1999 Directional Ambulance Siren

[@timwingham8952]

Having used bells, two tone air horns, yelp/wail/white noise and bull horn over a 32 year career, I can honestly say that two tone air horns worked the best (in an urban environment).

[@theaylesburycyclist8756]

I completely agree. Until recently, some of the ambulances in the service I work for had electronic two tones, and I always used them. They were massively more effective.! I'm not sure if it was because people are so used to hearing wailers/yelpers nowadays. 🤷‍♂️

[@bencoatesworth7731]

I agree as a pedestrian in a busy city centre with police cars all over with sirens on the shared roadway with pedestrians. You drown out to the wailing of them trying to get through But when a two tone fire engine came past everyone stopped and let it through its sounds more authoritative in my opinion more move out my way I’m coming compared to a hello could I be past with the wail

[@johnarat9618]

​@@theaylesburycyclist8756 Between two tone horns and Q sirens (used by American fire trucks), which one do you think would be better?

[@annddyy]

20 years later, and this isn't a thing 😂

[@Charlzey1998]

It is it's just ridiculously sped up without the gap

[@dan999uk]

@@Charlzey1998 and without the white noise, which was the entire point.

[@lublinbusenthusiast1120]

@@dan999uk i agree

[@znovosad555]

Well it's 2018 and I still haven't heard it used anywhere. Maybe people should learn to check their mirrors more for flashing lights and turn down the music to listen for sirens. Mechanical sirens have proven to be more effective. Especially in addition to a traditional electronic siren. If you hear a siren always check your surroundings to see where it's approaching from. The whole point of a siren is for people to know from all angles. Especially at an intersection.

[@Gripengamer]

Mechanical siren, like martinhorn?

[@BritishCapy]

It’s 2020 now and still nothing like this

[@znovosad555]

Picadilli Martin horns are not mechanical and use air compressors correct? I’m referring to the more traditional federal Q, or other brand equivalent.

[@CymruEmergencyResponder]

@@znovosad555 Martinshorns are more effective than Q

[@jpht1964]

20 years later, ambulances in the Netherlands started to use 2 tone airhorns again....

[@beausexon435]

I remember they went through a phase of trialing all sorts of wowed siren ideas. I remember hearing one in Sussex on an ambulance that sounded like a cross between a seagull and the ghostbusters car!

[@lon3don]

They are widely used for reversing alarms, there they are effective. Not loud enough for emergency vehicles. What is effective is old fashioned two tone air horns in conjunction with electronic sirens. Low frequency sirens like howler or growler can be very effective.

[@georgemavsbs]

This was featured in london's burning around the same time if anyone remebers!

[@puddle_puddle]

I thought I was the only person who remembered that! I've been looking for the clip to no avail from years.

[@modraccin9514]

For a moment i thought i was watching Monty Python. "Two years of development have produced this sound." *white noise siren* 😂 I love it.

[@hayleywilliams8750]

From 70s too 2024 two tones are best siren to use

[@smithylvs]

Obv a roaring success 18 years on haha. -I heard it once about 15 years ago.

[@andrewneeds1414]

We trialled one of these on a traffic car, bloody useless.

[@colinmcmahon5829]

Its the actual recording from Paul Ruebens being busted in the movie theater. The noise he made. Log it, send to Bose.

[@colinmcmahon5829]

Will U2 the bloody Pagimoda Troup then. Right, Jean E? Colice Par, and playing thru

[@colinmcmahon5829]

Feeling better, dear? Lovely. I'll get you a cuppa.

[@Avidcomp]

2 years of development... we never used it.

[@JamieHoult]

Sounds like after the siren the speaker is busted with the white noise 😂

[@Lewis_M397]

There is a new siren which is a higher pitch siren which allows people to here where the emergency vehicles are coming from it is linked in with different sound waves

[@xaviert.123]

3:55 notice how we actually don't get to hear the siren? And throughout the whole video we actually don't hear the siren coming from a vehicle? I think this was bollocks edit: I'm daft, the ending has it

[@David-oj8gk]

I remember watching this as it aired, back in the good old days. Pleased this white noise tone didn't take off!

