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From: purtilo@uiuccsb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: whatever happened to sirens? - (nf)
Message-ID: <2484@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Jul-83 22:29:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.2484
Posted: Thu Jul 21 22:29:22 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jul-83 21:27:52 EDT
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#R:ihuxl:-44600:uiuccsb:5800001:000:2399
uiuccsb!purtilo    Jul 21 13:42:00 1983

Concerning ambulances and the (un)necessary use of sirens ...

>From my experience, there is just as much danger in the over-use as in
the under-use of "running hot".

The danger in the under-use of sirens is the obvious traffic problem
that started this sequence of notes. Well, that certainly is a danger,
but any chauffer that would be all over the road to the point of risking
such a head-on sounds like he is a menace with or without sirens.

But how about the over-use:  emergency personnel are taught that sirens only
ask for the right of way, only the other drivers can give it. That's the
theory. But clearly there are the jerks who enjoy asserting themselves
at every opportunity when behind the wheel of a vehicle which has lots
of noise makers. I know of towns where sirens are over-used to the point
that folks on the street don't bother to pay any respect to them; the
citizens (perhaps justly) figure the crew is just off to dinner. This
is dangerous because there is that rare run when you really do need to
run hot and no one is in a hurry to give you right of way.

There is also the (very small percentage of) towns where hearing lots of
sirens (usually of just one particular type, say, the "high-low" kind)
is the only way to alert the village of natural threats, tornados and
such. I worked in just such a village; any big fire we had would routinely
illicit calls from folks out in the boonies wondering whether the sirens
were a warning.

But the most important situation in which we would avoid the use of sirens
was with the ambulance in transportation of certain cardiac and stroke
patients. In some of these situations, the patient is partially conscious
to what has been going on, and their (very understandable) fears about
what nasties have befallen them are many times amplified by the enzyme and
oxygen instabilities which in themselves induce symptoms which resemble
anxiety. This is the touchiest kind of shock to deal with. Now, years of
TV shows have programmed the public into believing that a trip in an
ambulance which feels more like a roller coaster, coupled with loud sirens,
is a sure sign that they're gonna die. In this kind of situation, it is
better to run quiet and let a smooth tongued paramedic talk a patient
into surviving. I have seen it done.

Just to let you know there are a couple sides to things ...

				Jim Purtilo
				...!uiucdcs!purtilo