Blind pedestrians may not hear hybrid cars - Los Angeles Times Are hybrid cars too quiet for their own good? Jana Littrell certainly thinks so. Littrell, who is blind, was walking through a bank parking lot in the East Bay town of Albany a year ago when her foot was run over by a Toyota Prius backing out of a parking space. She wasn't injured and the driver apologized effusively, she recalled. But the experience shook her up. Graphic Related Stories-Cars A to Z: News on all Toyota models "It has definitely put me more on my guard," said Littrell, who teaches Braille to newly blind adults. "But I don't know how much good that's going to do me if I can't hear the car coming." Concerns are growing that quiet-running hybrids such as the Prius pose a hazard to pedestrians, especially the 1.3 million Americans who are legally blind. The problem occurs when the cars are running at very low speeds on electric power, making about as much noise as a golf cart. "There's this silent-but-deadly zone where we cannot hear these cars," said Bryan Bashin, a Sacramento management consultant. "We're not just worried about blind people. It's a hazard to pets, joggers, young children, cyclists, people who have their back turned. . . ." Federal traffic safety regulators report that no deaths or serious injuries have been attributed to quiet-running hybrids. But an ongoing study at UC Riverside has produced some of the first scientific evidence that hybrids may pose a hazard to pedestrians, according to preliminary results to be released today. Meanwhile, the issue is drawing attention from the auto industry, state lawmakers and federal regulators. It even spawned at least one Silicon Valley start-up that's trying to develop an audible pedestrian warning system for hybrids. Bashin, who is sightless, is working with the National Federation of the Blind to push legislation that could eventually require installation of "noise emitting" devices on hybrids and other vehicles that run at least part of the time on electric power. That prospect doesn't sit well with some car owners. The message board at greenhybrid.com, a website for hybrid enthusiasts, has seen lively debates over the issue. In one recent post, a Toyota Camry hybrid owner wrote that "the world around us is getting louder and along come hybrids and WHAM! They get blasted by a group claiming they are too quiet." The debate comes as hybrids are becoming increasingly common. More than 350,000 were sold in the U.S. last year, according to marketing information firm J.D. Power and Associates. Prius owner Sarah Forth of Silver Lake knows the issue from both sides. "I noticed the cars creeping up on me when I was walking around," Forth recalled. "After I got one, I put two and two together and realized, 'I'm a road hazard in this car.' " The vehicles are powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity and are prized for their fuel economy. They're particularly popular in California, which buys almost half the hybrids sold in the U.S. by Toyota Motor Corp., the leading hybrid maker. And coming soon: cars powered only by electricity that produce very little engine noise at any speed (although, as with hybrids, air flow and tire noise would become noticeable above 20 or 25 miles per hour). Currently, most of the concern is directed at the top-selling Prius and vehicles such as the Camry that use similar gasoline-electric engines. The Honda Civic, the No. 4-selling hybrid in America, is noisier because it employs a system that almost never switches into electric-only mode. The UC Riverside study has found that test subjects had to be 40% closer to silent-running hybrids than to cars with traditional gasoline engines before they could hear them. "Our preliminary findings could mean that there is an added danger with hybrid cars, particularly at intersections and parking lots," said Lawrence Rosenblum, a psychology professor doing the study. Toyota engineers are looking for a solution, but have yet to come up with one. "Vehicle safety and pedestrian safety are at the top of our list," spokesman Bill Kwong said. "At this point, we're trying to balance the needs of sight-impaired people with other sociological concerns such as noise pollution." One problem has been in isolating exactly what sounds most people associate with an approaching vehicle, such as the engine revving, the fan belt, tire noise or other sounds. Artificial warning cues "like chirping or chimes are not identified by test subjects as a vehicle at all," the automaker said. Interim solutions include training guide dogs for the blind to detect cars by sight as well as sound. Training schools such as Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael and Guide Dogs of the Desert near Palm Springs have added Priuses to their training regimens partly in response to concerns about hybrid cars. Longer term, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has promised to launch a wide-ranging investigation into the issue and several states are considering legislation. A bill soon to be headed to the governor of Maryland would create a task force to conduct a study and recommend solutions. A group of Stanford University students has formed a company -- Santa Clara-based Enhanced Vehicle Acoustics -- that is developing an after-market product for Toyota hybrids that goes beyond simply making a noise to alert nearby pedestrians. For example, by linking to the vehicle's computer, the system would be able to direct its sounds to the right or left to warn pedestrians that the car is about to make a turn. Bashin and other advocates for the blind are sympathetic to complaints from hybrid fans. But, he asked, "what am I supposed to do, stay home?" martin.zimmerman@ latimes.com
I was almost hit by a Prius backing up at the Avis rental lot the first time I rented a Prius... quite ironic. I plan on disabling the beep inside the cabin when I buy my Prius and will install one of these on the car, probably inside the rear bumper: FIAMM ELECTRONIC BACK-UP ALARM - JCWhitney Auto Parts It should mitigate this problem, and it's an easy fix for he problem. Toyota says that people don't associate beeping noises with a car backing up, but I bet if they add it to future hybrids then soon enough people will start associating it.
