WASHINGTON — Silent hybrid vehicles may soon be a thing of the past. Auto safety regulators would be required to set minimum sound levels for hybrid and electric vehicles under a bill approved Thursday by the House. Blind pedestrians have pushed for the changes, saying the quiet purr of hybrids can pose risks for them because they use sound cues to travel safely. Hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight are well-regarded for their high gas mileage, but they are virtually silent when propelled by electric motors at low speeds. With more hybrids and new electric cars coming onto the market, automakers and advocates for the blind have raised concerned about potential safety problems for blind pedestrians. "The trend toward putting more environmentally friendly, quiet vehicles on the road has unintentionally jeopardized the safety and independence of the blind and other pedestrians," said Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. The House passed the bill 379-30. The Senate approved its version, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., last week, and the measure now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. Rep. Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, said the bill would protect blind pedestrians along with joggers, children and others who need to be alerted to approaching traffic. Automakers and the National Federation of the Blind support the plan. Car manufacturers have started developing artificial sounds that will be emitted from electric cars and future hybrids. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a research report last year that hybrid vehicles are twice as likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes at low speeds compared with conventional vehicles. The study looked at circumstances in which vehicles were slowing down or stopping, backing up or entering or departing a parking space. The government has been researching the safety risks that hybrids and electrics can pose for blind pedestrians for vehicles traveling at 20 mph or less. When a car accelerates beyond 20 mph, the friction between the tire and the road's surface makes the vehicle louder.
They should sample the sound of a strip mining operation in China thats harvesting the 33lbs of lanthanum and the 2lbs of neodymium required for the traction batteries permanent magnets in our 2 Motor/Generators. What? http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2010/09/22/China-rare-earth-mining-taxing-environment/UPI-69301285179257/
Lets pretend for the sake of argument, that there is a national interest in preventing blind people from getting surprised by a Prius in a traffic situation. What you want is a noise that will help them decide they are at risk from traffic. I suggest a loop of this soundtrack from 2:20 to 3:20. Blind people who would step out into the street hearing this will know there is traffic.
What sound should a Prius make? How about a recording Of Robert Shaw scratching that chalk board in the movie Jaws? Amplify it to where it can break glass - and then as an unfunded feasibility study (No Earmarks here!) - drive circles around the US Capitol to encourage early adjournment of this very lame, Lame Duck session...
Just require Priuses to drive with their windows down. The whining noise made by the folks fussing about the new law will alert the blind and the deaf alike...
I would like Spock and Kirk whisteling the sound of Phasers from the I Mudd Android episode. Gotta love those whisteling Phasers...
I'm still confused, will this law require OUR current Priuses to have this soundmaker? S. 841 says its for NEW hybrids and EVs; (a) Rulemaking Required- Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act the Secretary shall initiate rulemaking, under section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, to promulgate a motor vehicle safety standard-- (1) establishing performance requirements for an alert sound that allows blind and other pedestrians to reasonably detect a nearby electric or hybrid vehicle operating below the cross-over speed, if any; and (2) requiring new electric or hybrid vehicles to provide an alert sound conforming to the requirements of the motor vehicle safety standard established under this subsection. However, I can't imagine them not giving us a break. If it does pertain to us, I'll be the last one on the planet to submit to this law. I'll never check into a dealership. I'll never drive by a cop at less than 20 mph, even in a parking lot, lol. YOU'LL NEVER TOUCH MY CAR! Ok seriously though, please answer my question ^ Thanks.
Make it sound like a sports car....then it can really get some double-takes from people! And I haven't seen many joggers without iPod ear buds jammed into their ear, probably playing music loud enough that it could drown out a freaking C130 military plane. I'm not sure a light noise from a hybrid or EV would be enough to let them know you're there.
How about a jet turbine? Might make Leno look twice when he is at the stop light with his jet bike... Kewl factor would be high!
We should be able to select our own sound, at will. Downloadable from the web. At times it could be cool to have it sound like a Harley or even on old Chevy pick up with a broken muffler. Most often I'd prefer no noise at all.....until some jackass shows up with a base that shakes the windows. Then like magic....or better yet like magic-man says, the jet turbine Kewl factor could be very worthwhile.
It should be a owner recordable track.....Mine would have profanities about Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank. Craig
I'd like to turn it into a giant noise canceler, swallowing adjacent sound. The blind would detect this the same way I can 'hear' the exposed insulation on a warehouse wall, by the obvious sound pressure imbalance. Something like the profound silence of an anechoic chamber or screen room, but on just one side of the listener's head. But the physics (vehicle size & distance vs. audio wavelengths) isn't in favor of making this actually work.
