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Many studies have suggested the use of lights and siren by ambulances has the potential to save time, which can be clinically beneficial for certain patients. However, other studies suggest lights and siren use increases an emergency vehicle’s crash risk. In the absence of a comprehensive multi-center trial, a meta-analysis of prior studies can offer insight into this topic. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the extent to which the use of lights and siren decreases response and transport times nationally.

We searched PUBMED, EBSCO Academic Search Ultimate, Google Scholar and the premier EMS journals for potential articles identifying time savings associated with lights and siren use and augmented the search results with other relevant studies. Studies were included if they compared time involved with driving a given route using lights and siren with the time required to drive the same route without lights and siren.

Nine studies were included. Across these studies, lights and siren use was associated with a weighted average time savings of 159 s or 2.7 min (95% CI: 100–219 s, p < 0.0001).

Our analysis of the previously-published literature reveals that lights and siren use is associated with time savings across geographies; however, the precise difference may only be beneficial to certain patients. Most studies are small and relatively dated, so individual EMS systems ought to study their specific geography to inform policies that maximize the beneficial impact of lights and siren use and minimize unnecessary risk.