Boy hit by hybrid car; mom says he didn't hear it coming

KARE11.com ^ | 5/7/08 | Boyd Huppert

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

It was something that had never occurred to Jane Flannigan, until she got the call Sunday that her eight-year-old son had been hit by a car while biking with a friend.

Owen Erickson was not badly hurt, though he did end up on the hood of the car. But when the car's driver moved his Toyota Prius from the street to the curb, Flannigan noticed something. "I saw the car, but I could not hear anything," she recalled about the hybrid vehicle which was operating on battery power at the time. "It is totally silent."

That's when it dawned on Flannigan, Owen never heard the Prius before he cut in front of it. "Bikers, runners, anybody out on the street, I think it's a huge safety issue," she said.

She's not the only one. Last month legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representative that could eventually require hybrids to emit a minimum amount of noise.

It's a priority piece of legislation for the National Federation of the Blind, which believes Hybrids pose a real threat to those who rely on noise from cars to keep themselves safe.

"These quiet cars that are very difficult to hear in the normal flow of everyday outdoor activity play a safety hazard," says Jennifer Dunnam, president of the NFB's Minnesota affiliate. "Blind people depend on their hearing to know what the traffic is doing."

Toyota has not taken a position on the legislation, but is aware of the concerns behind it. "We do have to step back and take a look," said John Hanson, Toyota's national manager of environmental, safety and quality communications. The Prius ranks third among Toyota models in sales, behind Camry and Corolla, according the Hanson.

Flannigan doesn't blame the driver of the Prius for running into her son, since Owen biked out in front of his car but she does cut her son some slack. "We're conditioned to hear car noises," she says. "This is a big safety issue."

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Video at link.

They're sneaking up on us.....

[KoRn]

A silent killer!

These will be worse than SUVs!!

[Long Island Pete]

Loud pipes saves lives.

[AppyPappy]

That MP3 player didn’t help either.

[Tax-chick]

Flannigan doesn't blame the driver of the Prius for running into her son, since Owen biked out in front of his car

Why, how kind of her.

[CarrotAndStick]

Fisker Karma hybrid sports car to generate motor noise through external speakers

 

You know how we love the electric cars around here, but internal combustion sure does sound sexy -- a big V-8 literally brings the noise in a way the nearly-silent whir of an electric motor can't hope to match. Well, it looks like the mad geniuses behind the $80,000 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid have hit upon an appropriately high-tech solution: speakers placed inside and out that allow drivers to give their rides any sound they want, including one described as "like something between a Formula One car and a jet plane." Interesting, to be sure -- but seeing as the Karma can hit 125mph and go from 0-60 in six seconds, we'd be happier if that rig just screamed at people to get out of the left lane.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/14/fisker-karma-hybrid-sports-car-to-generate-motor-noise-through-e/

 

[Arkansas Toothpick]

How about we install those little speakers that you find on ice cream trucks?

“Pop goes the weasel”, “Mary had a little lamb” ... all day long.

[L98Fiero]

“That’s when it dawned on Flannigan, Owen never heard the Prius before he cut in front of it. “Bikers, runners, anybody out on the street, I think it’s a huge safety issue,” she said.”

Oh, you mean those people who always have the I-Pod jamming or a phone to their ear? How exactly is this going to make them safer? Freaking idiots. All the things wrong with this country and our lawmakers are conderned that cars are not loud enough. Retards.

[weegee]

Why not just put some trading cards in the spokes in the wheel?

[Joe Brower]

Apparently it hasn't occurred to the kid or the mom that perhaps looking over one's shoulder before swerving into the street might be a good idea.

[weegee]

“Feeelings, whoaa whoaaaaa Feeelings....”

[GeorgiaDawg32]

so I guess the kid was blind too and didn’t see a silent car coming?

[Red Badger]

...legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representative that could eventually require hybrids to emit a minimum amount of noise.

It's for the children.......

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

One doesn’t know anymore whether to laugh or cry when hearing these stories....

[Kozak]

Wonder how how much damage the kid did to the “roller skate”?

[Ben Chad]

You beat me by 2 minutes.

[Dustoff45]

How about we install those little speakers that you find on ice cream trucks?

I was thinking one of those little Ring-A-Ding, Bike Bells might be a better fit for the little car>

[Red Badger]

The one here plays “Fur Elise” and “The Sting” and “Do You Ears Hang Low?”.............

[CholeraJoe]

Gives a whole new meaning to the expression, “Silent but deadly.”

[Tax-chick]

Kids never look - including mine. He *might* have noticed a big hulking Chevy with a busted muffler, *if* he didn’t have his headphones up so loud he couldn’t hear the Trump of Doom.

She should just be grateful her son didn’t die of his own carelessness.