[@iainv4092]

Both teams of the football match looked only because they thought wtf.

[@marcwatson4277]

I heard it used once in the early 2000s. I can't understand why it was utilised! The directional sound bursts I mean.

[@BrySkye]

A lot of sarcastic comments, but I certainly heard 3 or 4 variations of it throughout the 2000's in the North East, with various different types of siren wailing that had white noise bursts in-between. Whilst I haven't heard the white noise in more modern sirens for a while now, has it occurred to people that maybe more modern sirens are still just a further evolution of this research rather than being exactly the same as a 20 year old clip?

[@cjeam9199]

Well there’s definitely no white-noise bursts in the middle is there. Thinking about it though I don’t know why not, because all reversing cautions on construction vehicles have changed to white noise now and we are told that’s better for directional information. Maybe it doesn’t get heard by people in cars though, reversing cautions are aimed at pedestrians.

[@explorer914]

Well white noise is finding a use in reversing alarms nowadays.

[@danielfisk1017]

Never heard it until watching this

[@MightyJustas]

2:20 well they obviously looked for the siren which was hilarious

[@wangwang2048]

We Hong Kong got this Emergency Sound from the Ambulances and Fire Trucks when Hong Kong was still under the control of the British Government.

[@jacobsfoodreview]

Sirens or not, that roundabout they ran the test on is an absolute nightmare 🤣🤣

[@asdamassive2008]

remember this

[@looneyirish007]

why didn't this work?

[@BumberenzoThePumperTruck]

It doesn’t sound like an emergency vehicle siren To me

[@DB103Freak]

00:18 Look at the white Car on the left. What a Pillock XD

[@PolizeiPaul]

I say the solution is to increase the loudness, Most people can't hear sirens cause they got the radio blasting or other things to tune it out, So I'd say upping the decibles by 100 or so than they currently are thus making it loud enough, might be the answer.

[@mace_inc.8455]

Problem is, we can't increase the volume of the sirens. Here's why: Most sirens currently reach a maximum of 120dB (A US fire truck mechanical siren reaches 123dB). At 120dB, the human ear will start to feel pain instead of the sound, which will cause damage to the ear in less than a minute. This means that it won't be possible to make the sirens louder, since if a siren goes beyond 120dB, it could damage the hearing of pedestrians, which would be bad for emergency services since they may get sued for it.

[@cjeam9199]

Since decibel is a logarithmic scale, I think upping it by 100db would make it the loudest thing on earth and a weapon of mass destruction.

[@dragontoothless4351]

@@cjeam9199 Especially as 180dB is instant death.

[@dan999uk]

And make ambulance drivers deafer than they already are.

[@closethedoornow7538]

Ten years of development in Leeds lol

[@bigpaul3320]

I used to drive a good old transit ambulance it had two tones and a then a wail and yelp siren fitted With the wail and two tones going in heavy traffic never really had a problem but that was in the 90s 😉

[@jamessaunders5195]

How’s that worked out for you

[@contactacb]

Died a quick death, never to be heard again.....From experience compressed air two tone horns seemed to be best. The more effective redesign that is used a fair bit in the US and is on a few vehicles in the UK (the limited use is down to cost) is the Fed Sig Rumbler (& other manufacturers equivalents) that adds low frequency versions of the tones that better penetrate glass & metal and can even cause vibrations perceptible to humans in cars - search on here for examples

[@Yellowishmean]

Well...

[@anthonygarlick1098]

Where is that siren now???

