Exactly when/how to use the siren?

[Nightmare]

My company policy is if lights are on, siren is on...however late at night if I'm going hot...siren only comes on when I am going through intersections that I either A) don't have the right of way B) there is the possibility of a care making a right on red, then once I have cleared the intersection and there are no cars i need to alert that i am approaching, the siren gets turned off again

 

[NPO]

Rapidly switching sirens sounds cool to us and looks fun on video, but the average inattentive driver isn't expecting that. They will "hear" a constant siren, whether that be wail, yelp, that one that sounds like a phaser, or your euro siren.

Personally, leave it on the first siren tone "wail", as we approach a red light, hit the horn and it goes to " yelp" after clearing the intersection, hit the horn again and it goes back. (Horn in that sentence referes to the large space in the middle of the steering wheel.)

We too have electronic and air horns. You'll rarely find me use an electronic horn, as that interrupts the siren (although we have 3 independent sirens going, so that's not really an issue). Instead I use the button on the floor for the air horn. I'll use that when approaching large intersections on a red, or tap it to alert the driver in my lane in front of me that I'm approaching. I'll also use it occasionally when someone ****s up and makes me mad with their driving, but that's rare.

Focus on driving. Especially if you're new. And I've been in a few ambulances where the siren is in a god awful inconvenient place. If this is your ambulance, set it and forget it. Its not THAT important to change tones. Get from Point A to Point B safely.

 

[okiemedic]

The service I worked for in Texas had a rule of not making music at intersections. Just worked the airhorn.

 

[vcuemt]

http://www.ems1.com/paramedic-chief/articles/1977768-The-truth-about-using-lights-and-sirens

Relevant article on the use of l&s

Studies show that EMS personnel die more often than police and fire in traffic collisions; that many crashes are preventable; and that rapid EMS response with lights and sirens makes a difference only in a few circumstances, such as cardiac arrest, explains the voice-over on the seven-minute video.

Yet the video goes beyond simply citing statistics. To vividly depict the risks, MONOC — a nonprofit, 15-hospital cooperative that has 26 ambulance stations covering 1,800 square miles in New Jersey and provides EMS for 2.8 million people in 2013 — conducted a simulation in a suburban neighborhood to show how well-insulated vehicles, drivers listening to car radios and talking on cell phones, and vehicle air-conditioners compromise the ability of drivers to detect sirens.

 

[jwk]

No it doesn't. A forward facing burning red light with a siren as needed is all that is required for the exemptions to the traffic code. Lights and sirens, however, are required to demand the right of way from other vehicles.
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[JPINFV]

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Rather pointed...