In 2011, a resident of downtown Vancouver named Ted Kuntz gave the following list of considerations regarding sirens:
1. Increasing Concern
The unintended impact of the use of emergency vehicle sirens is of increasing concern in urban areas across North America. The City of New York, for example, has identified noise pollution as their number one concern. The Fire Departments with the City of San Francisco as well as Anchorage, Alaska have conducted extensive research in an effort to minimize the negative effects of sirens on their community.
2. Emergency Vehicle Wake Effect
There is growing recognition that the use of sirens causes what is being described in the research literature as “emergency vehicle wake-effect collisions”. Research on the use of sirens has identified five times as many collisions are caused by emergency vehicle sirens vs. the number of collisions actually involving emergency vehicles. (The Wake Effect: Emergency Vehicle-Related Collisions. Pre-hospital and Disaster Medicine; Vol. 12, No. 4; October-December 1997)
3. Sirens Increase Motor Vehicle Accidents
Research by the Province of Saskatchewan confirmed that the use of lights and sirens actually increases the incidence of motor vehicle accidents with resultant injuries and deaths. Saskatchewan Health concluded: “The small amount of time saved by the use of lights and sirens may be offset by the increased risk of injury and death due to motor vehicle accidents.” (Saskatchewan Health EMS Protocols 1998)
4. Sirens Do Not Alter Medical Outcomes
There is an increasing amount of research confirming that the use of sirens do not significantly reduce travel times to alter medical outcomes in all but rare circumstances. In some situations the use of sirens has been shown to even increase the length of travel time of emergency responders. Thus it appears our use of sirens may have more to do with traditionally accepted practices than demonstrated need or effectiveness. (Do Warning Lights and Sirens Reduce Ambulance Response Times? Prehospital Emergency Care, Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2000)
5. Sirens Increase Risk to EMS Workers
The use of sirens has also been demonstrated to actually increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents involving EMS vehicles with a resulting risk of injury or death to both emergency service providers and citizens. Bledsoe (2003) noted that the occupational fatality rate for EMS workers was estimated to be twice that of the general population, that most fatalities were due to ambulance crashes, and that many of these collisions were attributed to the use of lights and sirens.
6. Fear of Liability
The ability to consider alternatives to the current emergency vehicle driving regulations appears constrained by a driver’s (and government’s) fear of liability should the driver not employ full emergency lights and sirens at all times. However, the effectiveness of sirens in both health benefit and preventing accidents appears to be more perceived than real.
7. Sirens Impact Health
Medical studies recognize the unintended health impact of sirens on citizens. Sleep research confirms that chronically interrupted sleep is as significant an impairment to judgment as is alcohol. As a consequence an increasing number of citizens are experiencing chronically impaired judgment and ill health due to the negative effects of sirens use at night.
8. Urban Development Along Transit Corridors
In our efforts to build communities of higher density and to position these communities along transit routes to lessen our dependence upon the automobile, increasingly more individuals will have their health negatively impacted by the extensive use of sirens. The significant construction of high density complexes – Olympic Village, Opsal, Central, Pinnacle, Maynard, Concord Pacific and others adjacent to ambulance corridors (Quebec Street and Second Ave.) means we can reasonably expect this negative impact will become even more severe in the future unless solutions are found.
9. Reducing Urban Sprawl
The extensive use of sirens is one of the most commonly reported reasons given by people for moving out of high-density dwellings and returning to suburban neighborhoods. If we are serious about reducing suburban sprawl and increasing urban density, this matter needs to be addressed.
10. Associations to the Sound of Sirens
In a recent talk given by Mr. Don McPherson to a gathering hosted by Mr. Sam Sullivan on issues affecting urban density, Mr. McPherson invited the audience to think of the sound of sirens as “the sound of life”. While I appreciate that in many situations this may be the association, I also want to bring awareness to the fact that for a significant number of citizens the sound of a siren is associated with the injury, death, or disabling of a loved one. Unfortunately the sound of a siren has the potential to regularly remind a person of a significant health crisis or death and trigger a trauma response. As a health professional I regularly work with patients who are triggered in this way.
11. Alternatives Are Available
Alternatives to the chronic use of sirens are readily available. The Vancouver Police routinely operate with substantially less persistent use of sirens during emergencies than do either the Vancouver Fire or BC Ambulance Service. Ambulance drivers in Montreal, Quebec also employ substantially less use of sirens than do our provincial counterparts even though Montreal is as congested or more congested than Vancouver. We can also benefit from the research completed by EMS providers in San Francisco, Anchorage, Alaska, and elsewhere.
12. Documenting Impact
It would appear the first step in this process is to formally evaluate the magnitude of the problem, both in terms of sound impact and emergency vehicle related accidents. Locating sound recording devices through out the city to document decibel levels and frequency of exposure would help to inform decision makers of the level of exposure citizens are experiencing.
I assume ICBC can provide the relevant data pertaining to emergency vehicle related accidents and fatalities. It is my belief that if the magnitude of this problem were fully acknowledged that more would be done more urgently to rectify this situation.
It is my hope there is a willingness to recognize that this matter is of increasing significance to the livability of our communities. It is also my hope that the commitment and the courage exist to find solutions that will serve as a model for other urban communities in the world.
Ted Kuntz
2011
