# I have questions about sirens (like on emergency vehicles) that have bugged me since I was a kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899 "2021-06-23T15:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/21 "2021-06-24T16:10:02Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > Since we’re talking about sirens here, I have an additional question. What is up with someone, I don’t know if its police or ambulance, fiddling around with their siren, making odd BLOOP BLEEP BLORT noises? Random times of day or night. How can that be permitted? > > I live within shouting distance of a state hospital, so they have their own police, fire and I reckon ambulance stationed there, so I figure someone is just fooling around. It just seems pretty inappropriate to mess around like that with emergency gear. Not that it’s hurting anything, just a bit annoying when you’re trying to enjoy your backyard. Somewhat educated guess: that’s an emergency vehicle doing the equivalent of honking its horn. It may be signalling to other vehicles (or pedestrians) to get out of the way so it can get to the emergency entrance, or to get out of the way as it leaves on an emergency call. Depending on sightlines, it may be signalling an actual vehicle or pedestrian that’s in the way, or it may be doing a pre-emptive alert to anyone that might be approaching that an emergency vehicle is entering/exiting. It’s also possible that it’s an emergency vehicle that’s arriving and is signalling to the emergency room personnel, “Hey, I’m here with a emergency case, someone get out here and help me with this critical care patient.” They might also simply be doing a systems test at the beginning of a run. Or a combination of the above. In any case, it seems pretty unlikely to me that it’s someone just playing around with their siren/PA system. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/22 "2021-06-24T16:35:12Z")
Similar to **gdave** ’s explanation, fire trucks hereabouts seem to use the air horn to alert crossing traffic when approaching a red light. Ambulances, which don’t have air horns, use a different “warbling” sound for the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/23 "2021-06-24T18:08:25Z")
Sinve we’re talking sirens, what was up with that caterwauling one from Ghostbusters? Real or made for movies? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/24 "2021-06-24T18:17:35Z")
[One of my favorite jokes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dF75hDDRE&ab_channel=DavidAbrego) – and it involves sirens! ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/25 "2021-06-24T18:38:16Z")
Hmm, that makes sense. Sometimes it goes on for a few minutes, though. > [@gdave](#): > > It’s also possible that it’s an emergency vehicle that’s arriving and is signalling to the emergency room personnel, “Hey, I’m here with a emergency case, someone get out here and help me with this critical care patient.” That’s a sensible answer, but I don’t think it’s the case. This hospital doesn’t do medical stuff per se. It’s for mentally unstable people. It would make sense elsewhere, though. Maybe they’re entertaining a visitor or kids. There is a child care center on grounds. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/26 "2021-06-24T23:59:36Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > Since we’re talking about sirens here, I have an additional question. What is up with someone, I don’t know if its police or ambulance, fiddling around with their siren, making odd BLOOP BLEEP BLORT noises? Random times of day or night. How can that be permitted? Speculation, but what I see in my area is cops and ambulances chirping the siren when they are blowing through an intersection with little to no traffic. Instead of running the siren full out they just give it a little bump as they move through the intersection. Now, whether this is warranted is open to interpretation. More often than not the driver doing so is not on a call but simply doesn’t feel like waiting at the intersection so they pop on the cherries for a second to cover their asses when they run the light. Of course, this is against policy in most jurisdictions. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/27 "2021-06-25T00:27:51Z")
Bill Bailey on British vs. French sirens: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oGSNxkCIln0/hqdefault.jpg "Bill Bailey - Sirens - Bewilderness") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGSNxkCIln0) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/28 "2021-06-27T22:56:30Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > It’s also possible that it’s an emergency vehicle that’s arriving and is signalling to the emergency room personnel, “Hey, I’m here with a emergency case, someone get out here and help me with this critical care patient.” They have radios for that. When I was driving an ambulance at my last duty station in the navy, if the case was too serious for our tiny clinic we’d drive them to the regional hospital about thirty miles away. In our case, the base would phone ER at the hospital to let them know we were coming. The hospital requested we kill the siren five blocks from the place to avoid upsetting other patients in the hospital. In any event, once we got out of the tiny town (Winter Harbor, ME) and on US 1, traffic was light enough we’d use just lights unless we came up behind someone. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899/29 "2021-06-28T00:33:16Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > By siren, I mean the (usually) electronic device that makes a wailing sound on police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. The wailing sound is used to warn other vehicles that an emergency vehicle needs the right-of-way. I’ve been a fan of sirens since watching _Emergency!_ in my early days. > > So, a few questions: > > 1. How does the siren know to stop when the vehicle has arrived at the scene? Does the driver have to turn it off? Does it turn itself off when the vehicle’s transmission is set to park? > > 2. Can the siren sound when the vehicle is parked? > > 3. Why are the sirens on ambulances so much weaker (in my opinion) than those of other sorts of vehicles? > > 4. In movies and TV shows, I notice that European emergency vehicles have a different siren sound than is found in the US. Is there a sound that is particularly effective at getting the attention of other drivers? > > Thanks, y’all. Retired EMT and ambulance driver chiming in. I can only address the first few. 1. In our rigs ( fairly modern), the sirens are turned on and off manually. They cut when the engine is turned off. At least in ours, they WILL still be going when the rig is put into Park. One…learns…quickly to kill the siren at the right moment. Or- and this is especially delicate for middle of the night calls- to turn it ON at the right moment. 2. At least in our rigs, yes. The siren will work- as will all lights- if the engine is turned on. 3. No clue. Ours are insanely loud. 4. Interesting. When I was driving/ riding ( that ended in 2004 ), we used the standard USA selection of siren calls and “yelps” ( the frantic fast whooping that REALLY gets your attention ). A few years ago in New York City I started hearing ambulances using the European standard tones. No clue why. I do not believe NYPD or FDNY Fire trucks ever run those tones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-questions-about-sirens-like-on-emergency-vehicles-that-have-bugged-me-since-i-was-a-kid/944899.md?page=1)