[aerojoe23]

Fire/ambulance/police are supposed to be exceptionally loud so they can get drivers attention and then they can get through. (I expect you know this already, but I'm making sure we're all on the same page.)

Over time cabins in vehicles have gotten more isolated with better sound systems. Outside has gotten generally louder. Both of these things mean the emergency sirens need to be even louder for it to get a drivers attention.

I'm not sure if it is because drivers don't hear/see them or if they just don't care anymore, but almost every time I see a firetruck with it's lights and sirens on lately, I see it have to come to a stop and wait, get on the even louder horn, before drivers start getting out of its way. This isn't down the whole length of the street or anything, just once or twice before it drives out of my view (several blocks). I don't think I ever saw in person this before 10 years ago.

[pzone]

The problem is that horns and sirens typically provide little practical benefit. Even in an emergency situation like a heart attack, arriving an extra minute or two faster rarely improves patient outcomes. Essentially, these noises are put on for show.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/us/sirens-noise-ambulance...