# European emergency vehicle sirens are so much better then those in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304 "2008-03-06T07:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/1 "2008-03-06T07:42:41Z")
Anyone else think so? They sound alot smoother ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/2 "2008-03-06T08:33:43Z")
A matter of being used mainly, IMO. (BTW the various sirens I heard in Germany, Denmark, France and Italy did not sound the same). A few years ago I read about an US-style sound to be added to German police sirens (as a secondary signal, to supplement the usual “get out of my way” siren with a separate “pull up, I want to talk to you” signal). Did not hear of it (neither of the project, nor the signal itself on the road) since - possibly it was a proposal that was ultimately rejected. One major headache, as a driver, with emergency vehicles’ sirens is IMO that it’s hard to determine the direction they come from, especially on city streets. With German sirens I usually only know from what quadrant the vehicle comes from when I can see the flashing lights. Are US sirens better or the same in that respect? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/3 "2008-03-06T10:35:18Z")
[QUOTE=tschild] One major headache, as a driver, with emergency vehicles’ sirens is IMO that it’s hard to determine the direction they come from, especially on city streets. With German sirens I usually only know from what quadrant the vehicle comes from when I can see the flashing lights. Are US sirens better or the same in that respect? [/QUOTE] I remember seeing s TV story a coule of years ago about a city in England that had included brief spurts of “white noise” static sound into their sirens. Instead of going _EEEEE ORRRRR EEEE ORRRR_ they would sound like _EEEEEEE chsk chsk ORRRR EEEE chsk chsk ORRRR_. Apparently this helped overcome the directional problem. I haven’t heard any more of it since, though. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/4 "2008-03-06T10:50:28Z")
[QUOTE=tschild] One major headache, as a driver, with emergency vehicles’ sirens is IMO that it’s hard to determine the direction they come from, especially on city streets. With German sirens I usually only know from what quadrant the vehicle comes from when I can see the flashing lights. Are US sirens better or the same in that respect? [/QUOTE] British sirens, that used to go “NEE NAW NEE NAW NEE NAW” have changed over to the US style “WOOOOOOOOooooooooWOOOOOOooooooo” or “WOoWOoWOo” in the past few years because (IIRC - it was a few years ago), it’s easier to pinpoint where the continuous note is coming from by ear. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/5 "2008-03-06T10:53:15Z")
For a few years back in the Sixties, Nashville used to have police sirens that sounded just like what I had always heard associated with the SS in Germany. They were hideous. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/6 "2008-03-06T12:12:36Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] I remember seeing s TV story a coule of years ago about a city in England that had included brief spurts of “white noise” static sound into their sirens. Instead of going _EEEEE ORRRRR EEEE ORRRR_ they would sound like _EEEEEEE chsk chsk ORRRR EEEE chsk chsk ORRRR_. Apparently this helped overcome the directional problem. I haven’t heard any more of it since, though. [/QUOTE] They do use those white noise sirens here, yes. All over the country AFAIK, not just one city. They tend to drive along with the usual siren (which as **jjimm** notes uses a range of US-style woo-woo sounds these days rather than nee-naw nee-naw), but sometimes they will use the mode where it includes bursts of white noise. I guess when they they’re passing through some particularly busy traffic? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/7 "2008-03-06T12:57:58Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] I guess when they they’re passing through some particularly busy traffic? [/QUOTE] That would make sense, and also when approaching junctions, when the sound of ordinary sirens echoes off buildings into adjoining roads far more than the white noise. Or at least more than the white noise is perceived to. Or something. Maybe they could use a duck’s quack? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/8 "2008-03-06T13:12:59Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Maybe they could use a duck’s quack? [/QUOTE] Too much sustain. And nobody knows why. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/9 "2008-03-07T11:31:37Z")
Too few here seem to recognize the crisp, succulent Chilean siren (UUU EEE UUU EEE), which leaves a clean aftertaste, and is reminiscent of a delicious siesta in 1930s Madrid. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/10 "2008-03-08T03:49:09Z")
Most of our newer ambulances have the Euro-style high-low as an option on the siren. I use it all the time! St. Urho Paramedic ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/11 "2008-03-08T12:50:52Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Nashville used to have police sirens that sounded just like . . . [/QUOTE] Waylon Jenings. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/12 "2008-03-08T13:34:34Z")
[Bill Bailey - Foreign Ambulance Sirens](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRyvsRAo8T8) (youtube) ---
**Author:** ![Amazingrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Amazingrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazingrace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-emergency-vehicle-sirens-are-so-much-better-then-those-in-the-us/440304/13 "2008-03-08T22:01:00Z")
I remember hearing them in a “Snoopy Goes to France” kinds of movie when I was sick as a kid once, and I liked them better than the US ones from that moment on.