Are Present Horns, Whistles and Sirens Necessary for Communications?

Horns, whistles and sirens are commonly used to convey information concerning time, location or warning. Of major concern to the community are the audible warning systems used on emergency vehicles and trains. The various types of existing audible warning systems and their historical development are discussed in this paper, together with an analysis of their effectiveness in fulfilling their prime function - namely, to warn people of imminent danger.

It is concluded that such systems perform adequately in many situations, but not when the recipient of the warning signal is inside another vehicle. It is suggested that alternative means be developed for warning the occupants of vehicles of immediate danger so that audible warning systems of reduced acoustic power can be used to warn the pedestrian or other persons outside vehicles.