subject: Police Lights And Sirens Are Made For Each Other [print this page] Together, police lights and sirens are like thunder and lightning. Even though there is no inseparable connection between the two as in the case of the real thunder and lightning, we are used to seeing police lights and sirens together. One minor difference is that their relationship appears to be a reverse equation. In the case of the real thunder and lightning, lighting comes first but thunder comes later. In the case of police lights and sirens, it is the sirens that people hear first and the lights become visible only later.
When a vehicle is being run in an emergency mode, both police lights and sirens are of equal importance. However, on an overall perspective, sirens are less important than lights. Police lights are necessary for a wide variety of jobs like chasing criminals, stopping other vehicles, traffic guidance, lighting up alleys, and stealth operations. For each of these operations, lights of different intensities and colors are used. For stealth operations, the lights are placed in a concealed manner and its activation is controlled. As against this, sirens are not required for all types of operations.
Rules regarding siren sounds are also not as stringent as rules regarding police lights, and sirens can be fixed anywhere on an emergency vehicle. Still, some states have rules regarding the type of sirens that different types of vehicles should use on a highway. Users should also ensure that the sound controlling mechanism of the siren is always at its functional best. Otherwise there could be noise pollution inside the vehicle.
Because police lights and sirens are not always used together, the controls for each are separate in most vehicles. Some vehicles will have controls with which both can be activated or stopped together, and also those with which both can be activated and stopped separately. When a police vehicle reaches the site of emergency, the lights and sirens have to be switched off immediately. Sometimes, even while on its way to the site, the vehicle may get intimation that the emergency is over and then it has to immediately switch off its police lights and sirens. Using either, when the vehicle is not going in answer to an emergency, is punishable under the law.
Sirens, though less important than lights, are getting modified in its own way. Some latest police sirens have addenda known as howlers, rumblers, etc. which produce vibrations to alert drivers who are not paying sufficient attention to the surroundings. These sirens produce a sound that is not as strong as the characteristic shriek of emergency vehicles. Instead, they pass vibrations to the other vehicles on the road through the ground, alerting them to the presence of police lights and sirens outside.
Whatever the differences between police lights and sirens are, emergency vehicle requirements are met satisfactorily only when the two are working together. Without its characteristic whine, other vehicles moving in the same direction in front of it may not notice the vehicle. At the same time, without the light it will be difficult for other drivers to identify the vehicle from which the sound is emanating. Police lights and sirens have a hand in glove relationships when an emergency vehicle hosts them.
