Prius too quiet? New proposal may end the silence.

Re: Silent... But Deadly?

I think...not this, again.
[sigh]
How many times have we discussed it now?

Keep looking, I'm sure there MUST be something wrong with these cars...something which justifies the ownership of a monster truck or SUV.

Personally, I toot the horn at regular intervals, just in case. I also have a bike bell attached to the rear view mirror.

 

I just ran across this article. I know it was discussed about a year ago but now it seems like something may be done about how quiet cars are because of the dangers in parking lots and etc...

Proposed bill aims to set minimum auto sound levels - Engadget

Fisker Karma's recently announced hybrid sports car that generates motor noise through some external speakers might have received a good bit of derision when it first made itself known, but it now looks like it may actually be a bit ahead of the game, at least if a bill expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives ever actually becomes law. As AutoWeek reports, the bill was apparently prompted by concerns that hybrid and electric vehicles are a little too quiet, and pose a risk to pedestrians, especially the blind. To address that supposed danger, the bill reportedly demands that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation initiate a study to determine if a minimum sound level is in fact needed and, if so, require that automakers comply with it (possibly as early as 2010).

 

Re: Silent... But Deadly?

I think the whole subject is nonsense, I've been driving for a good number of years, everything from motorcycles to large trucks. In all this time I've never hit a pedestrian and I can't ever recall see a blind person crossing a street. Now because I drive a Hybrid, I'm more likely to hit someone? Come on, give me a break!

One thing I don't think that's been brought up yet.
Who's going to pay to have our cars retro-fitted with whatever stupid noise making device they come up with?
I'll bet they'll want the car owner to foot the bill!
Time to install an air compressor and air horn, maybe one of those whips they put on the front of school buses? A roof rack with flashing yellow lights and a sign to read: CAUTION HYBRID!

 

I think they need to make them vibrate or something as I think there are
more deaf people wandering around in parking lots by there selves....
Most of the blind people I have seen in a parking lot have some one with them or a dog......

 

Most blind people I've encountered are driving!
They cut over way to close in front of me or are trying to take the paint off my rear bumper!
:fencing:

 

We could make a recording of a Dodge Pickup with a six cylinder Cummins diesel idling and play that noise trough some speakers as we cruise through the shopping center parking lots. That would wake em up.

 

Can't we have a device, carried by blind people and fitted in cars, that sends and receives radio signals at a certain frequency? When a car comes within a certain distance from a blind person, both devices emit a whistle, alerting the driver that a blind person is near and the blind person that a car is near.

It would be silent otherwise. Might as well have one in every car.

 

I was thinking along the lines of an old prop plane, that would confuse "the gotta make noise" crowd!

 

SparrowHawk - Do you have a sound track of your Phantom taking off? I remember hearing them in Viet Nam, living proof that given enough power a brick can fly.

 

Needless to say, it's a shame it has come to this. Quietness is one of the things I enjoy about the Pri. I have already equipped My Pri with a Stealth Warning Chime (SWC) for parking lot situations.

 

I think that the benefits of quieter cars greatly outweigh the incredibly small risks of quiet cars. Noise pollution has to count for something in this argument. I live in the city, so I'm accustomed to a certain continuous noise level. But personally, I can't stand it when loud cars or motorcycles pass by, which are much more offensive to me than living directly under the flightline of San Diego international airport. The loud engines, modified mufflers and pounding stereos inevitably interrupt your conversation or thought, increase the stress in your daily life, and probably does even more harm to wildlife.

Back to physics and engineering, if this 2-year investigation and possible legislative outcome occurs, it can't possibly apply to just hybrids and EV's. It will have to apply to all cars. There are quite a few large, modern, ICE cars out there that are almost as quiet is a Prius at low speeds.

At what dB threshold to you draw the line? How do road conditions affect the equation (some road surfaces are quieter). How does ambient noise affect the equation? There are times you could be standing at the corner of a busy downtown intersection and not really hear the average-noise cars due to the noise contributed by heavy traffic, trucks, buses, trolleys, and local construction. So, if the ambient noise is louder, then do you make all cars that much louder in order to hear them? This would result in an avalanche effect of increasing noise.

My point here is that this investigation better involve some real science and some real-life conditions with both sighted and blind people. The benefits of noise reduction need to be weighed against the benefits of noise elevation. Furthermore, you need to see how it relates to other non-automotive risks to the blind. For example, should we mandate that cyclists employ noise-makers? As far-fetched as it may seem, a cyclist could injur or kill a pedestrian under the right circumstances.

 

Now that's an idea! Could step it up with each stage of the after burner lighting off!

By the way Welcome home and Thank You!

 

Bump sticker idea: (copied and modified)

Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my PRIUS!

 

Can Congress protect stupid people from Fox News? Looks like another right-wing cheap shot at anything "environmentally friendly".

 

Alas, even Fox News is entitled to freedom of press and freedom of speech, just as I am entitled not to turn to that channel.

If this investigation eventually results in some sort of noise making legislation for hybrids, I vote that we organize a non-violent protest by gathering in Washington with noise makers installed and parade around the city. I'm imagining 100,000 Prius equipped with cowbells. :rockon:

 

who listens before crossing the street, a lot of cars nowadays dont make much noise , so whats the point really.

i am sure people can hear the prius coming due to the tires. honestly its all stupidness thats going on here

 

What I would really like to hear is from some blind people on this somewhere. It seems that it is sighted lawmakers who should have something better to do with our money than this non sense!

 

I loved the Phanton in Nam and after. Even if it did bite me every time I got near it! (old 336TFS )

 

Well the way I see it (and I haven't read the entire thread -I may repeat someone) even if a person is blind, we aren't. We can see the blind person walking across the street. A Prius is as loud as a bicycle. Are bicycles going to have to have noise makers on them too? Also, I am not going to blame the ones who report the story brought to them and especially not single out right or left crazies. It is a weird piece of news and catches attention. I see stupid news on all the channels.