The Rumbler Vibration Siren Coming to New York City
The NYPD has announced "the Rumbler," a new siren for cop cars designed to alert "even the most distracted cellphone-yakking, text-messaging or headphone-addled pedestrian or motorist," according to the New York Post. That is what we need! Louder streets. It can supposedly cut through the ubiquitous sound of horns and travel for up to 200 feet. So far, 25 have already been tested in lower Manhattan, with another 132 coming tomorrow. The Rumbler works for 10 seconds at a time, for when police need a little added burst in addition to their five existing siren settings. 
On its website, Federal Signal Corp., who makes the Rumbler, boasts about its skill at "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." The CAPS are there for impact.
More from the Post:
"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.
"It actually reduces noise," an NYPD director told the Wall Street Journal.
[jcoscarelli@villagevoice.com / @joecoscarelli]
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