4 ms·

Or imagine if you're blind. Trying to listen for tire noise.

mistersquid 4y ago
> Or imagine if you're blind. Trying to listen for tire noise. When vehicles past a certain volume (which are not aggressively streamlined to shatter human-powered landspeed records) move faster than 25 kph (15 mph) they displace enough air that they are quite loud. An automobile-sized vehicle isn’t some kind of terrestrial ninja when its engine doesn’t make noise. Depending on make, model and speed, the volume of displaced air is significantly louder than the engine running at constant velocity.
mumblemumble 4y ago
Or imagine if you're a kid and it's physically impossible for you to see around an SUV parked adjacently to the crosswalk without actually sticking your head out into the street. That said, the "cars make noise go vroom" argument hasn't really worked for decades now. Modern mufflers mean most unmodified cars aren't loud enough to be clearly heard over background noise in an area with lots of cars. Pedestrian safety is absolutely a problem that's worsening, but I don't think that "make cars noisier" is the solution. Barring the ideal (to me) solution of fewer cars in the first place, what seems most promising to me is making the infrastructure itself more pedestrian-friendly. I was impressed to see what Amsterdam's city center did with encouraging cars out onto the thoroughfares and out of the places where people are walking. They didn't seem to have the same "Waze addicts blowing through stop signs on residential streets" problem that we have in North America. Nor did they have the same problem with stroads and their obnoxious traffic patterns that set everyone who uses the on edge. It seemed to make transportation both safer and more pleasant for everyone involved.
- aequitas 4y ago
  > That said, the "cars make noise go vroom" argument hasn't really worked for decades now. Tires often make more noise than car engines nowadays. I live along a busy street and often I can't audibly distinct a Tesla from an ICE except for a faint hum. They are both as loud when passing by.
bryanlarsen 4y ago
An EV going faster than 15mph is quite audible and one going slower than that can stop on a dime. If you can't hear anything it should be safe to cross. There's a significant gap between theory and reality, but I'm not sure noise pollution is the answer.
guenthert 4y ago
Even with regular gas powered cars, the tyre noise dominates for a long time already, except at very low speed. A Tesla isn't much more quiet than any other modern sedan (thanks to wide tyres with soft rubbers). It's really just (wannabe) sports cars, old trucks and god damn Harleys where it's different.

> Or imagine if you're blind. Trying to listen for tire noise. When vehicles past a certain volume (which are not aggressively streamlined to shatter human-powered landspeed records) move faster than 25 kph (15 mph) they displace enough air that they are quite loud. An automobile-sized vehicle isn’t some kind of terrestrial ninja when its engine doesn’t make noise. Depending on make, model and speed, the volume of displaced air is significantly louder than the engine running at constant velocity.

mumblemumble 4y ago

Or imagine if you're a kid and it's physically impossible for you to see around an SUV parked adjacently to the crosswalk without actually sticking your head out into the street. That said, the "cars make noise go vroom" argument hasn't really worked for decades now. Modern mufflers mean most unmodified cars aren't loud enough to be clearly heard over background noise in an area with lots of cars. Pedestrian safety is absolutely a problem that's worsening, but I don't think that "make cars noisier" is the solution. Barring the ideal (to me) solution of fewer cars in the first place, what seems most promising to me is making the infrastructure itself more pedestrian-friendly. I was impressed to see what Amsterdam's city center did with encouraging cars out onto the thoroughfares and out of the places where people are walking. They didn't seem to have the same "Waze addicts blowing through stop signs on residential streets" problem that we have in North America. Nor did they have the same problem with stroads and their obnoxious traffic patterns that set everyone who uses the on edge. It seemed to make transportation both safer and more pleasant for everyone involved.

aequitas 4y ago
> That said, the "cars make noise go vroom" argument hasn't really worked for decades now. Tires often make more noise than car engines nowadays. I live along a busy street and often I can't audibly distinct a Tesla from an ICE except for a faint hum. They are both as loud when passing by.

bryanlarsen 4y ago

An EV going faster than 15mph is quite audible and one going slower than that can stop on a dime. If you can't hear anything it should be safe to cross. There's a significant gap between theory and reality, but I'm not sure noise pollution is the answer.

guenthert 4y ago

Even with regular gas powered cars, the tyre noise dominates for a long time already, except at very low speed. A Tesla isn't much more quiet than any other modern sedan (thanks to wide tyres with soft rubbers). It's really just (wannabe) sports cars, old trucks and god damn Harleys where it's different.