Swedish ambulances will soon be able to alert vehicles of their approach by interrupting...

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,240   +192
Staff member

Listening to loud music in your vehicle can do more than simply cause damage to your ears. Indeed, it also immobilizes one of your five key senses and makes you somewhat oblivious to your surroundings.

A perfect example of this is the presence of emergency vehicles. Failing to give the right of way to an ambulance that’s rapidly approaching from the rear or coming into an intersection can be a nuisance at best and a recipe for disaster in the worst case.

Students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have developed a solution designed to alert drivers that an emergency vehicle may be heading their way. The system, which will be trialed in a limited number of emergency vehicles this quarter, is designed to give motorists additional time to react by sending out a radio transmission that’s picked up by vehicles equipped with Radio Data System (RDS).

If you happen to be listening to music, regardless of whether it’s a CD, an FM radio station or via Bluetooth, you’ll receive a voice warning of an approaching emergency vehicle as well as a text description on the head unit’s display.

Florian Curinga, one of three students that developed the solution, says that drivers often have only a few seconds to react and give way to emergency vehicles. The optimal warning time is at least 10 to 15 seconds, he added.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Permalink to story.

 
Where I live drivers have respect such as I have never seen anywhere for emergency vehicles. It is truly something great. I think this idea is one of the few intrusions of gov't I agree with
 
I think this is a dumb idea. The right solution is for vehicles to automatically spot cars with flashing sirens and mute your music. The modern camera system in cars are more than capable of doing it.
 
I remember reading a popular mechanics article from the 60's as a kid, that fire/police/ambulance vehicles "would soon" have this technology. Back then, everything was "AM" radio, and the device was nothing more than a white noise generator that would blank/fuzz the AM radio band, but the FCC kind of put a damper on
that idea.
I don't know what needs to be done, but, considering how quiet vehicle are, couple with the distractions inside the vehicle (stereo, phone, GPS, kids, entertainment centers behind the drivers) even with 120db or louder ear splitting sirens, unless they are right on you, it's really hard to know they are there.
The city I live in, back in the "olden days" use to have light modules on top of the stoplights, with a light sensor inside a long tube. They use to be able to shine their spotlights on them, to trigger the old style timer traffic lights to turn green in their direction. Computerized intersections stopped that, along with residents figuring it out that at night, before midnight (flashing yellow), a bright flashlight would do the same thing.
 
Now that's an amazing idea. I love it.
I would love to see this happen with the people around here that drive vehicles that vibrate with the sound of their gangster rap, with their giant wheels, driving like 10 yer olds, just begin to SCREECH with the sounds of sirens from an approaching ambulance.

I predict sales of hearing aids amongst poor urban populations would skyrocket if that happened.
 
I would love to see this happen with the people around here that drive vehicles that vibrate with the sound of their gangster rap, with their giant wheels, driving like 10 yer olds, just begin to SCREECH with the sounds of sirens from an approaching ambulance.

I predict sales of hearing aids amongst poor urban populations would skyrocket if that happened.

I don't know where you live, but I live in a very white city and it's not the "gangsters" that aren't stopping....
If you're going for likes with that comment, that's cool, but you won't get one from me talking that foolishness.
 
The city I live in, back in the "olden days" use to have light modules on top of the stoplights, with a light sensor inside a long tube. They use to be able to shine their spotlights on them, to trigger the old style timer traffic lights to turn green in their direction. Computerized intersections stopped that, along with residents figuring it out that at night, before midnight (flashing yellow), a bright flashlight would do the same thing.

Some cities, like the one I live in have a similar system. Except, it's white strobes or MIRT (Mobile Infrared Transmitter) fitted in the windshield. Although it only works with computer controlled signals fitted with preemption receivers.

Sorce? My firefighter friend and this car news writer from carsanddrivers.com who decided to try it for himself. http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/how-to-become-a-felon-without-really-trying
 
I wonder how long it will be before this type of technology will be used to bombard drivers/passengers with adverts? Just tell your sat nav you fancy something to eat...within 200 yards of a Pizza Express? Bingo! "Get today's special for just $$$$ when you stop by in the next 10 minutes!!!". Mark my words my futuristic bretheren, 'tis but a hop and a skip away before an automated serving 'bot will shove a box of your favourite fast-food goodness through the window of your vehicle as you whoosh by on your way to the asylum.
 
Last edited:
Where I live drivers have respect such as I have never seen anywhere for emergency vehicles. It is truly something great.
When this happens and I'm at an intersection I try to stop the traffic with my vehicle, yet there are some people that try to move out of the way and make it worse due to people not knowing how to react. And there is always that ******* who catches a ride behind the vehicle...

I think this idea is one of the few intrusions of gov't I agree with
Oh noes, you had to mention the gov't... you do know there are "darwin awards" people out there who don't put their seatbelts on because they claim it's a way the gov't is controlling them and they know better...

I don't know where you live, but I live in a very white city and it's not the "gangsters" that aren't stopping....
If you're going for likes with that comment, that's cool, but you won't get one from me talking that foolishness.
This did not sound racist at all...
 
I wonder how long it will be before this type of technology will be used to bombard drivers/passengers with adverts? Just tell your sat nav you fancy something to eat...within 200 yards of a Pizza Express? Bingo! "Get today's special for just $$$$ when you stop by in the next 10 minutes!!!". Mark my words my futuristic bretheren, 'tis but a hop and a skip away before an automated serving 'bot will shove a box of your favourite fast-food goodness through the window of your vehicle as you whoosh by on your way to the asylum.
Probably never. FM radio is after all a licensed band; in the US spamming the FM radio band would at a minimum get your equipment seized, and probably $1000s in fines too, and I'm sure most countries have rules prohibiting unlicensed use of licensed bands too. Ambulances would be getting a special exemption, it would not allow anyone else to do this.
 
You make a good point hwertz but authorities allowing legitimate use of the airways in such a way may be hard for them to resist if the kick-backs are attractive.
 
I'd like to see this tech personalized to the point where anyone can turn down or off the noise that others inflict upon them without permission. In my view no one has the right to invade everyone else's space with the noise they themselves happen to like. I don't care if it's bloody Beethoven. All they're really doing is trying to get attention, just like the emergency vehicles. That said, even emergency vehicles can be guilty of running code 3 unnecessarily.
 
Back