In the city, people are attuned to looking for cars by sight but in the 'burbs and elsewhere people react by sound. I nearly got run over by one in a parking lot because I just didn't hear it. Need a switch to turn noise maker on or off
i absolutly agree with Catherine, it's important to make noise for blind people.
Ben - 14 years ago
After having driven an electric vehicle, there were zero dangerous situations that were influenced in any way by the lack of noise my vehicle made. From what I can tell, low-speed parking lot "collisions" have not been shown to increase in any way by any peer-reviewed paper. If someone has studied this, I am interested in reading it.
However, until someone demonstrates a measurable gain in safety let's keep 'em quiet.
Catherine M - 14 years ago
Yes, because pedestrians have a right to protect themselves from drunk and irresponsible drivers and from accidents. This is true for all pedestrians, but especially important for those with visual impairments. My father has been blind since age 5, and "sees" the world through his ears.
Robert S.'s statement that "In a noisy environment, you don't hear the noise maker..." may be true for many pedestrians, but not all, and especially not for those who rely upon very sensitive hearing as a replacement for sight. Additionally, the statement that "Quiet cars are not increasing the number of pedestrian deaths..." is currently unproven and partly irrelevant, because the question isn't whether they are now (when they are mostly driven by early adopters of green technology who may be more responsible drivers than the general population) but whether they have the potential to as quieter cars become more standard. The real question should be whether some pedestrians use and act upon the sound of an approaching car as a warning...if answerable that question will best gauge the potential risks of silent vehicles.
Robert Stelling - 14 years ago
In a noisy environment, you don't hear the noise maker. In a quiet environment, it is irritating. People on phones, listening to music, talking, step out in front of cars, trucks, and busses whether they are making noise or not. Quiet cars are not increasing the number of pedestrian deaths. Expensive gas cars strive for no noise.
An alerting noise should be controllable, by the driver, when he wants to make a pedestrian aware of nis presence as a courtesy, as in a parking lot. It should not automatically beep while creeping on the freeway, in town, or driving out of your garage under your child's bedroom. The most common excitement on driving an electric car is always, "It's so - Quiet!"
hugo - 14 years ago
No, because at low speeds the biggest noise is made by the rolling of the tires.
In the city, people are attuned to looking for cars by sight but in the 'burbs and elsewhere people react by sound. I nearly got run over by one in a parking lot because I just didn't hear it. Need a switch to turn noise maker on or off
i absolutly agree with Catherine, it's important to make noise for blind people.
After having driven an electric vehicle, there were zero dangerous situations that were influenced in any way by the lack of noise my vehicle made. From what I can tell, low-speed parking lot "collisions" have not been shown to increase in any way by any peer-reviewed paper. If someone has studied this, I am interested in reading it.
However, until someone demonstrates a measurable gain in safety let's keep 'em quiet.
Yes, because pedestrians have a right to protect themselves from drunk and irresponsible drivers and from accidents. This is true for all pedestrians, but especially important for those with visual impairments. My father has been blind since age 5, and "sees" the world through his ears.
Robert S.'s statement that "In a noisy environment, you don't hear the noise maker..." may be true for many pedestrians, but not all, and especially not for those who rely upon very sensitive hearing as a replacement for sight. Additionally, the statement that "Quiet cars are not increasing the number of pedestrian deaths..." is currently unproven and partly irrelevant, because the question isn't whether they are now (when they are mostly driven by early adopters of green technology who may be more responsible drivers than the general population) but whether they have the potential to as quieter cars become more standard. The real question should be whether some pedestrians use and act upon the sound of an approaching car as a warning...if answerable that question will best gauge the potential risks of silent vehicles.
In a noisy environment, you don't hear the noise maker. In a quiet environment, it is irritating. People on phones, listening to music, talking, step out in front of cars, trucks, and busses whether they are making noise or not. Quiet cars are not increasing the number of pedestrian deaths. Expensive gas cars strive for no noise.
An alerting noise should be controllable, by the driver, when he wants to make a pedestrian aware of nis presence as a courtesy, as in a parking lot. It should not automatically beep while creeping on the freeway, in town, or driving out of your garage under your child's bedroom. The most common excitement on driving an electric car is always, "It's so - Quiet!"
No, because at low speeds the biggest noise is made by the rolling of the tires.