Hybrid Cars May Include Fake Vroom for Safety
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
I sooo look forward to hearing hybrids rolling down the street broadcasting horrible pop tunes in the form of simulated engine noise.
And of course I also await with bated breath the automobile version of the Camera Phone Predator Act: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR00414:@@@L...;
When will people realize that responsibility is more important than safety features? There's a great quote from House: "If you want people to drive safer, take out the airbag and attach a machete pointed at their neck." No sane person would ever drive such a vehicle in any way that even resembled dangerous. No one would likely exceed 5 mph, and no one would be killed in car accidents (except accidents involving the machetes of course). Almost all car accidents are preventable. The only ones that aren't are probably those that involve mechanical failure. If your brakes go out, you're pretty much screwed, but almost everything else is in your control. You can't control what other drivers do, but they should be taking responsibility too.
Just the other day, there was a 5 car pileup on the interstate near where I live. The only way that can possibly happen on a 3 lane interstate is if someone was following too closely to the person in front of them. Simple rule: If you aren't at least three seconds behind the person in front of you on the interstate, you are endangering their life and your own. If everyone was obeying that simple rule, there is no way the accident would have happened. Almost all accidents at intersections are either the result of someone not knowing the rules of right of way or not caring / paying attention. These accidents are also completely preventable.
Yeah, tell that to the blind people who have almost no chance of knowing that a hybrid car is sitting at a corner waiting to make a left turn...
I do pay attention and watch what is happening around me and the closest I have ever come to getting hit by a car was when walking through a parking lot and having a Prius back out of a spot and almost run me over. I had passed the car and noticed the driver but did not hear an engine noise that normally lets me know I need to remember that car once I am past it. The driver of the Prius was not paying attention at all. The only thing that prevented me from getting hit was the fact that the car cleared the space it was backing out of just as it tapped my legs and before I realized what had happened they were driving away.
There is no excuse for a car in motion to be silent. None.
Aside from the fact that blind people are a small minority of the population (blind meaning people who could not tell visually whether a car was on the road; plenty of people who are legally blind could still make this distinction), there are already other measures in place to prevent cars from hitting blind people. Guide animals are available which can see hybrid cars coming just as well as they can see gasoline-powered cars coming. Signs are posted as warnings in neighborhoods where blind or deaf children are known to live.
Furthermore, there are other solutions available. Crossings where this is a concern can have small grooves cut in the road leading up to the crossing so ALL cars make noise when coming through (ever hear a car going over a drawbridge?). It is important to note that crossings where this is a concern are a subset of all crossings and that crossings make up only a small fraction of the surface area of the world's road systems. Maybe 1% of road surface is crossings where blind people need to hear cars coming, but this suggestion would add noise pollution to 100% of road surface traveled by hybrid or electric cars.
In your parking lot example, I would add the rule that you should assume every car with a driver in it is running and preparing to move in much the same way that you should assume every gun is loaded and treat it as if it were even if you know it's not. Also, I frequently walk behind cars I know to be running. I am cautious but I am also somewhat relying on the driver seeing me. No amount of safety measures will stop stupid people (like the driver you encountered) from being dangerous. A driver can just as easily gun it going backwards (thus giving people no time to react) in a gasoline car.
Finally, there are edge cases where cars making noise makes them more dangerous. Noise draws attention. If you're driving through a particularly bad part of town, you may not want to draw attention. Passing through without making a sound may increase your safety. If you leave your hybrid running (accidentally or intentionally) for a short time, a potential thief might not know it and therefore might not try to steal your car. With a gasoline powered car, they will always know it. The point is that edge cases are just that: edge cases.
There is no inherent reason why cars should make noise. None.
So we have a system with noise as part of an evolved safety system, and now we're going to randomly sprinkle ninja juggernauts into the mix.
No, cars don't have to make noise. Unless they're going to coexist with the current system and its users. I certainly don't think municipalities should have to cut (and maintain) grooves in crossings, and blind people should have to get dogs when none were needed, merely so cool kids can go "whoosh!"
I'm not blind, but I'm sure going to feel endangered when most cars are silent and we still mix pedestrians and cars the way we do now.
Not only should cars be required to make noise, but the noise should conform to traffic safety regulations, similar to how headlights and brakelights must conform in their way.
Edit: I don't think unregulated "ring tones" should be allowed, but if they were, man I would feel so cool going down the road as my car cried out "Bring out your dead! <clang> Bring out your dead! <clang>"