By Brad Hamilton, John Doyle and Cynthia R Fagen for the NY Post

NEW YORK — If you feel the earth move under your feet, it just might be the cops.

The NYPD is equipping its police cars with a new high-tech siren that you will not only hear but also feel.

It's called the Rumbler, and its aim is to grab the attention of even the most distracted cellphone-yakking, text-messaging or headphone-addled pedestrian or motorist.

NYPD Super-Sirens get Ready to Rumble

By Brad Hamilton, John Doyle and Cynthia R Fagen for the NY Post

NEW YORK — If you feel the earth move under your feet, it just might be the cops.

The NYPD is equipping its police cars with a new high-tech siren that you will not only hear but also feel.

It’s called the Rumbler, and its aim is to grab the attention of even the most distracted cellphone-yakking, text-messaging or headphone-addled pedestrian or motorist.

The idea is to get them out of the way of cops on emergency runs, especially at busy intersections.

“It emits vibrations that can be felt, so drivers, even with their windows rolled up and stereos on, can be alerted to the approach of emergency vehicles,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

“It also gets the attention of pedestrians with headphones or iPods or who may be otherwise inattentive to conventional sirens,” he said.

The Rumbler’s bone-jarring shake and rattle has a vibration range of 200 feet and can cut through a cacophony of honking horns.

Last week, 25 Rumblers were installed in marked patrol cars in 10 precincts spanning lower Manhattan to Midtown.

Another 132 Rumblers are being added tomorrow, with a “possible expansion after that,” Browne said.

The NYPD tested its new vibes in a few precincts for almost a year.

The manufacturer, Federal Signal Corp., of Illinois, boasts on its Web site that the sirens “have 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.”

So it’ll be even harder for motorists to wiggle out of a ticket by claiming they didn’t “feel” the siren.

The company has an explicit warning that “the siren and speakers may cause hearing damage” to anyone exposed to them on a daily basis.

The Rumbler can work in conjunction with a patrol car’s current five conventional siren settings, which range from a wail to woops, blips and an air horn.

It’s timed to turn off automatically after 10 seconds, but it can be manually turned right back on.

Initially, NYPD brass was concerned that the deep bass rattle, which is emitted out of two subwoofers, could frighten people.

That remains to be seen — or felt.

11 Comments

  • DrumIntellect

    Sounds very dangerous. The normal sirens already scare people. Louder ones are just going to be worse. Take into account all those people on Montgomery between New York and Brooklyn that are woken up by police sirens at 2, 3 in the morning – who will now have to deal hearing loss.
    We need a quieter city, not a louder one.

  • ooooooooooh

    oooh i can sue them if i go deaf young chas v’shalom

    and they won’t be able to say i should’ve moved out of urban areas cuz which normal person moves because the police cars sre too loud?!

    not this one

  • Crown heights resident

    So when I’m sleeping and the Ground starts Shaking
    I shouldn’t worry its ONLY the cops trying to get to Donkin Doughnuts ;-)

  • INCREDULOUS CITIZEN

    AND IF I LIVE ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF A BUILDING FACING THE STREET MY ROOM VIBRATES AS WELL AND ACTUALLY AWOKE ME FROM MY SLEEP. THIS IS PURE INSANITY AND SHOULD BE PETITIONED AGAINST. HOW CAN THEY FINE PEOPLE FOR USING THEIR HORNS WHEN THEY WILL USE THESE MONSTROUS SOUNDS? AND LET’S FACE IT, IT WILL NOT ALWAYS BE FOR AN EMERGENCY OR TO MAKE THEMSELVES HEARD OR FELT AS YOU PUT IT. THIS CITY IS GOING CRAZIER BY THE DAY. A GOOD REFLECTION OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS COUNTRY….

  • Thenewyorker

    They won’t rumble your house stop worrying. It’s designed for motorists and pedestrians. Plus they aren’t on every time u hear a siren only in high priorities. Police don’t use rumblers unless it’s a priority call and even at night they wouldn’t use them because thgere is less vehicle and foot traffic.