The last time I holistically checked, the unauthorized use of emergency-vehicle equipment like siren among other sensitive vehicular devices including tinted glass and customized number plate was on the increase in the contemporary Nigerian society that forbade the use of a partisan measure toward its holistic eradication.
Illicit indiscriminate use of the aforementioned gadgets by unauthorized motorists is, to say the least, mainly responsible for most traffic embarrassments and anomalies experienced in recent times on Nigeria’s various major roads that if severe and rigorous approach isn’t taken towards addressing it, I’m afraid one may wake one morning to hear that such traffic authorities in the country as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), among others, have been taken over by a group of ‘bloody’ civilians.
Siren, which is a popularly used emergency device in most countries across the globe, could be described as an instrument fitted to or carried by an emergency-vehicle other than the devices that a standard non-emergency vehicle is fitted with such as headlights, steering wheels, windshield, and windscreens. It is generally an acoustic device that concurrently exhibits coloured lights in the process.
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Siren was invented solely to be used by emergency vehicles to include the fire truck, ambulance, and the police car, because they are usually involved in hazardous situations including relatively not uncommon incidents like a road traffic collision.
This set of vehicles – owing to its unique mode of operations – is required to gain access to incidents as quickly as possible, thus in many countries likewise Nigeria, it’s given a preference as regards obeying certain traffic rules.
For instance, suchlike vehicles may, or possess the immunity to, treat a red traffic light, or stop sign, as a give way rather than the reverse; it can also be permitted to break the speed limit, as the case may be.
Notwithstanding, emergency vehicles may not be able to equally treat a railroad crossing as a give way, because a train cannot be warned in time to stop before the crossing to let the vehicle through. Hence, an emergency vehicle might not enjoy its usual privileges when heavy land freight or passenger trains are involved.
Thus, due to the inevitable role of emergency vehicles in several countries including Nigeria, they are fitted with visual warnings to alert members of the public, particularly other motorists and road users, either as they approach the said vehicle or vice-versa. Visual warnings are generally classified into passive and active.
The passive visual warnings are usually inherently linked to the design of the vehicle, and involve the use of high contrast patterns such as striking or unusual paintings, retro-reflective designs, flamboyant stickers, and what have you, directly on the vehicle.
Another method of passive visual warnings is the inscription of the name or purpose of the emergency service organization such as Fire Service, Ambulance, Red Cross et al, boldly on the front of the vehicle. This enables drivers of other vehicles to easily identify an approaching emergency vehicle via their rear-view mirrors.
On the other hand, active visual warnings are usually in the form of flashing coloured lights known as beacons or light-bars which are often accompanied by a variety of sounds. The flashing coupled with sound attracts the attention of other road users including pedestrians as the emergency vehicle approaches. It equally provides warning to motorists approaching a stopped vehicle in a dangerous position on the road.
On its part, tinted glass, which refers to any glass that has been specially treated with a material such as a film or coating that reduces the transmission of light ray through it, is purposely meant to block and/or reflect different kinds of light based on the needs as well as preferences of the consumers.
One of the most common ways in which tinted glass is used is in automobile windows. Almost all vehicles come with tinting at the top of the windshield to reduce solar glare when the sun is low in the sky.
Aside from the above reason, the windows of many vehicles, particularly cars, are tinted either at the factory or as an aftermarket add-on by the consumer, to provide privacy for the vehicle’s occupants as well as to reduce the build-up of heat in the vehicle while it is parked outside.
As regards the functions of a vehicular tinted glass, apart from regulation of light or heat, the most rampant reason a tinted glass is used especially in a society like Nigeria is provision of privacy for the vehicle’s occupants.
Nevertheless, it’s paramount to acknowledge that, contrary to the wholesome attributes of tinted glasses, they prevent timely identification of the actual look of the vehicle’s driver alongside other occupants of the car, thereby creating room for various fraudulent or dubious acts.