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Comment by ksherlock | Hacker News Reader

Ever walk up to your car in the parking lot then realize... that's not your car? Now identify your car from across the parking lot. In California, where every other car is a ticky tacky Tesla (and they all look just the same). There are already anecdotes of people wondering why their car isn't summoning only to realize ... that's not their car.

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Fair point - so certain scenarios likely would benefit from visual and perhaps audio signals, lights flashing - certain lighter horn noise. Perhaps even listening to audio for someone nearby to be able to say "stop" and the vehicle would stop - or respond similarly to other horn noises.

New electric cars have a low speed noise maker in the US (required by law after sometime this year), but most Teslas on the road now were built before this was a requirement.

I think that's one of the stupidest additives of constant noise pollution - noise pollution being one reason people zone out and stop paying attention to their environment, rather than people being aware that they're about to step onto a road.

Not everyone can see.

And those people are going to be much less likely to randomly, unexpectedly walk out in front of traffic where it's not a designated crosswalk. I bet their hearing is refined, heightened, to more easily notice quieter electric vehicles as well.

As someone who grew up before smartphones, with plenty of noise pollution, I am sure it's not the noise. People cross the street stairing at their hands.

I think the requirement isn’t in effect until 2020:

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/7/1/20676854/elec...

> In California, where every other car is a ticky tacky Tesla

I live in California, and if I see five Teslas in a day it's an unusual cluster.

Now, Silicon Valley probably has a greater proportion of Teslas, but Silicon Valley isn't typical of the state.

I’m in Orange County and I usually see 8-12 on a short drive. Easily 30-40 across a normal day with a 15 minute commute.

Live in SV and my commute i see average of 30 M3s, about 10 S and 5 X mostly on 101. Also i see about 5 delivery truck packing about 5 cars each every day. Thats a lot of cars.

Really? Even just during my 10 minute walk to work in Minneapolis, MN I'll probably see five every day.

Why do people say that highly populous areas are “not typical”?

Median household income in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is over $100K, for the state as a whole it's about $70K.

That's one reason the former isn't typical of the latter.

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