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Comment by athst | Hacker News Reader

Whenever I almost get hit by a car while I'm walking around San Francisco, I'd say that 8 times out of 10 it's a Prius... so this is definitely welcome.

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That's because 8 out of 10 cars in San Francisco are Priuses.

I've had like 4 cyclists ride into my Prius. It's like a magnet for the unaware.

Those things sneak up on you! It's surprising how much cyclists and pedestrians rely on engine noise.

I wouldn't be surprised if groups that work with visually impaired people, for example, lobbied to get a minimum noise level added to regulations.

That's exactly the wrong approach.

Better approach: Install a small wireless sender in the car that broadcasts at a given frequency.

Then allow people who want a minimum noise level to buy a small receiver that broadcasts those signals (or another type of indication signal) to a headset.

This allows you to keep the noise level down and at the same time provides "notifications" to the visually impaired.

That puts the onus on the visually impaired and safety-conscious to protect themselves, and I don't think thats something you want to do.

Neat idea, but two significant problems.

1. Blind folks generally rely on directional sound. Knowing a car's nearby is better than nothing, but you can't tell how fast it's approaching you, from what direction.

2. In a city, it'd never stop beeping at you.

Also, by forcing the purchase of a receiver for something that in some cases is vital safety information, you'll by definition have more accidents than you would if it were a real sound.

And at the same time you have less people dying because of the noise: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/aug/23/sciencenews.uk...

1. The directional information is perceived due to the stereo sound. If you manage to give the location information to the receiver somehow it can generate the stereo sound appropriately. Maybe by using an ultrasound sender and receivers that are located near one's ears.

2. Beeping was just an example. Just "encode" the information as motor noise and it will sound more "natural".

Headsets would also decrease your ability to hear other things. You'd hear the prius with the transmitter but not the real cars or other pedestrians or bicycles.

Dumb idea.

Wow that sounds scary. Does the prius have some noise generator you can turn on?

Perhaps install some big subwoofers in the trunk and play the music a little louder than is polite? (semi-serious here)

May I suggest whichever rap song has the chorus "Move, bitch, get out the way"?

Only the sound of POed cyclists who listened instead of looking

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