Forum Topic

The wailing of the sirens....

Does anyone else get the right hump with the police driving down London rd or the A4 in the early hrs of the morning,sirens blaring out? This happens almost nightly.Surely at 3am there are not sufficient cars in front of the police to warrant this. A flashing blue light would surely be enough and the odd wail on the siren at this time...

Keith Iddon ● 7418d8 Comments

I am pleased that the story had been amended to take out the entry saying he was fleeing from the Police.Simon-Anthony is very well known in the area and has lived here all his life.  A really lovely young man.Anyone with links to Marlborough Primary school will know his family.

Sarah Felstead ● 7415d

And as Sally quite rightly points out, if a police officer failed to take reasonable precautions when driving to an emergency call and a fatality resulted such as the Sheen case, there would be uproar from the public with the poor police officer facing a court and a possible manslaughter charge. As before, I’d far rather hear the blues and two’s at 4.00am than hear the news of a fatality later on in the day.

Gareth Evans ● 7416d

I have just found out that we know the lad killed on the motorbike yesterday.  What I said about sirens being confusing takes on another dimension.Simon-Anthony would NOT have been fleeing the Police.  He may have been trying to pull out of their way.  How do Police sirens sound inside an helmet?  It will be interesting to see what information the video equipment has picked up.  It will not bring back a lovely lad and a lost life.Bloody motorbikes.

Sarah Felstead ● 7416d

Well done Keith... this has to be the best thread title!I have noticed that it is very difficult to work out which direction the siren from an emergency vehicle is coming from, and it can be very confusing!  It seems to be clearer with a fire engine?I heard the story about the milkman in Sheen and the story related to us was about several Police cars in a chase with a Motorcycle at high speed.As the area becomes more and more congested there has to be other ways of chasing a vehicle, or deciding not to chase one, if the area will not allow the pursuit, safely.I will always remember the young cadet who was knocked down by a Police vehicle at high speed, and the story related as to why he was refused compensation (he has brain damage) was that he was wearing dark camouflage colours.  Well that material is a fashion style and wearing it should not become his fault if the car hits him.  There are other factors which are more relevant!After hearing that story I was quizzical as to how the decision would affect other uniforms and the liability for organisations which impose the uniform, if such an accident happened again?  For instance a lot of school uniforms are dark and include dark coats too!

Sarah Felstead ● 7416d

Police cars use their sirens to alert other traffic/pedestrians of their presence, not the criminals. Only recently a man was knocked down and killed by a police car in the early hours of the morning in Sheen. The car had its lights on but not its sirens as there was no other traffic around.

Sally Henfield ● 7416d

I always thought the sirens were because they were late for their tea-break.

Vanessa Smith ● 7416d

Well obviously....but it seems to be every night and at times when there would be hardly anyone about.I think it is uneccessary to be so noisy in the early hrs. Anyway, what's the point in the police announcing their arrival to a potential crime scene?They do have radios to communicate with each other. A siren tells everyone,including the wrongdoers,that they are on their way. Counter-productive surely, if they're in the business of catching criminals...

Keith Iddon ● 7418d

I hear them from time to time as they head down the A316 or the London Road. I'd rather hear a siren than hear of a fatality caused by someone not seeing an oncoming police vehicle.

Gareth Evans ● 7418d