Siren City

I live quite near one of the main arteries in Brussels. This means that, apart from good transport links, I am exposed to some noise from the sirens of the police, ambulances, and fire brigade. I don't mind this, as I reckon that the faster they get to where they're going, the better. It might be me that needs one of them one day!

But the other day I was crossing the road, when a car with a loud siren came racing down the road. Like everyone else, on foot or in cars, I made way for the emergency vehicle, only to see, as it passed me, that it was a vehicle from the water service! The water service .... ? What possible emergency were they in such a hurry to get to? A dripping tap?

So maybe all those sirens that provide the backing track to my city life are not as important as I thought. How many other non-urgent services have sirens on their vehicles? If they do not have a real life-and-death reason to be able to over-ride normal traffic rules, and demand privileged treatment, then they should not have sirens.