Disabling the prius prime noise maker.

How are you hearing your noise maker? You must be driving around with the windows down, because that's the only time I hear mine. It's not quite that time of the year yet for me to drive with the windows down.

At first I was totally against them as I didn't see how they would affect any blind person since I park in the last row of our parking lot. But since we're in prime winter weather, I think the noise maker is necessary because a lot of people are walking through the parking lot with hoods on and collars rolled up to protect against the rain, snow, and especially the wind. It can get hard to see cars and can't tell where cars are coming from even with ICE powered cars.


Unsupervised!

 

"As such, the provision in paragraph S8 of the NPRM regulatory text, which specifically prohibits alert sound modifications except for recall purposes and also prohibits systems designed so as to allow manipulation or modification of the alert sound by anyone other than the OEM or a service provider, is adopted in this final rule without modification. We believe that this approach is necessary to satisfy the requirements contained in the PSEA language and that allowing a means for owners to select or modify alert sounds, or to allow vehicle manufacturers,
dealers, or other vehicle service entities to replace or update alert sounds outside the auspices of a recall action, would be in conflict with the language of the PSEA."

"S8 Prohibition on altering the sound of a vehicle subject to this standard. No entity subject to the authority of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may:

(a) Disable, alter, replace or modify any element of a vehicle installed as original equipment for purposes of complying with this Standard, except in connection with a repair of a vehicle malfunction related to its sound emission or to remedy a defect or non-compliance with this standard; or


(b) Provide any person with any mechanism, equipment, process or device intended to disable, alter, replace or modify the sound emitting capability of a vehicle subject to this standard, except in connection with a repair of vehicle malfunction related to its sound emission or to remedy a defect or non-compliance with this standard."

Federal Register :: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-12-14/pdf/2016-28804.pdf

Looks to me like they clearly intend that this device not be able to be tampered with, and that by tampering with it that you are in violation of the intent of the relevant federal law, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010.

 

I can only hear it when I enter/back out of the garage. To me, it is only audible in a confined space.

 

But Toyota (and others) have implemented it already. It's on the car.

By disabling it, you probably open yourself up to a conviction of involuntary manslaughter and a civil case of recklessness causing death. 8 years in prison and judgement plus punitive damages (i.e. everything you've ever owned and ever will own).

Sounds like a lot of risk for something you almost can't hear at all, not to mention the possible guilt of killing someone.

 

Lee Jay,
Why are you so concerned? Do you really believe there is a need to emit a sound to warn Everyone, not just the blind, that an electric car is coming? Is this Ruling really needed?

Should we instead complain to our representatives that we Don't want our vehicles to emit unnessary sounds for purposes that won't be understood by pedestrians.

 

Why is the resistor needed? On the Prius PIP, I just unplugged the cable.

 

Maybe you should look into the reason that the law was enacted in the first place, instead of calling it "unnecessary" without any evidence backing up your opinion.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/812347-minimumsoundrequirements.pdf

"In October 2009, NHTSA issued a report, Research on Quieter Cars and the Safety of Blind Pedestrians, A Report to Congress (NHTSA, 2009b). The report briefly discussed the issue of vehicle noise and implications for pedestrians, how NHTSA’s research plan would address the issue, and NHTSA’s progress on implementing the research plan. Separately, in an effort to evaluate the problem of EV and HV crashes with pedestrians, NHTSA examined the incidence rates for crashes involving hybrid-electric vehicles and pedestrians under different circumstances, using data from 12 States, and compared the results to those for ICE vehicles (Hanna, 2009). This study, while based on a relatively small sample size, found an increased rate of accidents involving pedestrians with hybrid-electric vehicles compared to their peer ICE vehicles."

"• Overall sound levels for the hybrid-electric vehicles tested were lower at low speeds than for the internal combustion engine vehicles tested.
• Human subjects demonstrated significant differences in response times to hybrid electric and ICE vehicles when operating at 10 km/h, braking, and backing up, for both lower and higher levels of ambient sound."

"These findings were updated in an October 2011 report by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis that included additional years of State crash file data as well as data from additional States (Wu, Austin, & Chen, 2011). Further corroboration is provided by an NCSA Research Note from 2015 using larger sample sizes (Wu, 2015)."

Hybrid and Electric cars too quiet: Why they’re dangerous to pedestrians.

"Though the NHTSA found little statistically significant difference in collisions over 35 mph—when wind and tire noise negate the difference in engine noise—at lower speeds, hybrids and electric vehicles are 37 percent more likely to hit walkers and 66 percent more likely to collide with cyclists than traditional gas-powered cars."

 

As @drash, said, I only hear mine in the garage. But I think I would check with a for real lawyer before I disabled mine if I was so inclined since it's intended to protect pedestrians. There have been lots of times I've sat in a parking lot while oblivious people slowly sauntered along the middle of the traffic lanes never looking over their shoulders. Eventually, I usually give them a friendly toot of the anemic horn. It's fun to watch them jump. But I go easy on the old folks down here. Don't want to cause a fatal coronary.

 

lol, you're funny jerrymildred, I like to sneak up behind them then watch their expression when they turn around to see me

 

That's fun, too.

 

all these regs will soon be neutered.

 

Lee Jay,
I'm only asking the Question and wondering why you're so passionate about it.

From the Link -
=================================
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has prepared this Final Environmental Assessment to analyze the potential environmental impacts of its rulemaking to implement the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010.

In this EA, NHTSA analyzes the environmental impacts associated with three alternative actions. Alternative 1 is the No Action Alternative, under which NHTSA would not establish any regulatory sound requirements for EVs/HVs. The National Environmental Policy Act requires agencies to consider a “no action” alternative as a baseline against which to compare the environmental effects of reasonable alternative actions. Since the PSEA directs NHTSA to issue a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that would establish minimum sound requirements for EVs/HVs, the statute does not permit NHTSA to adopt Alternative 1.
==================================

So because someone decided there were too many EV-Pedestrian accidents, though the sampling as they stated was Small, they were going to force the industry to implement it.

Look at all the effort the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has put into this.

After all this reading, How Many Pedestrians have been in contact with an auto and stated they didn't hear it. AND how many of those were ICE vehicles?

I believe this is another attempt to Kill the Electric Vehicle. And if we don't stand together, they will take your EV away from you !!!

 

My Dad used to work with deaf and blind people. They have a tough time as it is. We don't need another reason (super-quiet cars) chasing them out of society or injuring/killing them. Further, we have more and more people walking while using their phones. Finally, I have little kids who don't always pay full attention.

This is a very, very minor thing we can do to save hundreds or thousands of people each year from getting injured.

The report also pointed out that it's probably a big pay-back economically, costing $39 million but saving > $200 million in injuries. 5-to-1 payback over-night? No brainer, even if you don't have any compassion for your fellow citizens.

 

You can't hear it from inside the car. You can from in front of the car where you are most likely to be before you get run over.