SLegacy99

A hybrid bus snuck up on me yesterday...I was surprised.

tneig002

There's something oddly ironic about this passage

OC 335d

Totally a Toyota feature. What I hate most about my Toyota (Lexus) is that it beeps at almost freaking everything and takes forever to stop.

GS69

Toyota to Sell Devices to Make Hybrid Vehicles Louder

Toyota Motor Corp. will next month start selling sound-producing devices that make hybrid vehicles louder, Kyodo News reported in a story published on the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper website yesterday.

Toyota will sell the devices, which alert pedestrians to approaching vehicles, for about 13,000 yen ($152) in Japan, the report said, citing the company.

GS69

Senate Unanimously Rules in Favor of Noisy Hybrids & Electric Cars

Ah, the bliss of rolling down the road in your nice quiet EV!

Wait! Did we say quiet?

Maybe at speed, but apparently not when you are rolling slowly through residential neighborhoods or pulling up to crosswalks.

The U.S. Senate has just unanimously (amazing they can do anything unanimously these days!) approved a measure by hybrid-driving Sen. John Kerry that will lead to a requirement for hybrids, EVs and other quiet-running vehicles to generate a pedestrian warning noise of some sort.

The measure by the Massachusetts Democrat is called the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010. It instructs the Transportation departmental to establish safety standards for alerting pedestrians to the presence of vehicles that otherwise are so quiet as to be difficult to hear.

The act was promoted by the National Federation of the Blind.

In anticipation of a national requirement, both the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and the Nissan Leaf EV are equipped with sound generators that produce a warning tone at low speeds and when pedestrians approach a stopped, idling vehicle.

Infiniti's 2012 M35 Hybrid also will have 1 and Hyundai has just announced a delay in delivery of the new Sonata Hybrid, which was due to begin arriving in the U.S. this month, so a pedestrian warning device could be added.

The Kerry measure - Senate Bill 841 - is now to be taken up by the House, which is expected to pass it as well.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I was waxing a RX rear wheel when the wife pulled into the driveway behind the RX and I was startled a bit because I didn't hear the Camry pull in.
I can understand the blind complaining.

LexFather

I don't want any additional noise when I'm sneaking up on ***** .. NWS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftJX_HZ5S4g

memasterac

Even people making jokes about this topic, I support the idea to make “sound” on EV & hybrid cars can run EV mode. I have more experience working with blind people than most people here and I see the benefit of the extra “sound”. Some joked that blind people are more sensitive to sound and it’s true they also rely on it more than us non-blind people. In my city, I installed many accessible pedestrian push buttons with the locating tones for blind people and I have not got 1 negative feedback in the last four years. Blind people in the nearby California School for Blinds actually sent me letters for appreciation and request for more installations.

IS-SV

A nice little bell like the one on handlebars of bikes serves the purpose. Maybe a sideview-mirror-mounted bell will be the next Prius accessory.

mmarshall

I can understand at least some the complaints from blind people, but I'm not sure if another nanny-safety regulation is the answer. As I see it, it is the driver's responsibility to see and avoid hitting pedestrians...blind or not. If the driver sees a blind person (or any other person) start to walk in front of his car at the wrong time, a quick toot of the horn should send an adequate warning (and, of course, if the car is moving, be ready to hit the brakes if necessary...that goes without saying).

I'm not necessarily against effective safety-regulations, but where do we draw the line? Soon cars are going to have so many devices on them that they will be like Boeing 747s.

mmarshall

I agree with part of your position here, but, like I said in my last post, where do we draw the line adding more and more devices? Don't drivers themselves have to accept some of the responsibility to see and drive in a manner that is not hazardous to pedestrains? And isn't that why vehicles have horns?

memasterac

I believe sooner or later it'll be the law to require "added sound" to these quite vehicles. I do agree where to draw the line is very important though...

LexFather

If I recall correctly don't neighborhoods with blind/deaf have signs that say "impaired lives here" or something?

mmarshall

memasterac

Those signs are not standard signs. A jurisdiction may opt to use customized signs but those sign are not recognized and supported by FHWA’s latest MUTCD (2009 edition). So far there is not a standard warning sign to warn drivers about Blind or Visually Impaired pedestrians.