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Should Hybrid and Electric Cars Have to Sound Like Regular Cars?

9 points by blackjack48 14y ago

gte910h 14y ago
As a person who lives inside a city: hell yes they should be quiet instead of sounding like an ICE. As a person who own a Prius: I'd think about the OPTION of installing something to make noise, as I have had pedestrians almost get hit and I've had several cyclists hit me. Something as LOUD as a normal car though? No.
olefoo 14y ago
I understand both the reason for the sound alert and the distaste for carrying forward the existing bland hum. Perhaps the NHTSA could come up with an acceptable standard definition (x db, localizable, y frequency histogram, etc. ) that would guarantee the vehicle was audible, and then curate a library of tone generators that were acceptable for use on city streets. I'm not the only one who would like his vehicle to purr like a kitten, literally. But this is just a general instance of safety standards that try to achieve their goals by indirect means; rather than specify what exact sounds must be used. Why not have a requirement that a vehicle must emit a sound that is audible , indicative of a vehicle and not an offensive breach of the peace.
- jstclair 14y ago
  Electric cars could be the next ring tone market. Personally, I'd love galloping horses...
  - snogglethorpe 14y ago
    > Personally, I'd love galloping horses... Bravely bold Sir Robin Rode forth from Camelot ...
voidlogic 14y ago
This is stupid; do nothing and people will learn to adjust. I actually like the idea of a city with less noise pollution. I would be more in favour of cars with proximity sensors auto-honking in preference to this non-sense. Remember, look both ways before crossing the street kids...
- rayiner 14y ago
  I'd sooner we just ban cars, with the exception of taxi cabs that can be made to emit an appropriately audible warning, within the urban cores of cities.
- jareds 14y ago
  Will you drive me anywhere I need to go or pay the difference between a self-driving car and a normal car if self-driving cars become available since I can't look one way let alone both ways? Proximity sensors aren't a good enough solution since as a blind individual I rely on hearing traffic patterns to determine when lights are red verses green. I'm sure you could create an electronic device for use by blind people what would interface with cars and traffic lights to make up for not hearing the noise but who will actually pay for the development and installation that would be required for such a device?
- snogglethorpe 14y ago
  Simply banning cars would be a far more effective solution, both for increasing safety, and for making the urban environment more pleasant (in a multitude of ways, not just noise). As a halfway measure, serious street-calming (making streets much narrower, etc) can have some of the same effects.
- greenyoda 14y ago
  "Remember, look both ways before crossing the street." That assumes that you can see; blind people can't. (And lots of blind people I see on the street don't have guide dogs.) Silent cars would also probably kill lots of people who have their eyes on their mobile devices instead of on the street.
Osiris 14y ago
What are the statistics regarding the number of pedestrians that are struck by electric vehicles? I have to imagine its a very small number. I don't like the idea of making the car always sound artificially loud because of something that is highly unlikely to ever occur for a given vehicle. A better approach would be to have some type of sensor in the front of the car that detects the distance to something in front of it and either makes a warning sound or automatically applies the brakes.
- martinced 14y ago
  Years and years a test was made in a little city in Switzerland. The results where scary. There have been lots and lots of accidents. So many that the authorities decided to continue the test, but only at the condition that bells (like the ones cows are wearing) where added to the cars, so that pedestrian could hear them.
nextstep 14y ago
No, that's stupid. There has to be another way to make cars safe for pedestrians.
ryguytilidie 14y ago
No. This is stupid. I feel like "pay some goddamned attention" would be a better law than making things artificially noisy.
- chromaticorb 14y ago
  hard of sight people need all the help they can get to cross the road, and many of them do rely on car noise to some degree.
JoeAltmaier 14y ago
Been in SF; almost stepped off the curb in front of an electric bus. There's a need for electric vehicles to make SOME kind of sound. Also, I heard a Tesla pull out and accelerate down the street in Mt View. It sounded exactly like a slot car. I had to laugh. So maybe Tesla should be paying attention to that aspect of public perception - their cars shouldn't be making me laugh.

