Oh good—because police sirens just aren't loud enough, now more cops will be able to blast the "whooping vibration-siren system" called The Rumbler when they're racing to the scene of a Dunkin' Donuts or Magnolia Bakery. You'll recall that in 2009, the NYPD expanded a pilot program testing The Rumbler on 150 squad cars. The Rumbler is the siren that has "the distinct advantage of penetrating and shaking solid materials, allowing vehicle operators and nearby pedestrians to FEEL the sound waves and perhaps even see their effects through a shaking rearview mirror." And now another 4,500 cops will be able to push a button and make your trousers vibrate.
Every new police vehicle will be equipped with The Rumbler, and Robert Martinez, the NYPD's director of Fleet Service, tells the Wall Street Journal [paywall] the NYPD has received very few complaints about it. He also insists The Rumbler actually reduces noise pollution, arguing that because the siren gets everyone's attention so quickly, officers don't need to use it as much. Of course, they don't need to use it, but that's like handing them water cannons and telling them they don't need to spray the hippie protesters.
On the website for the anti-noise organization NoiseOff, the group's founder, Richard Tur, points out that "sirens are designed to emit sound directionally from the front of the vehicle to alert oncoming traffic and pedestrians; The Rumbler uses low-frequency sound that is non-directional. Low-frequency sound energy penetrates windows (including double-paned windows) into residents apartments that can be heard and felt." By summer, about 500 cars will be equipped with the new siren systems, which cost $500 each. Here's a video demonstrating what we can all look forward to:
