Are Cars Too Sound-Proofed for Drivers to Hear Emergency Vehicles?

[Gale]

well, I'm one of those kids who keeps their radio way too loud... But thing is, i can't hear it unless it is... my car has poor sealing around the windows and doors, so once you hit 40, (as you often do out here in the country..) all you hear is the wind. And i mostly travel on highways... so i can't hear anything hardly once i hit 65. heh, so i blast my radio... i guess its less of a problem near street lights... not that i turn my radio down usually just cause I'm approaching a light... and really, there aren't too many places around here with speeds less than 40... so i guess it is still an issue... i can't hear anyways. Radio on or off... but of course, its worse when its on. though, out here in the country, there isn't usually much to hear. i don't think ambulances even use sirens out here...they kinda give a little "whoop" if there's a lot of cars, but never like, a blaring siren. There's basically only one road they use anyways, 202... its not too hard to see one coming behind you, or one coming towards you.

i dunno...

anyways, i have been in some cars that were riddiculously quiet. It feels weird. You can't hear the cars around you or anything. i have to keep the windows down in those cars, or i feel cut off from the world.

i like the idea of a little light on the dashboard. would that really cost very much money? seems like it oughtn't if it was mass produced. our taxes should pay for something useful anyways... just have one put into every car when it gets inspected... no big? i mean, you don't need to install it so its hidden or something, put some big lightbulb on the dash board, everyone'll have one, so no one can complain. and the big luxury companies can start marketing cars that have the light hidden in with your other lights so its not annoying. how about if like, i forget what they're called, i think they;re what you were talking about earlier... but those little white spinny lights on top of traffic lights that alert you to emergency vehichles are coming... well, amblulance triggers those, and then those send some signal to our nifty dashboard protrusions, and all cars, and only cars, in the area know to pull over.

i especially like the idea of them being implemented at inspection... i hate inspections... they're so useless... least then i'd have a reason to go... and ya...

 

[Moonbear]

I also just found something along the lines of what BT suggested, for broadcasting over a range of radio frequencies, for use in Australia.

EMERGALERT improves road safety and creates a clearer road ahead for emergency vehicles when every second counts!
It is the only technology to deliver a warning to all radio stations within selected bands at one time.

Its range of 300 metres to the front and sides of the emergency vehicle alerts general road users of the emergency vehicles presence earlier saving time and lives.

Increased soundproofing of today's vehicles makes it hard to hear a siren at all, let alone from 50 metres away. Vehicle manufacturers promote soundproofing of cars to gain sales.

Studies show that the effectiveness of sirens is severely limited to a maximum penetration of 8 to 12 metres at intersections. This is due to road noise, directional sirens, soundproofing and physical barriers.

Australian crash data and ABS statistics show emergency vehicles in Australia are involved in accidents at a rate of over 1 per day, as well as killing someone every 6 months.

http://www.emergalert.com.au/

 

[Danger]

I also just found something along the lines of what BT suggested, for broadcasting over a range of radio frequencies, for use in Australia.

Some scary stats there. I still have a problem with broadcasting to public radio though, since I don't listen to it. Same problem, as you mentioned, with people listening to CD's or who have a DVD movie going for the kids. (I'm not fond of vehicle-mounted movie players either, for the distraction value. And how long before the dip who's doing her nails or reading his stock report while driving decides to mount one on the dash and watch The Matrix on the way to work?)

 

[Huckleberry]

This is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in quite some time. I couldn't find any federal laws on front seat mounted video monitors, but I did find this...
http://www.racomobile.com/products_visor.asp

Are people just not concerned about vehicular safety at all?

 

[Danger]

Are people just not concerned about vehicular safety at all?

I see that they cleverly added a line about the driver not being able to see it. How long to disable that little feature, I wonder? Besides, just the sound from an action movie could cause reflexive movements by the driver even if he's trying to ignore it.

 

[Moonbear]

This is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in quite some time. I couldn't find any federal laws on front seat mounted video monitors, but I did find this...
http://www.racomobile.com/products_visor.asp

Are people just not concerned about vehicular safety at all?

Apparently not.

Though, I was thinking about some of the things people have added into vehicles in recent years, and I think people would pay a little extra for something that makes their vehicle safer, as long as it allows them to continue driving their motorized living rooms. Afterall, they will pay extra for headlights that turn themselves on, same for windshield wipers, as long as it leaves a hand free for the remote controlled 12 CD changer/MP3 player/video monitor/cell phone. If it could be mass produced and marketed as a safety feature starting on those luxury cars, right along with the rearview cameras, and automatic headlights, who's even going to notice an extra $100 on a vehicle with a sticker price of $60,000? I'll bet those people who want quiet cars would pay extra for something that let's them keep that quiet car.

Toss in a second frequency or signal on it, and you can send cars two different, both useful sets of information: emergency vehicle moving ahead and emergency vehicle stopped ahead (of course cops sitting with the radar gun catching speeders could turn it off if they are safely to the side of the road). This way, people have time to react appropriately, maybe put the light for emergency vehicle approaching on the right side so people know to pull right and stop, and the one for emergency vehicle stopped to the left so they know to slow and possibly move to the left lane and to slow down. This might make it safer for the stopped emergency vehicles on highways if you know to expect a lot of flashing lights and emergency workers on the road before you get there. Or maybe make one a red light to stop and one a yellow light to slow and proceed with caution. Though, I'm not sure about another red light on the dashboard...might take too long to realize what it means with all the other idiot lights on the dashboards that are already red. Maybe orange would work and octagonal with an arrow pointing right.

I guess I see it as a trade-off. If you're willing to pay for soundproofing, then you can also pay a little more to make it a bit safer.

 

[Danger]

Though, I was thinking about some of the things people have added into vehicles in recent years

I just thought of something here. If you're thinking about it primarily being an option on luxury cars, maybe it could be tied into an OnStar or Lojac system. That way part of the infrastructure is already in place.

 

[Moonbear]

I just thought of something here. If you're thinking about it primarily being an option on luxury cars, maybe it could be tied into an OnStar or Lojac system. That way part of the infrastructure is already in place.

Hmm...now that might work, tie it in with OnStar on luxury cars, at least the ones that pretty much come standard with OnStar. Afterall, the luxury cars are the overly sound-proofed ones, and the OnStar owners want their car to talk to them and tell them how to drive. Then, after it's the hottest new thing in luxury cars and everybody wants one, we offer a stripped down version that just operates dashboard lights without the OnStar voice thing that can be installed after-market for older cars or factory-installed on other new cars. This way, we give the luxury car owners the impression they've gotten something special that the other cars don't have (the version tied to OnStar) without having to tell them they are the ones that need it most too, then once they've paid the higher price to get it introduced to the market and to help cover the cost of installing it on the emergency vehicles, we can lower the cost on the mass-produced version and sell it to everyone. We'll be rich! Now, who was going to build this thing?[/size]

I still wouldn't be surprised if someone has already invented the thing, since the other ideas we've come up with here are already out there as well.