[@wagwanpussio]

Glow in the Dark I kinda like it

[@BritishCapy]

lol it didn't make it to 2020 (updated)

[@aramitroche630]

un video fue grabado que hace 20 años hoy en día en el 1999

[@JukeboxJoeB]

I guess this new siren never caught on because it's now 2024 and no department that I'm familiar with currently uses anything like this. They use the traditional yelp, wail, hi-lo and phaser sirens. In my department we often didn't turn on the sirens at all, and just air-horned the shit out of everyone! 😅

[@maxhemenway]

1:13

[@Dragoneer]

Lol it sounds like Pac Man just shit himself

[@ericstephenson9052]

Yo make some noise for dj Ambu

[@SpeedDemon365]

Whatever happened with the trial?? Was it successful??

[@jamesosborne4567]

The even got it featured in an episode of London's Burning! The story went something like this...Some local fella was annoyed by the loud sirens and complained to the Fire Station chaps who told them how they had this new one that could be a lot quieter because it was directional. Pure marketing propaganda. LOL. I really wish I could find it online. It would have been around 1999 I guess.

[@paulsimpson6899]

@@jamesosborne4567 I remember that episode and I was about to mention it before I saw you had. It lasted a few episodes I think. At a time when London fire engines also had pathetic blue strobe beacons that were naff.

[@koolyman]

Here's one fire engine with various tones from Scotland kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHfIe6B_gb96ldU

[@dan999uk]

Well, how many times have you heard this being used by emergency vehicles?

[@shanecasbolt6561]

Great you can now drive an ambulance while blasting Pac Man sounds out of the speaker............

[@RoundenBrown]

The level of traffic is expected to double in the next thirty yurrs.

[@menghuihang]

still nowadays QAS ambulance siren

[@daruween1398]

White noise siren is cursed

[@potatolover8534]

And in the Uk this did nothing

[@SHEARMINATOR]

Lol fucking cars everywhere. Bring forth the flying car

[@danielferstendig]

real Thomas the tank engine town

[@YoloMenace001]

When they showed the video on the tv they didnt do the test multiple times which makes the results actually inconclusive so me a little prick is somehow smarter than Leeds University

[@davidandrews17]

This is utter rubbish. I work for the ambulance service, and the standard emergency sirens is far more effective than this stupid one they were trialling. People would be confused with this sound if it went live and and national. Im glad it never came through.

[@eXe09]

You are glad something more efficient in saving lives never came through? Sad

[@koolyman]

David Andrews your comment seems a bit emotional? The video seems to contradict your claim. Can you back up yours?

[@CurtisDensmore1]

You say both that the standard siren IS more effective and that people WOULD be confused with the new one. Have you used both or not? The point of the new siren is that it's easier to locate. That's a fact. Pure tones are harder to locate than complex tones. Our brains evolved to locate complex tones. Let's leave this one to the neuroscientist.

[@bluebottle1617]

Would it be practical to go back to the two-tone air horns they used to have on emergency vehicles?

[@simon2k4]

@@CurtisDensmore1 its clearly not a 'new' siren as this video is dated back to 1999. The current ambulance sirens have evolved since what it was back then. Obviously this one wasn't as effective as the one they chose to use instead otherwise it would've made it onto all ambulances.

[@colinmcmahon5829]

Duh. Tea, Diana? Gives it away before the wedding.

[@colinmcmahon5829]

No, you're NOT Doctors. Have you got the pac- man noise?

[@Danjs112]

I always thought the idea for police cars was that criminals couldnt tell where it was coming from and it was designed that way.

[@dan999uk]

No, that's silly. If police don't want to alert criminals they just don't use their sirens. The entire purpose of a siren is to make you as noticeable as possible.

[@supertrinigamer]

I would feel embarrassed using that as a test ;p

[@allnightrunner.6515]

Used a vehicle with one fitted. Absolute rubbish.

[@puddle_puddle]

Love this clip. Awful siren though. Clearly it never caught on. I remember hearing them in Staffordshire around 2000. Just sounded like a broken toy ray gun.

[@Yulenka-]

It's so disappointing this research hasn't resulted in an effective white-noise embellished siren used everywhere. The traditional whale tones are annoying af.

[@snnhh8602]

A load of crap