Ambulance Sirens. Do they switch off automatically with ignition?

[skeemee]

Unfortunately we were in an accident with an ambulance. We didn’t hear any sirens, but driver insists that his blues and twos were on. We dispute this, but hard to prove I would imagine.

After the accident, there was only silence. Would his sirens have been switched off automatically? Or is this a manual operation?

I am losing sleepless nights going over and over in my mind how this accident occurred, and I can’t believe neither me or my passenger heard the sirens coming from behind us. Possible I suppose, but it’s bothering me that there were no sirens still sounding after the accident? I am driving myself sick with worry and it’s really affecting me. Please be gentle!

Were his blue lights on? I suspect they'd leave blues not sirens on if in a crash - certainly visible enough to oncoming traffic.

You would've heard the sirens but there is no way you wouldn't have seen the lights

I see people every day who don't see ambulances behind them (I work near a hospital) you can totally not see them if you aren't using your mirror

We didn’t see/hear lights or sirens before impact. Definitely No lights/sirens on after accident. It was really sunny so not sure if blues would have been noticeable?

I’m really hoping our insurance can get their hands on the dash cam footage, it will be a relief to know one way or the other.

@coconuttelegraph I am purposely leaving out specifics. Sorry I definitely don’t want to out myself.

You'll be favoured anyway as they're not following normal road rules.

Plus they have a 'black box' that shows if sirens were on.

Maybe it's just me but I'm confused, if the ambulance ran into you I don't get why it matters if the blues/twos were on

If you aren't able to give the facts of what happened I think it's hard for posters to help you

I also this you're catastrophising this.
It's obviously horrible and a pain and makes you nervous driving etc.

But the fact is they crashed into you.

And even if, worst case you were found at fault. What would happen? You'd lose your no claims and have to pay your excess?
Rubbish, especially if money's tight. But not life changing. You're all ok

Are there any witnesses? Amazing how quickly emergency vehicles appear even though the driver constantly checks the mirrors. Unless your radio was on really high no way you would not have heard him.

I think you might be worried that you’re missing things on the road OP? Please don’t worry. The reason sirens change sound frequently is because drivers do quickly drone them out when they become repetitive.

As others have said, whether or not he has his siren on is registered centrally (to stop him sticking them on when he wants to get home quickly ) and he’ll have dashcam/ tracking, the lot. You’re not liable, don’t let him bully you

Ps glad you’re ok after the accident!

I regularly travel in a private ambulance and I know that the control centre can tell remotely whether the lights and sirens are on. Not sure whether it's the same for all ambulances.

Sounds like a very traumatic situation, I hope you're OK.

I can see why you want to know for your own peace of mind but if they were behind you and crashed into you, it has to be their fault.

I hope you find out more soon.

I work within the court system (not a lawyer) and have come across a case where a police car went into a deaf driver. Police driver found to be at fault even though sirens were on.
IIRC ( as this was a few years back), while they are allowed to go through red lights and the wrong way through junctions/roundabouts they must do so with care and can still be held liable in the event of an accident.

OP,I have just asked a friend who is a paramedic. Differs depending on region as to whether there will be cameras in the cab. There will be a black box though which will record if he tried to brake to miss you and what speed he hit you. Likely to be his fault though as they are meant to read the traffic and act accordingly ,they are 'advanced drivers.'

Try not to worry.

Beware,
My son was hit by a fire engine on the side of his car.
No sirens or lights.
The engine ran a red light
After months and months of arguing .
Their solicitor advised them to go for a 50/50.
My sons solicitor said it would be the best outcome.
Being stressed enough he agreed.
And unbelievably my son lost the case.
On the grounds of he said in the first place it wasn't his fault.
So much for justice eh ?.

Thank you all! Although this post wasn’t to try to ascertain who was at fault, it has helped me to feel a bit better.

I actually agree that I’m catastrophising, yes, but my lovely car has been written off. I am a nervous wreck and not sleeping. I am absolutely gutted about the whole thing! And now imagining my insurance going through the roof and being “in the wrong” for not hearing his bloody sirens.

Still no idea about my original question tho.... 🤪 I guess the driver must have turned the sirens off (if they were on) straight after the accident. Or they switch off with the ignition.

Gosh it sounds like it was a horrible experience. And I think you’re very shaken up xxx

You’re fixing on this because that’s what happens I’m the immediate aftermath of a shocking experience.

Your brain goes over and over the event as you try and make sense of it and come to terms with this big scary shocking thing that just crashed through your everyday life.

So be kind to yourself. Take the faith in yourself that you’ve got from this thread, and the similarity of you & your friends accounts. And help your brain when it’s replaying the event by believing it happened and sort of... reassuring yourself as it happens.

Tell your brain that yes, that’s what happened, and yes, it was pretty awful stuff, but also that it’s ok because it’s over now, and you’re ok, and everything is going to be ok. I know it sounds a bit silly, but it really does help with coping and helping you process a horrible and shocking event.

And just being very gentle and nice to yourself too. or perhaps, and is more what you need

Eventually your brain will try to file the experience away in your memory and it will fade into the rest of your life and memories. FYI, If it doesn’t feel like that’s happening, then you may need some extra help and that’s the time to find some counselling etc, but that’s a way away and nothing to worry about right now.

They beeb the horn and it goes off.
They can stay on even with the ignition off
Remember there's still power to the vehicle for lights, medical power, etc

Most ambulances are fitted with black boxes and recording equipment, I'm guessing that this is a private ambulance firm and not an NHS one, in which case, they may not have the equipment fitted and the dashcam suddenly not working is concerning. Regardless of whether they had blues and twos on, they have to proceed and drive with caution and cannot assume that people will move out of the way etc. Most ambulances are fitted with assorted quick controls that turn off and in different light/siren combinations, so they could've turned them off with one button. I assume that you have escalated to the senior manager.

Were there other cars on the road or was it just you and the ambulance?

If there was other cars and they'd pulled over then the siren and lights were definitely on.