Posted on 11/20/2008 1:45:01 AM PST by CE2949BB
ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2008) Important pedestrian safety issues have emerged with the advent of hybrid and electric vehicles. These vehicles are relatively quietthey do not emit the sounds pedestrians and bicyclists are accustomed to hearing as a vehicle approaches them on the street or at an intersection. In a recent study, human factors/ergonomics researchers examined participants' preferences for sounds that could be added to quiet vehicles to make them easier to detect.
Though the safety of quiet vehicles has become an issue for pedestrians in general, it is also of concern to the National Federation for the Blind, which has called for quiet vehicles to emit a continuous sound and for additional research on the subject. The authors suggest that older individuals with diminished sensory and motor skills should also be considered as solutions are developed.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
I’ve nearly gotten killed by a hybrid. Stepped off the curb of the pump island at a gas station right in front of one. You don’t realize how much you depend on your ears to warn you about a car nearby. I was stupid and I won’t make that mistake again.
I’ve nearly gotten killed by a hybrid. Stepped off the curb of the pump island at a gas station right in front of one. You don’t realize how much you depend on your ears to warn you about a car nearby. I was stupid and I won’t make that mistake again.
The owners should just blast some hip-hop music. Everyone can hear you coming. Problem solved.
I can't hear a darned thing, and I don't own an Ipod (a couple of hearing aids, yes--but no Ipod).
In the Chicago Loop for a while they had bus-only lanes that went opposite the one-way traffic (buses in this lane went one way, all other traffic in the other lanes went the opposite direction). They took them out - people were getting killed because they were used to one-way traffic and kept forgetting to look for the buses going the other way.
I want mine to sound like an old-fashion steam locomotive. But when accelerating from a stop, I want it to switch to a top-fuel dragster.
So loud pipes do save lives?
Never heard of the Kawashocky Ninja?
If I had a hybrid, and got to choose the braking noise, I’d want it to sound like a jake brake on a fully loaded truck going down a damn steep hill. I love the sound of formula one cars under full acceleration, too.
I have a friend who owned a Prius. She recently traded it in for a Honda Civic. One of her complaints about the Prius was driving it in parking lots. People walked out in front of her all the time because they couldn’t hear it running.
In addition, she used it for a commuter car and drive ~80 miles round trip. According to her, the Civic gets right at 10 MPG better mileage than the Prius. The Hybrids really only save you if you do a lot of stop and go city driving.
“2. In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians.” http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=7105
Maybe this should be applied to hybrids?????
Wikipedia: “In the United Kingdom, the Red Flag Law, a policy requiring self-propelled vehicles to be led by a pedestrian, waving a red flag or carrying a lantern, to warn bystanders of the vehicle’s approach. The Red Flag Law was repealed in 1896, by which time the internal combustion engine was well into its infancy.”
Are we headed back to the 19th century?
I think electric cars should make the same noise as the Jetson’s car.
A new market for ringtones!
Make the little toy novelty cars play “ice-cream-truck” style music when moving.
Remember when TXDOT paved the S curves on 1431 and the highway workers said the pavement was too quiet to hear oncoming traffic?
Can you imagine the little noise an electric car makes on that stretch of road?
I can’t wait until that mess is finished. They sure are taking their time.
This summer I was walking along a campground road where there are no sidewalks. Suddenly, feeling a presence behind me, I looked back behind me,and suprise! there was a car driven by an elderly couple no less than 2 feet from my back.
Remember, that even when crossing the street and looking both ways, there may be curves that hide the sight of an approaching vehicle, but we can hear the engine coming, and the louder the noise the faster the car.
The lack of warning noise from electric cars present a real problem in my opinion.
My wife scared me to death when she pulled her hybrid into the garage just as I was getting out of my car...you can’t hear them coming. I would suggest equipping hybrid cars with continuous 120db sirens that will alert not only the blind but the hearing impaired as well.
can’t they put playing cards in the spokes? That worked for me as a kid.
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