Last year, no doubt witnessed a lot of noise due to indiscriminate and illegal use of sirens all over the place. Almost all manners of 'very important personalities' in our midst have turned the illegal use and out right misuse of sirens as a status symbol of some sort.The situation is so bad that a transport union local is on the verge of using a siren. Whereas the primary purpose of sirens is to alert the traffic and other road users of the presence of an emergency vehicle so as to hasten the arrival of assistance to areas where people are in imminent danger or where property is in jeopardy. Even though, sirens are to be used in emergency situations by those engaged in essential and emergency services, like fire brigade and the ambulance as well as those engaged in policing and law enforcement jobs, we have for several years now, been under the constant harassment and intimidation of the annoying wailing sirens of our 'big men and women' in all the towns and cities across the country. Sirens that were supposed to be used sparingly for legitimate emergency purpose have been turned into frolics whereby their users not only abuse their use, but simply use them to get to get through traffic without any emergency or life threatening mission. Even when some of our big men are going for lunch and dinners, the annoying wail or yelp of their sirens usually shatters the serenity of the environment. Imagine an ambulance driver tear through a main urban area of Yaba, Lagos in a neck breaking speed and only to pull up at a newspaper vendor's stand to buy a magazine. Can you also imagine an ambulance that carries a corpse and yet not only blows the siren for a dead body, but in a neck breaking speed and drive against the traffic to face on coming vehicles. Some in the process have been involved in crashes resulting in deaths and injuries. As a matter of fact, misuse or over use can produce serious consequences. Particularly for an ambulance, crashes can occur with resultant injuries and deaths, the tumult and disruption can further impair the condition of the transported patient. Sirens can even adversely affect the patient and increase traffic risks more than the very limited benefit to users. As for those that hide under the guise of one security assignment or the other to disturb the peace of our towns and cities, it is important to remind them that if a robbery is going on in a city street or a bank is being robbed, will it not be a most foolish thing to do in the world to drive up to the scene with a siren, since the robbers would have been forewarned and given a chance to escape. There is the need for scrutiny and a better tailored operating standards for the users of sirens. What is more, people are often confused by the directional ambiguity of the oncoming vehicle siren while the wailing noise is increasingly getting on peoples nerves in cities and towns. The mad use of the ear-splitting sirens is no longer just viewed as another irritant of technological society, but rather, health specialists now see the noise as a clear health hazards with measurable physiological effects on all people and adverse effect, especially on the elderly and the infants. There is the urgent need for sanctions and stiff penalties because the shrill wail or yelp from vehicle sirens have become so rampant. Even though, for years, we have refused to question siren noise because of the emergency nature of the vehicles using the, the abuse, the misuse of sires have cast doubt on both its need and effectiveness. While recognizing the legitimate purpose with which sirens can be used, one begins to ask if all the noise in the first instance were necessary. Hapless motorists and road users as well as innocent members of the public have been harassed and intimidate as the siren- blaring convoys of our big men women have forced on coming vehicles to clear off the roads. This has in turn put innocent people into danger as many crashes resulting into deaths and injuries have so been recorded. We can not forget so soon the untimely death of a newly wedded couple on Epe/Ikorodu road some years back due to road crash which occurred when the siren- blaring convoy of a former minister harassed and chased the vehicle of the innocent couple out of the road and the resultant crash. Innocent school children crossing the roads have also been maimed and killed as a result of the reckless use of the sirens by convoy drivers and other unauthorized persons due to disobedience to traffic rule and regulations, hence, the recent pronouncements by the authorities on the use of sirens could not have come at a better time than now. And as pointed out, in those parts of the country where the abuse and misuse of sirens are rampant, the ugly trend actually poses a threat to security because, it is becoming very difficult to distinguish between a genuine siren being used for legitimate emergency and security duties and those being used for nefarious activities. It will not be surprising if men of the underworld have their own sirens to beat security and arrests. What is even more, you see miscreants having access to sirens. In some other countries, you very rarely hear a siren, you only hear one, when, they genuinely need to put it on. But here, we have been under the constant harassment from several wailing sirens while the horrible noise has become ubiquitous. Siren should only be used for emergencies by those authorized to use it and not just by anybody to break traffic rules and regulations to get through some traffic red lights and thereby put other motorists and road users into danger as well as commit other security breaches. Let there be a change. Let's stop the menace. We need a little more peace and quiet and all our big men and women must stop this illegal use of sirens this New Year.
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