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Related Experiment Videos

Do warning lights and sirens reduce ambulance response times?

L H Brown1, C L Whitney, R C Hunt

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse, 13210, USA. brownl@mailbox.hscsyr.edu

Prehospital Emergency Care
|January 14, 2000
PubMed
Summary

Using lights and siren (L&S) in urban emergency medical services (EMS) reduces ambulance response times by an average of 1 minute and 46 seconds. While statistically significant, the clinical relevance of this time saving is limited in most emergency situations.

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Area of Science:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Public Health
  • Transportation Safety

Background:

  • Ambulance response times are critical for patient outcomes in emergency medical services (EMS).
  • The use of lights and siren (L&S) is a common practice to expedite emergency vehicle travel.
  • The actual time saved by L&S in urban environments requires objective evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the time savings achieved by using lights and siren (L&S) during emergency ambulance responses in an urban setting.
  • To compare response times between ambulance trips utilizing L&S and those without.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study design was employed in an urban EMS system.
  • Ambulance response times were measured from dispatch to scene arrival.

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  • A control group (no L&S) was compared against an experimental group (L&S) using matched-pair analysis with observers and identical vehicle retracing.

    • Main Results:

    • Ambulance responses using L&S were, on average, 105.8 seconds (1 minute, 46 seconds) faster than those without.
    • The time difference ranged significantly, with L&S being up to 7 minutes, 5 seconds faster or 3 minutes, 30 seconds slower.
    • The findings were statistically significant (p = 0.0001) with a 95% confidence interval of 60.2 to 151.5 seconds.

    Conclusions:

    • In this urban EMS system, L&S use resulted in an average response time reduction of 1 minute, 46 seconds.
    • Despite statistical significance, the clinical impact of this time saving is likely minimal for most emergency cases.
    • Further large-scale, multicenter trials are recommended to assess the national implications of L&S use.