I don’t know how I missed this story that originally ran in April, 2008. The article brings to light a flaw so serious, that a bill is being introduced to congress to rectify it. Here’s the scoop on the danger of quiet cars:
A bill intended to protect blind people and other pedestrians from the dangers posed by quiet cars will be introduced Wednesday in Congress.
The measure would require the Transportation Department to establish safety standards for hybrids and other vehicles that make little discernible noise, including an audible means for alerting people that cars are nearby.
“The beneficial trend toward more environmentally friendly vehicles has had the unintended effect of placing the blind and other pedestrians in danger,” said Democratic Rep. Edolphus Towns, who’s sponsoring the bill with Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns.
The Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind has pushed for the legislation to protect those who rely on their hearing to know when to cross the street.
While the organization is not aware of people being struck by cars they couldn’t hear, NFB President Marc Maurer has said he fears it’s only a matter of time.
Preliminary results of an ongoing study at the University of California-Riverside have indicated the cars pose some risk. The study found that hybrids operating at slow speeds must be 40 percent closer to pedestrians than combustion-engine vehicles before they make enough noise for their location to be detected. (Editor’s Note: Am I the only one who thinks quiet is good and that noise pollution has been a negative car emission for a long time?)
Hybrid vehicles operate on battery-powered electric motors when idling and traveling at slow speeds; internal combustion engines, with their distinctive rumble, kick in when the cars speed up.
The bill would require the Transportation Department to conduct a two-year study before issuing safety standards. Automakers would than have two years to comply. (another Editor’s note: Ahhh…this is such a big problem that we need to take four years to think about it???)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is planning a listening session this spring to consider possible solutions to the quiet-car problem and is already working with manufacturers. (and yet another Editor’s note: Who exactly brought this immense public danger to light?
I can’t help but wonder when I think of this, what the real political agenda is behind this. It seems to me that if we need a full blown, two-year study, and a two year grace period for automakers to think about implementing whatever suggestion comes out of the study, that the problem can’t be all that pressing.
In four years I could envision far more productive work being done on creating a vibrating “sonar” device that could be built in to canes or guide do collars that would be far more effective and helpful to the very people supposedly put to so much risk by quiet cars.
But as I said at the beginning of this post, this article first appeared in early April, 2008 on MSNBC. It’s very possible I missed a huge chunk of the conversation that would put all this into a better perspective. I would be interested in your comments or any follow-up information you may have.
Tags: Automakers, Cliff Stearns, Combustion Engine, Democratic Rep, Edolphus Towns, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Evs, Federation Of The Blind, Highway Traffic Safety, Hybrid Cars, Hybrid Vehicles, Hybrids, Internal Combustion Engines, National Federation Of The Blind, National Highway Traffic, National Highway Traffic Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nfb, noise pollution, Other Vehicles, Pedestrians, public safety, Safety Standards, Slow Speeds, Traffic Safety Administration, Transportation Department, Unintended Effect, University Of California Riverside
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