9 points by blackjack48 14y ago

As a person who lives inside a city: hell yes they should be quiet instead of sounding like an ICE. As a person who own a Prius: I'd think about the OPTION of installing something to make noise, as I have had pedestrians almost get hit and I've had several cyclists hit me. Something as LOUD as a normal car though? No.

olefoo 14y ago

I understand both the reason for the sound alert and the distaste for carrying forward the existing bland hum. Perhaps the NHTSA could come up with an acceptable standard definition (x db, localizable, y frequency histogram, etc. ) that would guarantee the vehicle was audible, and then curate a library of tone generators that were acceptable for use on city streets. I'm not the only one who would like his vehicle to purr like a kitten, literally. But this is just a general instance of safety standards that try to achieve their goals by indirect means; rather than specify what exact sounds must be used. Why not have a requirement that a vehicle must emit a sound that is audible , indicative of a vehicle and not an offensive breach of the peace.

jstclair 14y ago
Electric cars could be the next ring tone market. Personally, I'd love galloping horses...
- snogglethorpe 14y ago
  > Personally, I'd love galloping horses... Bravely bold Sir Robin Rode forth from Camelot ...

voidlogic 14y ago

This is stupid; do nothing and people will learn to adjust. I actually like the idea of a city with less noise pollution. I would be more in favour of cars with proximity sensors auto-honking in preference to this non-sense. Remember, look both ways before crossing the street kids...

rayiner 14y ago
I'd sooner we just ban cars, with the exception of taxi cabs that can be made to emit an appropriately audible warning, within the urban cores of cities.
jareds 14y ago
Will you drive me anywhere I need to go or pay the difference between a self-driving car and a normal car if self-driving cars become available since I can't look one way let alone both ways? Proximity sensors aren't a good enough solution since as a blind individual I rely on hearing traffic patterns to determine when lights are red verses green. I'm sure you could create an electronic device for use by blind people what would interface with cars and traffic lights to make up for not hearing the noise but who will actually pay for the development and installation that would be required for such a device?
snogglethorpe 14y ago
Simply banning cars would be a far more effective solution, both for increasing safety, and for making the urban environment more pleasant (in a multitude of ways, not just noise). As a halfway measure, serious street-calming (making streets much narrower, etc) can have some of the same effects.
greenyoda 14y ago
"Remember, look both ways before crossing the street." That assumes that you can see; blind people can't. (And lots of blind people I see on the street don't have guide dogs.) Silent cars would also probably kill lots of people who have their eyes on their mobile devices instead of on the street.

Osiris 14y ago

What are the statistics regarding the number of pedestrians that are struck by electric vehicles? I have to imagine its a very small number. I don't like the idea of making the car always sound artificially loud because of something that is highly unlikely to ever occur for a given vehicle. A better approach would be to have some type of sensor in the front of the car that detects the distance to something in front of it and either makes a warning sound or automatically applies the brakes.

martinced 14y ago
Years and years a test was made in a little city in Switzerland. The results where scary. There have been lots and lots of accidents. So many that the authorities decided to continue the test, but only at the condition that bells (like the ones cows are wearing) where added to the cars, so that pedestrian could hear them.

nextstep 14y ago

No, that's stupid. There has to be another way to make cars safe for pedestrians.

ryguytilidie 14y ago

No. This is stupid. I feel like "pay some goddamned attention" would be a better law than making things artificially noisy.

chromaticorb 14y ago
hard of sight people need all the help they can get to cross the road, and many of them do rely on car noise to some degree.

JoeAltmaier 14y ago

Been in SF; almost stepped off the curb in front of an electric bus. There's a need for electric vehicles to make SOME kind of sound. Also, I heard a Tesla pull out and accelerate down the street in Mt View. It sounded exactly like a slot car. I had to laugh. So maybe Tesla should be paying attention to that aspect of public perception - their cars shouldn't be making me laugh.