Last month, the L.A. Police Department’s Motor Transport Division hosted a demonstration of the Rumbler low-frequency alert system.
Greg Field, division director, and LAPD Cmdr. Blake Chow rolled out a standard black-and-white Ford Explorer with a 10-inch alarm and sync system installed.
I had read about the Rumbler’s ability to grab the attention of drivers and pedestrians with its booming sound.
Then Field turned on the siren, and it delivered a light jab to my stomach.
“You can feel that in your gut,” Chow said.
Yes, you can. I stood to the side and rear of the Rumbler, and the device’s pulsating waves were easily felt from a 10-foot distance.
That experience eventually led to my reporting earlier this week on the reasoning behind the LAPD’s decision to deploy the technology and the co-existing community concerns.
Here are a few excerpts from the full article.
What is the Rumbler?
The Rumbler is a low-frequency siren. A standard kit includes two subwoofers, an amplifier and a timing module, with costs ranging from $600 to $1,000 per unit, depending on accessories.
Illinois-based manufacturer Federal Signal says the siren is “highly effective in dense urban environments with heavy vehicle traffic.”
The Rumbler interacts with a standard police siren, which generates around 110 to 120 decibels, and amplifies that sound through its speakers in eight-second intervals.
Whereas the blare of a regular siren may bounce off vehicles and buildings, the low-frequency tones “have the distinct advantage of penetrating solid materials, allowing vehicle operators and nearby pedestrians to feel the sound waves,” the manufacturer says.
The Rumbler then plays a prerecorded message, such as “Move to the right,” in English and Spanish.
The LAPD’s Rumbler deployment comes with a sound- and light-syncing system. That allows several police vehicles to broadcast a synchronized public safety announcement while flashing the same light-signal pattern.
Field noted the sync systems are useful for mass messages, such as at a fire evacuation or an unlawful assembly.
The LAPD says fewer drivers are paying attention
Chow says the new low-frequency siren is the solution to drivers failing to yield to emergency vehicles. It’s a story that he says plays out for officers far too often.
“We had to find a way to get these drivers’ attention,” said Chow, a 36-year veteran and head of the LAPD Support Services Group, which manages core logistical, technical and records infrastructure.
Chow says the Rumbler has been installed on 20 vehicles, with an additional 100 being added to the system soon.
He hopes that around 2,000 of the department’s 5,000 vehicles will be deployed with the Rumbler within the next couple of years.
The Rumbler hits from all angles
For Richard Tur, the founder of NoiseOff, an organization that tracks and offers noise pollution solutions, it doesn’t seem necessary for bystanders to feel a siren “pounding through your body.”
Tur said that even though the speakers are front-facing, the siren blast is omnidirectional, meaning those moving in the opposite direction can feel the Rumbler.
Tur credits the 360-degree blast to its original inspiration. The Rumbler is the dream child of a Florida Highway Patrol officer inspired by the “bass-thumping audio” from local cars, according to a report from Cabinet magazine.
Hamid Khan, an organizer with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, a community group that campaigns against over-policing, said local neighborhoods were being forgotten.
“We’re missing the point,” Khan said. “What is the impact of this thing on us, the people who live in these communities where the Rumbler will be used?”
Khan is worried the siren will be abused in poorer neighborhoods.
He said such additional noise “ultimately affects sleep cycles, hearing and inflicts trauma” upon locals.
You can check out the full article here.
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