Are you blind? You don't have to be blind to be hit by a car backing up or going forward. If everyone would LOOK before starting up or backing up there would be even less of this kind of problem. Toyota is wrong about their assumption. Any time I hear a beeping noise like that I always look for the Truck that is backing up. Maybe they don't assoicate beeping noises in Japan with backing up but here in the states they do. Some idiot damn near ran my wife over the other day and never did look behind him. If she was blind she would have been hit and this was no Prius this moron was driving either. Look; then relook; then look again. Even then you can only hope you don't hit anything or nothing hits you.
I for one do not want to be stealthing along at 38MPH for a good bit of my daily commute with my car chirping or producing some artificial noise.
Yes, this topic has numerous threads on PriusChat. I have several personal stories of surprising pedestrians, including a teenage girl from a gaggle of girls on the sidewalk, she bolted into the street just as I was gliding along. She saw me out of the corner of her eye, changed directions, slipped and fell flat in the street in front of my Prius. She probably had to change her underwear when she got home. After that I bought a Wolo Record-A-Horn, but still haven't put it in. Regarding backing up, my wife and I have almost been run over by non-hybrids backing out of parking stalls. In the rear most non-hybrids have the same amount of sound as a hybrid, especially with the ambient noise of a shopping center. So, doesn't matter from the rear. At least the Prius has a backup camera that I use every time I back out, probably making it safer than most non-hybrids.
it isnt really the blind persons job to see the Prius. Its the drivers job to see the pedestrian. btw I thought that backing up beep was audible to people outside the car! It does no good if only audible inside! Is it audible outside the car?
Last time I looked my Prius had tyres on it. Go stand on the side of any road and listen to the late model standard cars coming toward you and what is the loudest sound? Yep, the tyres. If you want the engine sound out front you best point the exhaust that way. Another bullshit report.
The beeper might be audible if the windows are open. They really need to make it audible outside INSTEAD of inside.
Have to agree with pat here the tires are the loudest sound on almost any late model auto. Especially the luxury cars, you can hardly hear them running while standing right next to them. The next loudest thing has to be the fan. Also how is that blind people can hear any cars at a busy intersection? How do they get across safely in that situation? All that being said it is still a concern and coming up with a noise that can alert unaware person's nearby with annoying the driver can't be that much of an engineering challenge. I suggest a fan type noise! Probably never hear it in the passenger compartment.
At the Avis lot I had my back turned towards the Prius that was backing up and I was a bit behind the car's C-pillar blind spot. The guys was turnning as he backed up and nice person soon as he saw me he stopped. He was maybe 6 inches from me. I really did not see, or hear, or sense him backing up towards me. He beeped the Prius horn as if asking me to move. It was then that I turned around and noticed the Prius six inches from me. I understand that you always must look where you are going when backing up, but the car does have blind spots and there are people out there that are careless and walk around without paying attention. It's all about avoiding litigation, I'd rather have some beeping warning outside the car when I back up than have to deal with a parking lot incident.
