The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of audible warning devices (AWD's) on emergency vehicles in terms of aural detectability. Community noise intrusion and opportunities for AWD optimization were also investigated. Measurements were made of sirens, automobile insertion loss, and human detection performance in real-life and simulated situations. Warning effectiveness distances were calculated for three representative situations: (1) Rural environment with vehicle windows closed and radio on; (2) urban environment with vehicle windows open and radio off; and (3) suburban environment with vehicle windows open and radio off. It was concluded that reliance on present audible warning devices to warn drivers in traffic is not justified. To be loud enough to warn in all ordinary circumstances, the sound level of audible warning devices would have to be increased greatly -- producing intolerable community noise. Present audible warning devices can be improved; more uniform horizontal forward radiation and higher frequency sounds would increase detectability. The analysis procedure can provide the basis for an objective measure of audible warning device performance.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Effectiveness of Audible Warning Devices on Emergency Vehicles


    Contributors:
    R. C. Potter (author) / S. A. Fidell (author) / M. M. Myles (author) / D. N. Keast (author)

    Publication date :

    1977


    Size :

    154 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    Audible warning signals for police vehicles

    McClelland,I.L. / Loughborough Univ.of Technol.,Inst.for Consum.Ergonomics,GB | Automotive engineering | 1980


    Sound Quality of Audible Warning Devices

    Hagiwara, Bunji / Nishida, Tsutomu | SAE Technical Papers | 1993


    Sound Quality of Audible Warning Devices

    Nishida, T. / Hagiwara, B. / Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1992


    Audible warning devices for train control

    Latimer, J.B. | Engineering Index Backfile | 1921


    Audible warning system

    Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee | TIBKAT | 1970