gizmag
Those looking forward to quieter city streets as a result of near-silent electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids replacing internal combustion engine vehicles on our roads may have to think again. To ensure that cyclists and pedestrians, including the visually impaired, are aware of stealthy oncoming vehicles, researchers have been looking at different noises that can be applied to EVs. Toyota has also already announced plans to sell an onboard audio alert system for its Prius but it looks like such systems are set to become more widespread with the Infiniti M35h to be the world’s first hybrid to get an audible pedestrian warning system as standard.
I think the sound of the tires on the road makes enough noise… except at very low speeds.
Wasn’t there already a law on the books saying automobiles traveling through town had to be proceeded by a man carrying a red flag?
The more things change . . .
I was walking in a parking lot with my kids when a Prius went whizzing by. I never knew it was there until it went past us, around 2 feet away, going 20 mph.
They need to be louder so pedestrians have some warning, other than just sight, that they are nearby.
If someone is walking in the street, isn’t it incumbent upon them to be aware of their surroundings, so they don’t get hit by a car which, you know, drives on streets and in parking lots?
Just pull the fuse for that feature. I did that on my 1984 Nissan for the sound it makes when the door is wide open.
I have an audible pedestrian warning system. It’s called a horn.
The best would be a nine-year old boy making car noises, complete with shifting.
hhopper – Prius has, I would say, no larger than 180 mm wide tires with not much weight on them.
Don’t forget seeing-eye dogs and pedestrians who are visually handicapped!
Eventually, there will be a standard sound across all makes and models. Maybe, an ultrasonic sound for the seeing-eye dogs and a sound for human pedastrians.
We’re just in a transition period…people aren’t used to near silent cars, therefor they’re more likely to walking in front of them as their normal audible sounds didn’t warn them of their presents.
It’s still not going to stop dumb people looking at their mobile phones from walking in front of anything though…
Playing card in the spokes.
This is ridiculous, one of the additional point of electric car is to reduce the noise pollution too. And now they add noise maker on them.
Why not skip the noise making part and go directly to a proximity setup. Have the cars emit they position/speed/direction and have those who can’t look around before crossing the street wear proximity sensor to beep them to tell them something is coming. Have it integrated in cell phones / mp3 player. It could help those who are always texting on their phone without looking around. Or those with mp3 players so loud that they wouldn’t even hear the noise maker anyway.
I bike to work nearly every day, passed by many Prius vehicles. As mentioned in the original post, tire noise is enough to let you know there’s a car coming (along with information provided by my mirror – or a pedestrian looking!). Shouldn’t pedestrians be walking against the traffic?
Your comment is right on. I drive a Tesla. It’s never a problem for people hearing the car, unless I’m driving so slowly that I’m not a threat to anyone. There’s plenty of tire noise.
Are they gonna make me add a noise maker to my Segway? Cell phone texters are always walking in front of me…
I like Olo Baggin’s idea. 🙂
Wouldn’t someone see that ugly ass car long before they heard it?
I drive a hybrid and the really annoying thing is when the car is still, and people in parking lots walk too close thinking the car is off and safe.
Last year my kids were in a Christmas parade, and I was trying to get out of the staging area, but since the car was sitting silently, people kept walking in front of me, and loitering beside me. When I moved, a kid I didn’t see was startled and his mom grabbed him away and gave me a dirty look.
I find sometimes you can force the engine on by putting it in park and mashing the accelerator hard.
Oh! this is just so much anti-electric car propaganda. You can bet the auto lobby is sending some bucks to the various handicap interest groups, to complain about these cars being too quite. Meanwhile, lots of gas fueled cars have been getting quieter, and nobody says anything bad about that! When my sister visits me in her Nissan GLE, I never hear it back up into the driveway. And nobody ever complained about 10 speed bikes being too quite for town use. Those bike couriers in NYC, really dive thru the traffic. I’m sure they have encounters with pedestrians, now and then. Why aren’t they required to generate an approach noise? No, just burden the electric cars with that stupidity.
How about the sound of a playing card on a spoke wheel? Or that Fisher-Price sound of plastic balls bouncing inside a bubble chamber. Or maybe the clip-clop sound of horse’s hooves. Weren’t they much quieter than cars made ten years ago? Leave it up to these complainers. And new car would be making the Jack-in-the-Box tune, “Pop Goes the Weasel”.
I use to drive thru the city, a lot, back in the 90s. And it always stuck me how brazen some people were, who stepped right out into traffic, without even looking. Like they had the attitude, “hit me and I’ll sue”. And it didn’t matter to them if they could hear you coming or not. They just didn’t care! You’ll stop in time. Or not, and they’ll collect. Not figuring on getting killed, I guess. And I assume regular city drivers are use to these zombie pedestrians, by now. What difference is a little extra noise going to make, when some people can’t be bothered to turn their heads and look?!
I don’t get it.
# 15 mharry860 said, on November 19th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Wouldn’t someone see that ugly ass car long before they heard it?
Blind/Visually Disabled people certainly couldn’t SEE these vehicles, no matter how ugly they may be.
Very happy to see hybrids make their way to the mainstream.
If you having trouble adjusting to the inevitable future of battery operated cars, you can always strap a playing card to the wheel with a rubberband.
Agree! EVs are cool for environment but their being too silent can be very dangerous!!
How about a sound of V8 or V10 to be played while driving?)) I think that’s a great idea))
I’d like to nominate that warpbling sound that the “car” the Jetsons used to drive be used as the standard low speed sound for electric cars.
Here is a sample
http://tinyurl.com/yfo8ew9
# 21 Nugget Coombs “Blind/Visually Disabled people certainly couldn’t SEE these vehicles”
So, the problem is silent cars are not sensed by blind people who might step in front of them?
Ok. Do not add noise = fewer blind people = problem solved.
How about the extremely loud sound of amped up bass speakers blasting rap music? That’s all I need in my neighborhood.