asked the Minister for Local Government if he will initiate amending legislation to enable medical doctors to use portable sirens on their motor cars for use in emergencies.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Portable Sirens
10.
The fitting and use of sirens on motor vehicles is limited by law to vehicles used for fire brigade, ambulance and police purposes, and I do not propose to add to these categories.
Would the Minister not consider it advisable for the future, in view of the increase in motor vehicles and traffic density in urban areas and that it might facilitate and be of great assistance to medical personnel in their private or health board capacity to have some means of identification of the fact that they are travelling on emergency calls to distinguish them from other road users and thereby alleviate the hardship and embarrassment which can be suffered by members of the medical profession?
A number of organisations have from time to time sought permission to put sirens on their vehicles and while all of them made a reasonably good case it was felt that it would not be in the interests of the public generally to accede to their requests. While I agree that it may sometimes be frustrating and dangerous if a doctor cannot get through traffic, at the same time I think the weight of evidence is against allowing such additional permission to be given and I do not propose to reconsider the matter at present.
Would the Minister not consider that in many cases it is impossible for members of the medical profession in general practice to determine whether a call is one of emergency or not and that the provision of a portable siren for use only in emergencies, where such are determinable, could be of great help to the public and the medical profession.
It would be very difficult to know; the temptation to use it when one wanted to get through traffic might be very great on numerous occasions. In addition, Ireland acceded to a United Nations Convention on road and motor transport in 1949 which prohibits use of a siren or other strident tone device on motor vehicles engaged in international travel. All EEC members, apart from Germany, have acceded to this convention. So, there is a little more in it than just saying that the doctors can have sirens on their cars.