How many of you...

bisho1p

Interested to know how many of you leave the siren on when you go on the highway either responding POV, or when driving/responding in your Ambulance/Fire Engine/Squad Car, etc...

Not asking whether your state \"requires\" an audible siren with lights, but just whether or not (for practicality's sake) you use it.

tvsjr · Banned user Joined: 27 Aug 2005 Posts: 1501 Location: DFW

You don't have enough options. For me, it depends. If there is any traffic around, yes, the siren (or sirens) is/are running. If there are no cars anywhere around, then I'll either drop to hi-lo or kill it altogether.

Alex G.

\"Highway\" meaning Interstate or Freeway....then yes, I shut down in both POV and in Ambulance, Fire Truck, whatever.

We tend not to respond on the highway. We take the side streets to get to the closest on ramp, then shut down until we approach the scene.

- Alex

bisho1p

Yes, \"highway\" meaning interstate, freeway, 55+ MPH

MHATW2

I almost never use the siren while on the highway, generally the only time I'm on the highway is while in-route to the hospital with the rig. The siren only gets used while entering and exiting the road...That or the occasional toot of the horns if were coming up on someone, who \"didn't see the big red and white rig\"

Andy L.

I run the siren in my patrol car - biggest reason for that is if the lights are on, so is the DVD recorder which includes audio. I'd rather just comply with policy and statute than try to C.M.A. later in the event something did go wrong.

As far as my POV....I couldn't tell you the last time I ran code on the e-way.

bisho1p

Around here, law says you must run L&S at all times. However, we tend to shut off the siren on the interstate, because the speed limit here is 70, with most people doing 80, and us going about 85, the sound simply can't project more than 5 feet, so we just dont use it. A quick swipe of 1,000,000 CP across the drivers rear view mirror is just as effective.

We also have a huge amount of livestock on farms near my department, so we shut off the siren when approaching livestock that are near the road, because they have been known to \"jump the fence\" and run out into traffic because they are spooked by the yelp and phaser tones. I either switch to hi-lo or turn it off when approaching certain farms that I know have livestock near the road.

Myron Grombacher

shut it all down, though, the guy in the PD with the camera brings up a good point...but then i would just kill the lights too...hee hee...thats what they make dash lights for!

interesting thing on that, AMR has the \"black boxes\" and it never ceases to amaze me when i see one of them on the highway @ 74 mph (they cannot go faster without a \"violation\". all this serves to do is impede traffic as the normal flow is 80-85...no one knows what to do so they bunch up behind them. it's interesting because when you ask why they do this...\"it's an emergencY!\" they say with such a seriousness and conviction you have to laugh...it's all you can do. same with the red menace, no matter WHAT the call is, l & s no matter what...and a fire truck is even slower than the ambulances...before u attack i do work pt for amr too...yet one more job.

Mike F

Well, I don't get to respond on the highway. Plus, sirens in POV's are a big no-no in Illinois. But, if I am driving the squad, I only turn the siren on if there is traffic around to actually hear it. The Grover works pretty good when it is time to really move traffic. One of our members will run the siren from the time they leave \"The Barn\" until the time the arrive on scene, regardless of traffic, or time of day.

Mike F

Bob

In my POV, I tend to shut everything down when on the highway. There are too many people that gawk too much and it becomes more unsafe for me and the people around me. Generally speaking, it's easier to navigate 'through' traffic without lights. When the lights are on, the EV is expected to be in the left lane and people are expected to yield to the right.

When in the ambulance... it doesn't make sense to be sitting in the left lane with lights on and siren running, impeding traffic. Most of the ambulances around gere either have black boxes, car chips, or are governered at around 75. Again, it's less safe for you, your crew, other traffic, and your patient (if you have one). You're generally better off running quiet and holding in the right lane.

Marked LE vehicles are the exception. They tend top choke up traffic in the highways just with their mere presence. They're also a LOT more numble than my ambulance and (again, generally) their drivers are much better trained than your average ambulance driver. The point about keeping the cameras on is also a good one... however, the department might want to consider having an override to keep cameras running without needing the lights to be on.

Last week, I was on I490 on my way to work. This stretch of highway is three lanes in each direction with a 65MPH speed limit, but traffic was running at around 80. In my rear-view, I spotted the red & whites of an ambulance approaching, so I moved to he right and slowed down a llittle. They passed me, then I moved back left and settled in at a safe distance behind them. Wouldn't you know, they slowed down to 74MPH, left the lights AND siren on, and held in the left lane. Traffic backed up behind them for a half-mile because NOBODY wanted to pass an ambulance running lights and siren. Not only dod they cause more of a hazard on they road, but they also looked like idiots.

Myron Grombacher

well i was going to leave the idiot/jackasses comment out....but...you are right.

another thing to think about is how do people deal with traffic when lets say there is a lot of it moving at just above a crawl speed? do people get in the left most lane and try to shove 3, 4 or 5 lanes of traffic to the right...or do you split lanes 1 & 2 as it is far easier to for traffic to move 1/2 a lane over each way as opposed to trying to force many lanes over?

PolarBear

[quote:822301d68d=\"Myron Grombacher\"]well i was going to leave the idiot/jackasses comment out....but...you are right.

another thing to think about is how do people deal with traffic when lets say there is a lot of it moving at just above a crawl speed? do people get in the left most lane and try to shove 3, 4 or 5 lanes of traffic to the right...or do you split lanes 1 & 2 as it is far easier to for traffic to move 1/2 a lane over each way as opposed to trying to force many lanes over?

Posted: Tue 18-Apr-2006 14:27 Post subject:

First off I do not have the option of rolling code on the freeway-highway, but I can tell you what the county FD (with just under 100 stations) and AMR in my area does. They do not roll code on the freeway. They will roll code until they get on the onramp then they knock it down. Sometimes they leave on the rear amber rotator/flasher/or LED so let people know it may not be wise to pass and also use caution as they may be someting up ahead. AMR will do the same thing, they have rear amber stobes (two strobes) in the middle of the red flashers, they knock down everything to the rear amber until they are coming up to a scene or on the off-ramp. The funniest thing I have seen was AMR with its rear strobes doing about 70 down the freeway with a CHP unit with its rear 180* jog lights (blue) and the amber ends of it TA going behind the AMR unit for about 15 miles down the freeway. They both get off the freeway and then both roll code to a traffic accident. (No i was being an abmulance chaser, it happened to be an accident on the same road I live on.) The FD and AMR will roll code up the shoulder if traffic is backed up. CHP and all the PDs I know will roll code down the freeway.

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