Effectiveness of Audible Warning Signals for Emergency Vehicles

Abstract

Twenty-four subjects engaged in a simulated driving task detected audible warning signals of the sort commonly used by emergency vehicles. The simulated driving task, carried out in an instrumented car under computer control, included steering toward alternately illuminated fender lights and maintaining a constant speedometer reading. The required detection response was depression of the brake pedal. To a first approximation, signals of equal detectability were equally effective in eliciting braking responses.