In order to increase automobile safety and driver awareness, an "alerting system" will be designed and built. Its primary function will be to notify the driver of a proximal emergency
vehicle. The "alerting system" will have three main tasks: detect an emergency siren audio signal, turn down the volume of the stereo and display an indicator symbol on the dashboard. The proposed solution will be cost-effective and noninvasive to implement in the automobile.

In order to increase automobile safety, a driver must have ample time to react to an emergency vehicle. In fact, "U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) is working with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) on to study the effect and effective mitigation of the disorientation of motorists caused by emergency warning lights, including the effects on normal, impaired and drowsy drivers." The "alerting system" will further this initiative by increasing emergency vehicle siren effectiveness. "Year after year approximately 25 percent of firefighters killed in the line of duty are responding or returning from incidents, with the majority of the fatalities from vehicle crashes." A measure of success for the proposed "alerting system" would be a reduction in the number of emergency personnel fatalities.