the excruciatingly earsplitting sound of their sirens out ...

... anyone else agree that the sirens on emergency vehicles are too damn loud?

 

The sirens are to alert other drivers to make way for them. Other drivers are driving in enclosed cabins of vehicles that drown out outside noise. Sirens have to be loud so that other drivers can hear them.

 

I don't think they are to loud, but I do think that at certain times, they might not be needed quite as much...

Example: Sunday morning at 4am, there tends to be no traffic around, so why wake up an entire neighbourhood?

 

There is still traffic at 4am. It is a lot less, but you still want to ensure any other drivers on the road no matter how few will still hear emergency vehicles.

Every second counts in an emergency. Surely, you can put up with a little noise if a life depends on it.

 

They are probably loud because someone could sue them for being too quiet... Some people are never happy with anything

 

... if a life depends on it? lol! thanks for your reply, but the emotionally fragile government are such a bunch of babies they think EVERYTHING is an emergency, whether it is or not!

... i highly doubt the vast majority of the fire department's so-called emergencies are true life-or-death situations in any way. those narcissistic childish juveniles are so full of themselves they have to be the center of attention even if they're just being called out to get some old lady's cat down from a tree ...

... trust me, they are NOT responding to emergencies in all situations by any means ...

 

OP is actually quite deaf/probably suffers from Tinnitus and also has reduced tolerance to sound aka Hyperacusis

 

... ha ha! lol! not true, bill. but the earsplitting wail from those loud emergency vehicle sirens sure feels like it might do damage to people's ears that could cause deafness ...

... here's my only personal experience with the fire department:

... i was living in surrey and i decided to burn a pile of leaves i'd raked up in a metal oil drum in our front yard. i'd grown up being able to burn refuse in our yard any time we wanted to here in powell river so i didn't think it would be a big deal -- it's my yard, i can do what i want. well, as i was watching the leaves burn in the oil drum all of a sudden i heard the distant wail of fire engine sirens and the wail kept on getting louder and louder and the next thing i knew two massive fire engines were turning onto our street and they stopped right in front of our house. the firefighters then jumped out of the trucks and came up to me and told me a fire had been reported at our house. a fire??? what a joke! there was no fire at all, i was just burning some leaves in a drum! apparently our neighbour next door reported me to the fire department ...

... my point is, i know for a fact the fire department overreacts and that some of the emergencies they're supposedly called out on aren't emergencies at all ...

 

I don't think sirens are too loud and I am ok with them being as loud as they are. My reasons for this is because...

- Sometimes when I am in my car with the windows up and got the music cranked to 11, I won't hear the sirens until they are close.

- Some people just DO NOT know how to drive, and they need the extra warning time to figure out what to do rather than stopping right in the middle of the road and blocking the open lane that the emergency vehicle is trying to access.

- If someone is injured and seconds will determine life or death, I would rather be momentarily inconvenienced and get out of their way ASAP in order for that person to live.

What, no post about the police using their sirens to get their donuts and coffee fresh? lol

 

I would say that is the fault of the person to called the fire department. I think they would err on the side of caution rather than really scrutinise every call just to make sure it is an actual emergency. If a person calls to report a fire, I think the fire department should respond as if it were actually a fire. In a fire, every second counts and lives and property could be at stake.

 

... what i'm talking about in this thread is unnecessary noise pollution rendered for no other reason than to satisfy the bloated egos of control-freak simians who think part of their job is harassing the population, which it isn't ...

... i mean, is it really necessary to have a fire engine blaring its siren down any street at three o'clock in the morning like they do when there is zero traffic on the roads and everyone is sound asleep? no, it sure as hell is not!

 

I have noticed that the ambulance sirens in Vancouver seem way louder than anywhere else. Sometimes to the point that they are annoying. They don't seem as loud in Surrey.

Also, whenever there are sirens near my home, all the dogs in the neighbourhood start howling because it hurts their sensitive ears.

 

The legal rule of thumb should be that these sirens are only permitted to be sent where there is any reasonable chance of someone or something colliding with the emergency vehicle. Thus if the siren is so loud that it is clearly audible two sideward city blocks away, they are breaking noise laws. Why? Because there is utterly no chance that people two sideward blocks away can ever cross their path. In the future, as focused sound technology becomes more developed, we can pass laws that they can only send sound forwards in their path, not sidewards.

 

... the notion that the fire department must get to a fire scene as soon as possible doesn't cut it since in most cases the firemen just let homes and buildings burn to the ground when they arrive anyway. there's no need for them to use their sirens or speed to locations at all since it doesn't make any difference to the outcome ...

 

Sound is a wave that diffracts around corners. Even when speakers are aimed forwards, the sound will diffract around the edge of the speakers to the sides. That is the physics of waves in general. You cannot stop waves from behaving like waves. Passing laws to make sound not diffract will not change the laws of physics.

 

If there happens to be people still trapped inside the building, seconds could mean possibly the firemen saving those people's lives.

Depending on the seriousness of the fire, the building may not be saved, but you still want to minimise any potential damage to nearby buildings. Firemen also must ensure that the fire does not spread elsewhere. Containing the fire is an important job that firemen do. If the fire spreads, it could also endanger other people as well.

 

I am so glad this is being talked about! I lived in so many big cities around Europe, and even once next to a fire station, never heard so many emergency sirens during the day. It just can’t be that there are more emergencies here then anywhere else in the world. Vancouver provincialism just can’t cope with its own rapid growth, and the frequent sirens are a symptom of that. Once I was on a bus (#3) and a homeless/possibly addict passed out and fell forwards from his seat. Immediately 911 was called and we were told by the driver not to touch him (again liability over common humanity). Bus pulled up, passengers evacuated, two fire trucks, one ambulance, and one transit emergency vehicle arrived, traffic at the main and Broadway junction had to be diverted. Needless to say, sirens everywhere. So the ambulance staff went in checked heartbeat I suppose. In the meantime, the guy who passed out got up, as if waking up from a dream, and peacefully walked out of the bus not Knowing what the hell
Was going on. I am not making it up! Seriously? How were the two fire trucks supposed to help in that situation? I have no idea! Wouldn’t the ambulance just be enough even if this was a life threatening situation? Bloody bureaucracy...
Ok liability, ok safety first, I get it. It’s just not efficient! And I have never seen this in any other country, that three vehicles, each with loud sirens, are sent out to every 911 call. Somebody must start thinking about the mental heath cost of this. Vancouver is already rainy, depressing, and it’s just not healthy for the bystander to be constantly triggered with sounds of emergency and trauma. It sometime feels like I live in frigging Gotham city. C’mon there can’t be that much evil and misery in Vancouver!

 

… great post! and some killer anecdotes there! wow! thank for sharing ...

… vancouver overreacts because the government is eager to inflict itself on innocent residents. it's a sign of stupidity ...

… thanks for commenting Grumps!

 

I am fully aware that some diffracting sound will spill sideways and be heard. I do not imagine complete silence nearby. However, the full blast can be avoided by using focused sound.