Reverse Beeping

I am with my fellow Prians who leave the beep on. I think it is pretty funny to have the car sound like one of those huge trucks backing up.

Actually, I need the beep as the drive control is different than my VW.

 

I don't know if this is related, but I hate the inside the cabin Beeping. My passengers (since I haven't disactivated it yet) on the new prius seem to think it is a good idea ... until I tell them that the people behind you aren't hearing it, it's in the dash ... for the driver.

I'm a sound freak though...

Now here's the crazy nearly unrelated to the topic ... When I lock my car. It goes "Beep Beep." ... Ugh ... I wish I could use that as the backup beeper instead ...

Off to the dealer to have that silenced next week.

... I'm all for beeping to let me know that I'm in reverse. But now I have a reverse cam and that definitely tells me I'm in reverse more than that beep. (don't like it as much as I thought I would by the way.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 15 2006, 07:55 PM) [snapback]287016[/snapback]</div>

Yes. Somehow, this reminds me of the saying about pilots who fly retractible gear aircraft and the likelihood of a gear-up landing:

There are two kinds of pilots, those who have and those who will.

(fortunately for me, I'm in the latter category, and I don't fly all that much anymore).

(and my reverse beep is still on and will stay that way.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jennjay @ Jul 16 2006, 07:16 PM) [snapback]287280[/snapback]</div>

To each their own. I found that it was often more than a couple of seconds of annoyance, sometimes as much as 30 seconds if you're waiting for a slow driver. 30 seconds of loud beeping is unnecessary and annoying. I feel as if the car is treating me like a moron. After a while, I start to think, OK. I get it. I'm in reverse.

The shifter and reverse indicator lights are unconventional, so perhaps that is the reason for the beep. Personally, I have never relied on shifter position or lights to tell me I'm in reverse, because I'm usually looking toward the rear, not at the dashboard, when in reverse. The way I know I'm in reverse is remembering that I just put the car in reverse. If I forget that, I ask myself, wait a minute, why am I looking toward the rear? Oh yeah, I just put the car in reverse. Then if that doesn't work, I sense the direction of car movement when I begin to release the brake -- the same way most non-Prius drivers know they're in reverse.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 16 2006, 07:56 PM) [snapback]287295[/snapback]</div>

I don't trust people, in general, much less perfect ones. This argument against the beeping is akin to the one I recall when seat belts buzzers were first being used. You had to fasten your seat belt, in order to shut off the annoying buzz. Drove my dad nuts. BUT, he got used to putting on his belt, something that he had not done all his life before hand. SO, one day, as luck would have it, he was driving down this steep mountain road we lived off. And this nit who was drunk, comes flying up the road, and forces my dad to go off the side of the mountain. In his Jeep. And guess what, campers? Yeah, he had his belt on, due to the annoying buzz.

He lived, and he would say, that if not for the buzz, he would not have put his belt on, and he would have died.

Simple
As
That.

My dad was not a idiot, he was a brilliant man, but you know, stubborn. Sort of like the sound of the people here, who can't stand a reminder they are in reverse.

I wish I had the beep in my HyCam. The Camry is very quiet in reverse. More so then the Prius I think. However, it does have the benefit of the 'traditional' gear lever, so I feel less likely to forget I am in reverse.

There was this dude, on one of these boards, who left his car in reverse, and then forgot it, and then the forest jumped out and ate his car. Or something like that. Anyway, he had turned off the beep, and now, he has paid the price for doing so, by having to repair his car. He has turned it back on. He learned his lesson. I don't think that person is any less of an intelligent person, just because he made a mistake. We all can/do make mistakes.

Why wait for an accident?

 

I have a perfectly logical reason to disable the reverse beep. That fairly loud beeper masks one of your most accute senses... Hearing. You jet pilots may not use sound for a sensory input, as the ambient sound levels are probably high. But I was a submarine sonar technician. Trained to discern noises from within the din of the background. When backing, the stereo, air conditioning, and even all conversations are stopped so as to have my full attention from both sight and sound. It's the same reason a guy will turn down the radio when he's trying to figure out where he is when lost.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 16 2006, 07:56 PM) [snapback]287295[/snapback]</div>

People who insult others self esteem usually have little themselves.

Compariing flying a commercial jet airliner to driving a car is not logical. There are thousands of more things to consider and scores of peoples lives at stake.

Without knowing me you assume I'm a cocky, bad driver. In 30 years, I've not had an accident and had few tickets.

You also insult me for not being able to endure ten seconds of beeping, as if all should be like you. We're not.

Personally, I think it's dangerous to rely on the beeper. What if it fails? I have always relied on being very aware of what I'm doing when driving and sensing which way the car moves as I begin to release brake pressure.

Bottom line -- this is a minor point. If people like the beeper on or off, great. Leave it that way. I didn't mean to impune anyone who left their beeper on. I was probably over-reacting to the idea that I'm not a safe driver if I turn it off, an idea that has been disproved by 30 years of safe driving experience.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 16 2006, 07:56 PM) [snapback]287295[/snapback]</div>

Careful - one might use that quote in wondering why people can't see the gear selection on the dash or the rear camera display on the MFD (except for package #1, I think) ... do people who have the reverse beeping turned on rely solely on their hearing? Are they suddenly blind when they put their Prius into reverse?

