“Silent Approach Requested…”

Do You Comply With the Request For a Silent Approach?

  • Yes... the “customer” always get what they want.

    Votes: 6 11.3%

  • Never… I need the siren to stay safe and/or save response time!

    Votes: 5 9.4%

  • Depends on the time of the call (Night vs. Day).

    Votes: 16 30.2%

  • Depends on the location of the call (Residential, SNF, etc…).

    Votes: 12 22.6%

  • Who Cares? Sirens are a waste of time anyway!

    Votes: 10 18.9%

  • What are you talking about? Silent Approach?

    Votes: 4 7.5%
  • Total voters
    53
lightsandsirens5 said:
Do emergency rigs in CA still need to have the steady burning red lamp along with all the other lights?

Reminds me of the story about the Queens Artillery in England. They were doing a demonstration for the queen’s birthday. They rolled up with their guns towed behind trucks, ammunition supply rigs, the whole deal. Then they proceeded to demonstrate to the queen how her artillery worked. The queen noticed that the entire 6 man crew at each gun was busy except for one man. He would just stand there while everyone else was working their tail end off. Then right before the weapon was fired, he would snap to attention. After the demonstration was over the queen asked the officer in charge of the company what the 6th man was for. He didn't know. It turned out that nobody knew. Finally someone managed to find out his job. He was there to hold the horses when the artillery fired.
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thats awsome!!!
 
ki4mus said:
I could see the newer LED strobes causing a seizure if the person was directly if front of the LED head. but the older strobes and regular lights attached to the old machanical flashers just aren't strong enough to do it...
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If a Japanese cartoon can send people into seizures, I can see our lights doing the same. It's not necessarily an intensity issue, it's about rapid changes light.

Besides, all of our trucks use flashing LED's.
 
It's the rapidly changing light that triggers the seizure, in those prone to it. The danger is not only to your patient, but to people driving cars in traffic. If they're not aware that they're seizure prone...

And for L&S: Yes, California emergency vehicles are all required to have that one steady burning red lamp... and the other stuff is add-on, but not necessarily required by CALIFORNIA law. You can have EVERYTHING ELSE going... and legally speaking, if that steady red is burned out... you're not legally traveling "Code 3".
 
Akulahawk said:
It's the rapidly changing light that triggers the seizure, in those prone to it. The danger is not only to your patient, but to people driving cars in traffic. If they're not aware that they're seizure prone...

And for L&S: Yes, California emergency vehicles are all required to have that one steady burning red lamp... and the other stuff is add-on, but not necessarily required by CALIFORNIA law. You can have EVERYTHING ELSE going... and legally speaking, if that steady red is burned out... you're not legally traveling "Code 3".
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lot of the trucks in our area are older using old style machanical flashers to control the strobes (and ever Whelen 888's!!!!), and don't flash quick enough to do anything (they are pretty lame when you think about it... The only ones around here that flash quick enough to do anything are the new trucks with LEDs...
 
Akulahawk said:
And for L&S: Yes, California emergency vehicles are all required to have that one steady burning red lamp... and the other stuff is add-on, but not necessarily required by CALIFORNIA law. You can have EVERYTHING ELSE going... and legally speaking, if that steady red is burned out... you're not legally traveling "Code 3".
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Well no offense, but that is ridiculous!:rolleyes:

So does that lamp have to face forward? (Or do my taillights countB))
 
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Yes it has to face forward and every single emergency vehicle has one. It almost becomes a game to find it on a couple, but most ambulances either have the grill lights set to steady red or the lights on the roof between the cab and the light bar.
 
JPINFV said:
Yes it has to face forward and every single emergency vehicle has one. It almost becomes a game to find it on a couple, but most ambulances either have the grill lights set to steady red or the lights on the roof between the cab and the light bar.
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Humph! Oh well, it was worth a try!

Do you have a picture of one? Also does it apply to fire rigs as well?
 
They're going to have a big diesel ambulance, and maybe even an engine, parked outside their house......and they want there to be no sound?
 
lightsandsirens5 said:
Humph! Oh well, it was worth a try!

Do you have a picture of one? Also does it apply to fire rigs as well?
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It applies to ALL Emergency Vehicles. Period. That includes all Fire Apparatus that is used in emergency service that drives on a road... so you won't see it on a Dozer, but you'll see it on the truck that transports the Dozer...
 
