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Q: Compared to major Western cities, why do you rarely hear emergency sirens in China?
In cities like New York or London, sirens are a constant feature of city life. Here in China, I very rarely hear an emergency siren. Obviously it would be great if there were genuinely no accidents, fires or crimes that require an emergency team to rush to the scene. But we all know that's not the case. So, is it just me being deaf, or do you also find the sound of emergency sirens unusual here?
10 years 41 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
Chinese emergency vehicles usually use flashing lights without the sirens.
Chinese teacher replied: 'Emergency cars in China use siren with the lights only for the 'highest level of emergency''.
Mostly, I see police cars with flashing blue lights on, but I rarely hear any emergency sounds in Chinese cities.
it is only a police emergency if anyone is committing any action against the govt.
ambulance, are you seriously going to wait for an ambulance in china? best to get a taxi to the hospital
fire, surprisingly few fires.
in the states many sirens are actually an over reaction . if you bumb the car in front of you. the fire dept will show up just in case.
icnif77:
Chinese teacher said, not too many people in China call emergency ambulance. She said, Chinese rather take taxi
. What about when accident happened, and police calls ambulance?
sam239:
That's exactly right, the insurance regulations on so strict in the US (due to the litigation industry), my friend who's a fire captain there said that if the fire detector goes off in a public building such as a church due to something like spaghetti burning in the oven, they're required to launch a full-scale response, even if they know it's unnecessary, at a cost of around 1000 USD per (non)emergency. Most "emergencies" in the west are basically overreactions to false alarms.
crimochina:
"That's exactly right, the insurance regulations on so strict in the US (due to the litigation industry)"
is anyone seeing this?
are you complaining about the fact that in the us the ambulance will get to you in about 5 mins? this is one area where lawyers helped the common man.
i understand the sillyness for making firefighters into paramedics. but you are pickingthe wrong fight. you can keep the delayed response time and n accountability you have in china.
I sometimes wonder if Chinese really understand the meaning of Emergency. Ambulance Drivers are just freight relocation engineers on low wages no paramedic training and no consultation with a Hospital as for Cops they only put on Lights and Sirens if they are late for lunch, and the fire trucks rarely leave their station unless somebody of important's house is burning. Maybe they all should look at Sex in China on a 30 Day Visa
icnif77:
Do you want to eat chocolate with 30 Day doughnut in China?
TedDBayer:
Sparkey, eat one off the sidewalk, I think you dropped it.
I've only heard those emergency siren noises used in black government cars when they have to clear a lane on the roads because they're late for their banquets.
I'm usually 10 stories high in some building...it's very hard to hear things when I'm that high up...
They could use tanks to answer emergencies. Most Chinese wouldn't get out of the way anyway - even if it was to come and rescue themselves.
An ambulance with sirens making noises - pointless in this country.
Consider the driving, how does an emergency vehicle drive any different that anyone else, no need for sirens. It's not like emergency vehicles stop for pedestrians either.
I lived next to several hospitals during my time in China. Why? Dunno. Heard them all day long, every day.
Seriously... get a taxi to the hospital in China. People frequently block the ambulance, and there's nothing they can do. Taxi drivers, on the other hand, are ballsy enough to get you there on time.
But if you're visibly bleeding, the taxis may often refuse to take you. That's been my experience.
