We've reported on the silent dangers of hybrids before, and it appears that word of their possible threat to blind people has made it to the halls of Congress. A bill is being introduced today in the House of Representatives that calls for the U.S. Department of Transportation to study whether or not the feds need to regulate a minimum sound level for all cars and, if so, what that minimum should be. If passed, the entire auto industry would have two years to comply. The issue revolves around blind people not being able to hear hybrids while they're running solely on battery power, since they produce much less noise than a normal car with an internal combustion engine. We've heard no reports, however, of hybrids being involved in accidents with pedestrians where the vehicle's silent operation was at fault, but clearly there are many who would like to keep it that way.The state of Maryland actually passed similar legislation last month, and the industry's own Society of Automotive Engineers already has a task force studying whether or not the decibel level, or lack thereof, produced by hybrids is something we should be worrying about.
Our question is that if such a bill were passed, what technology would automakers use to increase the sound a hybrid makes while running on battery power? Might we hear hybrids with external speakers pumping out the soundtrack of a fossil fuel-burning V8?
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Samurai Jack @ Apr 10th 2008 3:03PM
I want the turbine whine of a flying car. It's probably as close as we'll get to the real thing.
geo.stewart @ Apr 10th 2008 6:33PM
I want mine to sound like an F22 Raptor!
Jim @ Apr 10th 2008 3:06PM
"Uncle" should stay out of it, they have already driven the auto industry to their knees with their "infinite knowledge".
CarbonBlack @ Apr 10th 2008 9:01PM
gotta love it: cafe forces cars to be more efficient, this law forces cars to be less efficient.
Alex @ Apr 10th 2008 3:08PM
Its amazing that congress will jump to attention on this but have been dragging their feet for years to give tactile differentiation on our money so blind people don't have to rely on the honesty of others to know how much money they are giving or receiving.
anyway, i see this leading to a whole new era of the musical horn. i would want my electric car to sound like one of the flying cars from the Jetsons.
R @ Apr 10th 2008 3:47PM
So true. This sounds like another stupid waste of time.
John Johnson @ Apr 10th 2008 3:11PM
I'm gonna remove my cat and resonator just to make sure my car isn't too quiet for the blind folks.
Hey, we can make fun of them a little bit. They aren't reading this, right?
Robert @ Apr 10th 2008 3:27PM
hahahahaha harsh but funny
FSM @ Apr 10th 2008 6:08PM
don't worry...I'm blind and I can't see your offensive remark
Mulad @ Apr 10th 2008 3:13PM
Bah. Hybrids don't need to get louder. Other vehicles need to get quieter. Compared to semis, almost all cars are too quiet.
PJ @ Apr 10th 2008 3:16PM
What, exactly, are they going to legislate? The noise emitted by the car at idle? Or the sound level at a given speed?
If it's the latter, hybrids already make nearly as much noise as a conventional vehicle. Wind displacement and tire roar are most of what you hear when a vehicle is approaching, as long as the speed is over ~20 mph.
R @ Apr 10th 2008 3:49PM
http://www.takakaira.co.jp/accessories/nightpager/nightpager.html
Colin Toal @ Apr 10th 2008 3:18PM
I think that all hybrid cars should have to make the same noise as the flying car from the Jetsons.
I feel very strongly about this. To whom should I speak, in order to make this happen ?
Colin Toal @ Apr 10th 2008 3:19PM
Alex beat me to it.. Well played.
tankd0g @ Apr 10th 2008 3:19PM
I was very surprised to click that link and not be directed to The Onion.
MKIV @ Apr 10th 2008 3:21PM
Guess we'll have to paint cars in neon colors just to please the deaf...
Travis Rassat @ Apr 10th 2008 3:24PM
If my Camry Hybrid is gonna have to be louder, then I want it to be as loud as John Force's funny car.
This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. According to another article I read on this yesterday, nobody's actually been hurt yet. Apparently, since all of our other problems have been solved, this is all the government's got left to do.
rip @ Apr 10th 2008 3:38PM
I don't think it's dumb at all. My hearing is fine and I've almost been hit several times by Prius backing up in a parking lot. For example, at my dry cleaners or the supermarket, where something like 10% of the parked cars are hybrids.
They don't see me, and I don't hear them.
And I'm not doing anything other than standing beside my car.
Granted there isn't a whole lot of risk at low speeds, but how about a simple back up beeping. The first time it happened it scared the hell out of me, turning around and there's a car backing into me.
The Other Bob @ Apr 10th 2008 3:49PM
rip:
You think that's bad, my town has hybrid busses. These things are dead quiet when coming to a stop with the engine off. I almost stepped off a curb in front of one.
I agree that many of the feds car regualrtion are complete BS (CAFE, I am looking at you.) but in this case I can see the danger.
I would say this is more important than improving car roof strength for roll-over protection.
Alex @ Apr 10th 2008 4:04PM
So by your logic we shouldn't do anything in the name of safety until there have been a significant number of deaths to make it financially prudent?
I'm no safety Nazi here but if we can do something like this which will have zero negative impact on the car, we should. a simple speaker and cheap chip to create a sound is not expensive nor heavy and would not result in any great design retooling or decrease in performance or increase in cost.
Put on a blindfold on day and see how you make it though the day.