YeA 2jZ

iTrader: (15)

Stupid.........

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

sooner or later? it already passed the senate and is expected to pass the house.

this is beyond stupid. how about just giving blind people a device which will detect 2 ton objects coming toward them?

memasterac

I don’t think it’s stupid. Why stupid? Stupid the law or stupid the blind people can’t see and hear a two ton object is coming?

Try to wear patches/eyeshade for a day & walk around the streets. It’ll help you to see the flipside of a story.

Stormforge

and sooner or later there will be aftermarket mods to take the "added sound" out!

GS69

House Passes Bill to Require Minimum Sound Levels from Hybrids, EVs

The House of Representatives passed a bill today to require minimum sound levels to be emitted from quiet electric and hybrid vehicles, in order to help warn blind pedestrians. Last week the same measure unanimously cleared the Senate. It is the 1st piece of legislation pertaining to auto safety passed under President Obama.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the chief sponsor of the bill and a hybrid owner, said it “will allow us to continue to promote our energy independence and technological innovation while safeguarding those who use senses other than sight to navigate the roads.”

Under the bill, the NHTSA will be required to establish requirements for an alert sound that will allow blind pedestrians to reasonably detect a nearby hybrid or electric vehicle operating at low speeds. The legislation is fully supported by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers.

Currently, the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt are equipped with mechanisms that alert pedestrians, though it was not required of them.

IS-SV

special interests

ferdinan

In an ideal and perfect world this should be the case but unfortunately our roads are filled with many irresponsible drivers who don't obey the law. Many drivers don't care to slow down when pedestrians use the pedestrian crossings here in San Francisco.

I agree, these laws are getting silly but if driving behavior doesn't change then there is no much we can do.

mmarshall

I'm with you to some extent.......those two-ton devices already have horns on them, but, as some posters have pointed out, many drivers don't use them. That's part of the problem.

Agreed. There's two sides of the story. The best solution, IMO, is to simply have overpasses or tunnels for handicapped people so that they don't have to mix with much traffic........but may jurisdictions either can't or won't spend the extra money for them. It's also difficult or unfeasonable to do that, for engineering reasons, in very crowded areas.