Really?

I think it's great that some people like and use and perhaps depend on the reverse beeping if that makes them feel safer and more alert to the fact that the car is in reverse. Kudos to Toyota for doing this, and more kudos to Toyota for giving Prius owners a choice.

Personally, I think it's arrogant to imply that people who have turned the reverse beeping off will be lucky not to "run out of luck" or to have that decision be "fatal", or to say that those who have turned of the beeping are cocksure, in need of a dose of humility, and not always perfect. Who ever said that turning off the beeping was a sign of perfection?? I haven't meet a perfect person yet, and that includes my lovely wife and the person I see when I look in the mirror.

You say that people are free to do what they want, but you sure don't sound like you mean it.

Toyota meant well in making the reverse beeping available in the Prius. It is a very obvious sign that the Prius is in reverse, and I think it's great that this tool is there for people who either need it or are reassured by it. But I hope that in using the reverse beeping, people aren't lulled into thinking that they and people around them are any safer that if the beeping is turned off. Because the beeping doesn't do a darn thing to alert pedestrians who may be walking behind you that the Prius is in reverse, and may be moving in their direction.

I'll continue to drive our Prius the way I have driven every car I have owned. I will fasten my selt belt before starting the engine (turned off that beeper, too), I'll have my foot on the brake when I start the engine, I'll put the car in gear, release the parking brake, and look around me before slowly releasing the brake and proceeding ... whether in drive or reverse. When parking in my driveway, I will always back in, so I don't have to back out onto a busy street. When in a parking lot, I will always back in or "pull through", so I won't have to back out from a spot where I might have SUVs or minivans parked on either side, restricting not only my view but the view of pedestrians.

People really are free to do what they want with the reverse beeping, and should do what they feel is best for them, and not necessarily be swayed one way or another by anything anyone (including me) may say on the topic.

 

If the reverse beep is such an important safety feature, why can't it be heard outside the car and why is this the only car with this extraordinary safety feature? Come on, it's really useless. Mine is off permanently. <_<

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 15 2006, 02:50 PM) [snapback]286826[/snapback]</div>

Well then, perhaps it should beep while in Drive too. In fact, perhaps the only time it shouldn't beep is when you are safely in Park.

 

I think it's just a personal preference. I'm glad that Toyota put one more layer of protection against any 'possible' confusion in Prius' gear. I left it on, just to make sure I'm really backing up.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Jul 17 2006, 01:17 PM) [snapback]287596[/snapback]</div>

...it's just a beep. A beep that lasts all of maybe 30 seconds. And who knows, maybe a beep that could just be the thing you need when you least expect it.

But hey, they laughed at Tucker too.

 

The reason I think it's needed in a Prius and not other cars, is that it's very easy in a Prius to shift into and out of reverse. Just a quick flip of the knob. In a conventional automatic or standard transmission shifting into or out of reverse requires a more concerted effort. In a standard transmission you're not going to shift from reverse into first gear and have it not "engage" in first and slip back into reverse. At worst, you'll end up in neutral. In a Prius you could easily think you've put yourself into drive and still be in reverse. That's the reason for the beeping. It's saved me a couple of times in the year and a half I've had the car.

 

Beep beep!!

[attachmentid=4177]

 

Aircraft ergonomics aside: For those of you thinking about getting a reverse beep that can be heard outside of the car, please reconsider!

Most people who would be clueless enough to wander behind a reversing car probably wouldn't feel that the beeper was for them. On the other hand, the loud beeping can get annoying if your neighbor has one and backs in and out past your bed room at all hours of the night.

It was a miracle of restraint that my ex-neighbor's "beep in reverse Celica" didn't get a brink thrown through the windshield :angry: . Beep in reverse is almost as bad as the jerks out there who have car alarms that honk the horn whenever they want to lock or unlock the car.

Show a little compassion for others!

However, I would like to point out that the Prius, once again, is an enlightened vehicle - you can turn the beeping on or off and the alarm notification is a discreet little beep - not a window shattering honk.

-Ken
"Young Fogey"

 

I just want Toyota to put some noise outside of the car also. Anything that makes the people around you aware that you are moving helps. I have taken to turning UP my sterio LOUD in parking lots. When people hear the boom box coming their heads spin in my direction. I play an SG-1 movie sound track with lots of loud sounds in it to accentuate my coming past people in the parking lot. It beats sticking my head out the window and saying "Excuse me - electric car coming through." That just freaks people out to no end. I have had people jump when I said that to them. I was doing 2 mph, just faster than a walking speed when I did that once. I thought the guy was going to have a heart attack. Kinder to rattle them with loud music of the threatening style. BOOM! goes the music and they look.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bobwho @ Jul 17 2006, 03:14 PM) [snapback]287768[/snapback]</div>

I know that Godiva has added a reverse beep so it can be heard outside (as well as inside). There are several to chose from, including on that says (in English or Spanish), "This car is backing up!"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Jul 17 2006, 01:17 PM) [snapback]287596[/snapback]</div>

That's incredibly funny!!