Sure, I'd honor it. Code there, if needed, and once in the neighborhood, turn the siren off. I've never heard of a silent approach request here though.
 
lightsandsirens5 said:
Humph! Oh well, it was worth a try!

Do you have a picture of one? Also does it apply to fire rigs as well?
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I can try and get you one later, it's too early to turn the lights on just because....
 
L&S5... my man...

CA State Law...minimum code 3 requirements for all emergency vehicles: one steady buring forward rear light. No other flashing pretty lights are required, nor are sirens. You can have all those other features, and it seems ridiculous not to, but you don;t need then by lasw... you NEED that one red light to go code in CA and without it, all the other l&s are just pretty lights and you are not really going code. As an example... One of our old SAR units has an old school 1980's red lightbar with rotating lights (no other lights), in order to make it code three legal we just disabled one of the roters so that it burns forward red all the time. Another vehicle was rushed into service without sirens and only two strobes in the grill (one red and one blue), so when we finally hooked up the lights we just made them both steady burn and that is now code 3 legal. Uncercover cop cars that have the dash red/blue strobes in CA just disable the strobe on the red side and let the blue flash to make it stret legal. Seems crazy, I know, but every state has some requirements as to what lights ar allowed and how they are to be used... and those are ours... :wacko:
 
I beleive the law requires a siren to be sounded when it is prudent to do so (don't know the exact wording), which would make a siren essentially required. It just doesn't have to be on all the time.
 
JPINFV said:
I beleive the law requires a siren to be sounded when it is prudent to do so (don't know the exact wording), which would make a siren essentially required. It just doesn't have to be on all the time.
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Sounds like a company or agency requirement. I am unaware of this as are the local EVOC folks, but with CA Law who knows... :wacko: LOL I read the law on this once upon a time (along witht he DMV CDL Book) and can't recall anyhting past one steady burning red light, but I would not be supprised if things are not legallsy what we are all taught. I would be interested in seeing where that requirement is listed if it is factual...
 
Exemption of Authorized Emergency Vehicles

21055. The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle is exempt from [essentially all traffic laws] under all of the following conditions:

...

(b) If the driver of the vehicle sounds a siren as may be reasonably necessary and the vehicle displays a lighted red lamp visible from the front as a warning to other drivers and pedestrians.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21055.htm
 
Mountain Res-Q said:
L&S5... my man...

CA State Law...minimum code 3 requirements for all emergency vehicles: one steady buring forward rear light. No other flashing pretty lights are required, nor are sirens. You can have all those other features, and it seems ridiculous not to, but you don;t need then by lasw... you NEED that one red light to go code in CA and without it, all the other l&s are just pretty lights and you are not really going code. As an example... One of our old SAR units has an old school 1980's red lightbar with rotating lights (no other lights), in order to make it code three legal we just disabled one of the roters so that it burns forward red all the time. Another vehicle was rushed into service without sirens and only two strobes in the grill (one red and one blue), so when we finally hooked up the lights we just made them both steady burn and that is now code 3 legal. Uncercover cop cars that have the dash red/blue strobes in CA just disable the strobe on the red side and let the blue flash to make it stret legal. Seems crazy, I know, but every state has some requirements as to what lights ar allowed and how they are to be used... and those are ours... :wacko:
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Wow. That seems stupid! I guess that is one of those leftover laws that dosen't make a lick of sense any more?

In Wasington state here, I beleive we tecnically have to have all of the lights and the siren going to be going code, no matter what the traffic conditions or time of day, etc. As I'm sure you figured out already, that rule gets thrown out quit often. (I am not going to drive with the siren on at 0300 and wake everyone withing a ten mile radius up. 99% of people move when they see the lights. If I need the siren, a quick blip will do it.)

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JPINFV

Thanks for the vids.
 
Has ayone here actually driven code with the steady reds? TBH, I like having steady red as well as the other lighting, if it's early in the morning or hella late at night in a residential, I go to half primaries, where we have the rear flashing still, but just a steady red up front.
 
Just a bit of anecdata - was talking to one of my instructors, and she said there are neighborhoods where they almost always go silently, because the local vagrants will squat in homes they know are empty, and will target houses that have had ambulances visit.
 
If a caller requests an "early shutdown," we will shut down the siren and lights after leaving the main roads and entering the neighborhood. At that point, it's not much of a risk. I've never known a patient to tell us no lights or sirens at all, but early shutdown is very common at night. Privacy; they don't want to make a scene or wake everyone.
 
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