From B&P reader Ken’s website Knuckledraggin My Life Away:
Personally I think there are way too many laws here in the US but the one thing I think there should be a law against is siren sounds on the radio unless of course it’s part of an ass kicking song. But as far as commercials and crap like that goes…… Hey, I’ve been clean for quite a few years and even today if I’m driving down the road and I hear a fucking siren I STILL automatically go into panic mode. I don’t stop to think that it might be on the radio, I think I’m getting jammed and I best try some damage control. Foot off the gas pedal, check the speed. Do a quick glance to the passenger seat to check for anything that shouldn’t be out and any firearms hit the driver’s floorboard and kicked under the seat. Arms go down below window level where tattoos don’t show. All of this while trying to look like I’m not doing any of it. Then and only then do I try to determine the source.
That’s why it pisses me off to hear a siren on the radio. I’m an old fuck and I don’t need any more panic stops than is necessary.
What’s really bad is that there’s one commercial that the rock station here plays all the time. I mean, I hear the thing twice a day and I still fall for it.
Thanks Ken
I can’t tell you how much of a kick it is to open your page and see something from my site here. Not only that but my real life stuff…….
Thanks man, you made my day!
-Ken
It sounds like you have a beef with JC Corcoran and opening of the Schnucks Panic Aisle!
It catches me by surprise for a few seconds, too!
Loved his blog. It’s now on my fav list
I find this blurb very interesting! Just today I heard a siren on the radio and totally freaked out, looked around for the emergency vehicle while checking to see if I could pull over if it came around the corner or something. But no. It was the friggin’ radio. I share in Ken’s frustration!
I agree 100%. They’ve gotten me a few times too. But my personal pet peeve is ringing cell phones on the radio. I work on construction sites, and when a commercial plays a ringing cell phore quite a few reach for their phones.
Ok, I can definitely relate to this. It freaks me out every time. I have a habit of looking for a spot to pull over so that an emergency vehicle can easily fly past. So what does it look like to the drivers behind me?! “Dude, look out man, that guy must be drunk…he’s drifting off the road!” Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if I got pulled over because of that! Then I’d hear the real siren and be like, ahhhh, it’s just the radio… Suddenly I’ll be charged with attempting to evade the police! All because of sirens on the radio…
I agree! How many twits don’t pull over because they are so desensitised by radio noise! It shouldn’t stop there though, do you know how many times I’ve answered the phone only to find it was the TV or radio!!!
Agree with the siren, but disagree with the phone. I thought that was the whole point of personalised ring tones!
Having said that, when I hear Faithless’ “Drifting Away” I still think the children are trying to ring me, as that was their ringtone.
Its more than sirens, kids.
If you listen REAL close to a lot of TV commercials these days, advertisers are putting in cell phone rings, pager buzzes and other ‘alert’ sounds.
Why? To get your attention at a subliminal level.
They know you’ve spent your life being trained to jump like a monkey or Pavlovian dog at the sounds.
It’s all psychology. And they know it WORKS.
Ken here again. I have to throw in my 2 cents worth about the cell phones. I used to have Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” as my ringtone and when my phone rang I’d reach for the radio to turn it up and if I heard the song on the radio I’d answer my phone. I finally changed my ringtone to a ……… siren. Well, hell. It’s a good thing nobody calls me anymore since I got divorced.
Eventually alarm sounds that are used in commercials won’t work to actually alert us anymore. I REALLY hope they don’t use any alarm clock sounds…I’ll NEVER get up on time if that happens!
Hm. I listen to my iPod while driving, so nothing on the radio annoys me. 😉
Maybe they need to change the sirens on emergency vehicles to a ringtone. So if hear someone blasting Copacabana or Dancing Queen or Don’t Worry Be Happy, I’ll know to pull over.
I couldn’t agree more. All they are doing is making people more dumbied down for when the real thing for proper reason goes off. I agree with the telephone ring comment also. BTW: if you DO hear a siren, pull to the RIGHT goddammit! There is never a time it is proper to move to the left. Thanks
I could have sworn that sirens sounds on the radio ARE illegal, unless there’s a current emergency in progress!!!