Why would an ambulance have blue lights but no sirens on

[Hiyanice]

Saw an ambulance on my street it arrived with blue lights but no sirens. Is there a reason for this?

There is always ambulances here going past with lights on but no sirens, it never occurred to me to question it tbh, it’s obvious they only use them when needed 🤷‍♀️

They don’t tend to use the sirens on a residential street unless entirely necessary

Off topic slightly but I got taken by ambulance to hospital after a car accident once, I mentioned to my DP a few months later I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get the drama of the lights and sirens etc, he was following behind and they had in fact used the lights but no sirens! To be honest I would have probably panicked if they used the sirens

Because they are transporting a dead person to the hospital morgue?

@PlanDeRaccordement

Because they are transporting a dead person to the hospital morgue?

They use private ambulances is for this. No lights, no sirens. At that point there's no rush is there.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Because they are transporting a dead person to the hospital morgue?

Undertakers usually have private ambulances for this.

And if someone had died in the ambulance, well then they wouldn't need lights on at all.

@Hiyanice

They were arriving the person wasn’t yet on board as the pulled up and went in a neighbour house

They don't sirens when they're stationary. They only need sirens for making traffic move out of the way.

You don't seriously think they'd park on a residential street and leave the sirens blaring to disturb everyone for no reason, do you? Madness.

Better question - why do police put their sirens on round here at night when they have their blue lights on and you can see them from a mile away. Drives me nuts. (DH is a blue light driver).

I think they also turn the sirens off if it's obvious that you can't safely get out of the way? For example, if you're in front but the road is too narrow and windy for you to move over and them to pass safely. Not sure on that one though.

It's when they have a deaf ambulance driver.

I've had to travel in the front of an ambulance while two paramedics (one had arrived in the fast car) were with DS. The driver only used the sirens when needed in the traffic. It was an interesting experience (and helped take my mind off what was happening in the back). The driver was very skilled.

I have been in two ambulances, both middle of the night, blue lights and no siren required until we hit the city centre.

@Purplewithred

Better question - why do police put their sirens on round here at night when they have their blue lights on and you can see them from a mile away. Drives me nuts. (DH is a blue light driver).

Because most drivers don't use their mirrors - so the blue lights will not be seen by them.

Depends on the busyness of the roads too - pedestrians are often in a world of their own and can step our without looking, so sirens will warn them off

We had a fire brigade visit us once for a burst pipe in the middle of the night. Lights flashing but no siren. Seemed sensible.

Fire brigade tend to use the sirens and horn a lot more for safety.
Their fire engine already weighs a ton and will have another ton of water on board, so those things are difficult to stop or swerve

@planDeRaccordement no no no!!! Dead bodies are NEVER in a front line ambulance. People are not allowed to die in ambulances. They either die where they are or at the hospital. Never ever in an ambulance.

@FlatCheese also correct, we do not intimidate road users or force them to make an unsafe move such as jumping a red light. If traffic has nowhere to go we stop and turn everything off. If someone does jump a red, we will follow behind with sirens on to protect them by drawing attention to them.

@TheUnexpectedPickle
People aren’t allowed to die in ambulances? That’s a first. The fact is people do die while in an ambulance. They’re not magic busses that stop time. If someone is dying when they are put in an ambulance, they can and do die during transport to the hospital. In which case the ambulance has no reason for sirens and instead of going to A&E drive to the morgue entrance at the hospital instead.

@TheUnexpectedPickle

I too and very interested in your "people are not allowed to die in ambulances" comment.

I agree, to a point, that a person has to be stable enough to be able to be transported in an ambulance to hospital (sadly they couldn't stabilise my mum when she collapsed and with our agreement, they stopped working on her at home, when it was clear she was gone)

But it can't always be as clear cut as that?

@PlanDeRaccordment I'm afraid you are wrong there.

