Directional Siren Speakers
In 1999 we experimented with a new type of siren from Leeds University in the UK. The siren was developed with a series of sound patterns, combining high and low frequencies, to more accurately give an indication of which direction an emergency vehicle is coming from. We thought it was a fantastic invention! The problem was the siren was quieter than our traditional North American sirens and we soon learned that it was very difficult to convince Canadian EMS that our new, quieter siren was in fact much more effective than traditional, louder sirens (it's counter-intuitive). But then we thought of an easy answer - make the new directional siren louder, even if that increased volume isn't required. But at double the amperage there were continued breakdowns of the siren, so eventually we gave up - we stopped trying to sell the directional siren.
I believe this to be one of our greatest failures. If we had continued investing our research and development budget in the Directional siren project, then perhaps today emergency vehicles everywhere would be using them, and thereby reducing the number of collisions they would be involved in.
