Trying to convince town council to fund equipment upgrades

kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
I serve on three different police departments as a sworn officer. I do this unpaid at one department, part-time at another, and full-time for the remaining one. My unpaid department I help out with equipment aquisition, grant writing, policy adoption, etc. Basically for the last ten years this town had no active LE and is stuck in the dark ages. Two years ago they upgraded their town police car from a 1994 Crown Victoria to a 2003 Impala 9C1 purchased used from a neighboring agency.


It had a full compliment of lighting, only about half of which worked. I've been addressing issues as time permits and I found the siren in this car to be severely lacking. I don't know who the manufacturer is, I don't have it in front of me, only that it has pathetic tones, a cheap PA mic (looks like it belongs on a fisher-price play set), and perhaps the scariest thing of all, is it has ADJUSTABLE volume for not only the PA, but the siren tones as well :lol:


Now, IIRC, for you fire guys out there, the .gov has a set standard at which a siren must operate in order to meet OSHA and traffic safety requirements, correct? Would anyone happen to know if this also applies to law enforcement vehicles? If so, a point in the right direction to look for in terms of the code and regulation would be helpful. What I'm trying to do is present this to the council and give them the ultimatum- either upgrade to an inexpensive, but properly designed siren system (I'm thinking the new Sho-Me is a good cost-effective replacement) or face possible civil liability if the siren is found to be inadequate and an accident or incident occurs.
 

kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
Not really looking for equipment suggestions, I'm looking for info on requirements set forth by OSHA which establish standards of warning equipment.
 

Squad-6

Member
May 21, 2010
1,322
N. GA
You are probably suppose to have at least 100watts & the siren volume should not be adjustable. Requirements & standards probably vary by state. You can probably call or email someone on your states homepage that can point you in the right direction.
 

kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
Squad-6 said:
You are probably suppose to have at least 100watts & the siren volume should not be adjustable. Requirements & standards probably vary by state. You can probably call or email someone on your states homepage that can point you in the right direction.

That's what I'm thinking as well. I found this-


http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/181622.pdf


Looks like the DOJ did a study to see what is best Not sure if this is enforceable, looks more like it's just a recommendation.
 

Squad-6

Member
May 21, 2010
1,322
N. GA
There is alot of stuff out there that are recommendations. The trick is to convince the department or govt agency bean counters that meeting these standards will do something for them like make them more qualified for grants or other such benefits.
 

Doug

Member
May 23, 2010
1,151
Maryland
kadetklapp said:
Now, IIRC, for you fire guys out there, the .gov has a set standard at which a siren must operate in order to meet OSHA and traffic safety requirements, correct? Would anyone happen to know if this also applies to law enforcement vehicles? If so, a point in the right direction to look for in terms of the code and regulation would be helpful.

I'm not going to claim to be an expert on OSHA stuff, but is it possible you're thinking of permissible noise in the workplace for siren volume?
 

NPS Ranger

Member
May 21, 2010
1,988
Penn's Woods
kadetklapp said:
Not really looking for equipment suggestions, I'm looking for info on requirements set forth by OSHA which establish standards of warning equipment.

1. There are none established by OSHA, only noise levels for things like sirens that require employers to provide hearing protection.


2. The closest thing to what you want is the SAE standard "J2498: Minimum Performance of the Warning Light System Used on Emergency Vehicles"


http://www.sae.org/servlets/productDeta ... 498_200408


This is virtually equivalent to the NFPA 1901 lighting requirements for "small vehicles" and references to 1901 are easily available on the manufacturers websites.
 

Stendec

Member
May 21, 2010
816
OSHA wouldn't apply, though that's why sirens aren't bar-mounted anymore. I don't know that ANSI or NIST has ever done anything regarding vehicle sirens. I understand SAE to be voluntary on part of the manufacturer, and doesn't attach to an end user. Your state motor vehicle code may have a section to the effect of "an audible warning device that can be heard at XXX feet." It's probably in the equipment section. Ohio's references "exhaust whistles" as a warning device.
 

Phillyrube

Member
May 21, 2010
1,272
Flatistan
NFPA and KKK all publish specs for fire apparatus and ambulances. There is nothing for police vehicles. I ran into this roadblock while trying to get some additional rear lighting for SUVs, retroreflective striping and/or battenburg blocks for police cars, etc. Our detectives have no emergency equipment in their cars except for a Code 3 teardrop light.
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,972
Messages
449,821
Members
19,104
Latest member
airflores

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.