If we are working on a patient, we will either terminate the resuscitation attempt while still on scene. Or we will continue resuscitation until hospital. (This is only in certain circumstances, it is more likely that we will stop on scene unless we have got the patient back)
At this point the patient is in cardiac arrest rather than dead. We will absolutely not ROLE (Recognise life extinct) in an ambulance. If a patient goes into cardiac arrest in an ambulance, they will absolutely be a workable case and resuscitation will commence. Any ongoing resuscitation in an ambulance is 100% a siren moment. We will not stop until we are at the hospital, where a doctor may or may not call a halt to the resuscitation attempt. If they do, the patient will be declared dead at hospital.

If a patient is already past help on scene, they will be left there for the coroner or undertakers, depending on the circumstances. Same if we have stopped resuscitation on scene.

People definitely do not officially die in ambulances and it had nothing at all to do with siren use.

@Crunchymum hope the above answers your question.

Saying its "not allowed" was probaby a bit too light hearted, but yes, we never stop a resuscitation attempt in the vehicle. If we're going to hospital, there is a reason (what we call a reversible cauae) and hospital intervention may save the patient. If a cardiac arrest happens on an ambulance (which definitely does happen), the patient has a huge chance if survival so we definitely won't stop work.

So sorry about your mum, I hope you are OK and were well supported by my colleagues

@PlanDeRaccordment we also never take people to the mortuary. Its not as simple as that which is why there are specific people who do.

I think the why do ambulances use lights without sirens question has been answered now. If there are any paramedics/blue light drivers still around can I ask what you prefer people to do at red lights? Should we go through them if safe to do so so you can get through or just wait there until the light changes? I think legally we shouldn't go through them but I know people do.

[quote TheUnexpectedPickle]@PlanDeRaccordment I'm afraid you are wrong there.

If we are working on a patient, we will either terminate the resuscitation attempt while still on scene. Or we will continue resuscitation until hospital. (This is only in certain circumstances, it is more likely that we will stop on scene unless we have got the patient back)
At this point the patient is in cardiac arrest rather than dead. We will absolutely not ROLE (Recognise life extinct) in an ambulance. If a patient goes into cardiac arrest in an ambulance, they will absolutely be a workable case and resuscitation will commence. Any ongoing resuscitation in an ambulance is 100% a siren moment. We will not stop until we are at the hospital, where a doctor may or may not call a halt to the resuscitation attempt. If they do, the patient will be declared dead at hospital.

If a patient is already past help on scene, they will be left there for the coroner or undertakers, depending on the circumstances. Same if we have stopped resuscitation on scene.

People definitely do not officially die in ambulances and it had nothing at all to do with siren use.[/quote]
What if they have a DNR on them? You can’t do resuscitation activity if they go into cardiac arrest during the trip and there is a DNR.

I found this on Quora, the response is less than a year old.

Do ambulances take dead bodies away in the UK?

It depends on the circumstances.

If the person has died of natural causes such as old age or their death is expected because they are suffering from a fatal illness their death can be certified by a doctor such as their General Practitioner. Their body will typically be removed by a funeral director in a private ambulance as described in other answers.

The body will be removed by an NHS ambulance in certain circumstances; if an ambulance has been called but death is obvious (dead and cold) but uncertified it will usually be removed to the coroners mortuary at the local hospital by the ambulance. The same will happen if death is considered unexplained or suspicious. If the person dies during an emergency (warm and dead) they will typically continue to receive emergency resuscitation while taken to A&E and certified by a doctor before being transferred to the hospital mortuary.
www.quora.com/Do-ambulances-take-dead-bodies-away-in-the-UK?share=1

[quote TheUnexpectedPickle]@PlanDeRaccordment we also never take people to the mortuary. Its not as simple as that which is why there are specific people who do.[/quote]
Sadly, I had a relative die in an air ambulance that landed at a U.K. airport. They were taken to the local hospital mortuary via an NHS ambulance. So I know it does happen, albeit infrequently.