In an effort to curtail traffic accidents between fire trucks and other automobiles, fire authorities say they will increase the volume of fire engine sirens by 30 percent and attach reflective tape to the front, sides and rear of fire trucks.

In an effort to curtail traffic accidents between fire trucks and other automobiles, fire authorities say they will increase the volume of fire engine sirens by 30 percent and attach reflective tape to the front, sides and rear of fire trucks. The qualification standard of sirens will be increased from the current 110 decibel (dB) measured 1 meter ahead to 124 dB 1.5 meters ahead. The new standard will be applied to fire engines that are to be newly produced. A total of 1,374 people have been killed in 2,344 collisions between fire engines and ordinary cars on the road over the past five years. According to a survey by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2015, reflective tape helps reduce the number of traffic accidents by 21 percent at night and 16 percent in the daytime.