Sun Jan 24, 2010 4:08 pm
I decided to write to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, giving my thoughts on these electronic police sirens... I could do a better job at composing a powerful letter to a politician, but I lay awake from 4:30 this morning thinking about how stupid this problem is, so I got up at 5:30 and wrote it down as it came. At least I spoke my mind, and maybe they'll think about the math, once they get the bills for this crash.
Since I'll probably get hauled into court to testify, I figure writing will help me remember details in case it comes up a year from now.
Charles
Here's a copy & paste:
Dear Supervisor Foy,
It is with great concern for future safety that I herein voice my views as to the cause of the automobile collision between our Moorpark Sheriff's deputy and a civilian driver on Los Angeles Ave/SR 118 at Spring Road, on the night of Saturday, January 23, 2010.
As one of two eyewitnesses to this accident, and as one who helped force the deputy's car open, I can say with little or no doubt that I see clearly what was the cause of this crash. The deputy was operating his car to the letter of the textbook, and the civilian was obeying all traffic laws as well. Clearly, the civilian driver was unable to hear the siren, and was unable to see the lights as they approached from the cross street and were obstructed from view of each other until the last picosecond. The deputy made a proper pause at his red light, and then proceeded cautiously into the intersection with his lights & siren on. However, with the new sound wall along 118 and along Spring Road, and with the civilian car traveling at the 45mph speed limit, it was not possible to have avoided this crash with the split-second perfect timing which prevailed. The only way to have prevented this crash would have been a siren audible and heard in the civilian's car. I have been worried for several years since many police agencies, including ours, have begun to use electronic (PA speaker-based) sirens in their patrol cars. I have medically perfect; perhaps superior to what is considered medically perfect, hearing. I cannot hear these electronic sirens until it's sometimes too late to stop. Many times I have blundered right in front of police cars just as they appear in an intersection, as I did not hear any siren in time to stop. I am also an experienced, safe driver, and I have always been able to evade any crash in those situations. In Saturday's case, the civilian driver was a young, recent licensee. I do not feel it is safe, nor is it the responsibility of a driver, to be forced to "guess" whether or not there could be an emergency vehicle at any intersection at any time. In the past, such vehicles were equipped with mechanical rotary sirens, which carried a much broader spectrum of tone, and would pierce the best-insulated cars to warn all drivers of an oncoming Code III vehicle. I am not alone in my observations, and it has been reported in the news, that other police agencies have begun to add devices to augment the electronic sirens, or in fact have replaced them with old style mechanical ones. The Los Angeles City paramedics have retrograded to the old mechanical sirens, and although I have seen no data, it goes without saying that accidents are surely reduced dramatically. You can hear from blocks away, that there IS a siren someplace nearby, and you are hence on notice not to blast into an intersection despite your green light. Ironically, I was watching the approaching deputy with his lights and siren, and thought to myself just seconds before the crash; "I cannot hear that siren, and some day I'm going to have a wreck with one of those squad cars!" Then BANG!, right in front of me.
I understand that new technology has its merits, but in this case, it is purely a liability and safety hazard; a true menace on the highway. I am sure that the cost to fit every squad car in the County of Ventura would not exceed the cost of one liability lawsuit resulting from not having done so. Please consider my views on this subject, and perhaps draft a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, and/or whomever may be in the position to decide on a solution. Let's get this handled while all the citizens have to deal with is a wrecked police car, some property damage, and some bills to pay for (God willing),non-life-threatening injuries. Let's not wait until it has cost a human life in our county or elsewhere!
Sincerely, Charles L. Murray
cc: Sheriff Bob Brooks
Yes, that's a real 500-lb Federal SD-10 I'm holding (braggart!)
The deputy has what seems to be some broken ribs and burns on his face & arms, and the other driver (16 or 17 years old) is OK besides burns & cuts. Both cars totalled, and the kid's car I couldn't even identify. The deputy was rushed to the hospital, and hopefully will be OK later. I thought the police car was on fire, as the battery had exploded and the car was full of smoke. Turns out it was the air bags. It took a big husky biker dude and me to force the door open on the police car, as the whole body was knocked out of true. 
