Comments on: Hybrid and Electric Cars Will Emit Vroomtones

By: Shrub the War Criminal

Shrub the War Criminal — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:41:55 +0000

This may be the most inane idea I have ever heard.

I tried to google how many blind people have been killed by a Prius vs being killed by regular cars/trucks. No luck. That is the data we need. Maybe someone can help with this research.

I have found few articles that SAY that a person had been hit by a Prius, but none that say any have been killed. And if they were killed, I doubt we would be able to determine whether it was because it was soooo quiet. By the way, even in battery mode, it is NOT quiet.

In a city, even an regular car may not be heard due to background noises.

Are we going to put noises on bikes, joggers, too?

And what the hell are blind people doing walking in the street? They do use crosswalks and anyone that hits one in a crosswalk, Prius or no Prius is guilty of negligence, noise or no noise.

This is just one more ploy by the Amerikkkan auto industry or the oil industry to demonize a great vehicle that they either can't or will not make .

It is the best car I have EVER owned.

By: Shrub the War Criminal

Shrub the War Criminal — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:40:13 +0000

By: SavvyTom

SavvyTom — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:57:25 +0000

Don’t know what to think of it, I understand that the blind people are concerned about not being run over all the time… like “oh man, now I got run over again, I wish the cars made more noise”. There’s a way to meet their wishes, a buddy of mine bought on http://www.americanlisted.com a device which use the signals coming from the spark plugs. These are input signals for a device that output a “WROOOOOM” sound to your speakers via your car stereo. That would make the electric cars seem “normal”.
What do you think?

By: Bill in France

Bill in France — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:01:21 +0000

How stupid. I live in a town with no blind people. Why should I have to put up with noise ????

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:53:03 +0000

Everybody is talking about people and children. What about animals? If I hit a moose with a little electrical vehicle in high speed because the vehicle is silent and the moose didn't hear it, what happen?

I guess I would die...

By: RKRB

RKRB — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:22:51 +0000

Wow! Who could possibly be against a program that can not only save lives, injuries, and costly accidents, but also reduce the fear of a handicapped person, a distracted person, or a child getting hit by a car, and all at the cost of a functionally trivial inconvenience for ourselves? If someone saves a life by landing a disabled aircraft, they are (justifiably) considered a hero, but if someone saves a life by mandating an audible noise they are considered a meddler???

You can be as attentive as you want while driving, but if a child (perhaps your own child) doesn't hear you coming and runs into the street in front of you, this will make you feel guilty for the rest of your life.

So maybe this is why we need a government after all ...

By: Rom

Rom — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:14:02 +0000

I have a simple solution that I've said before on this subject:

Roll your window down and play some music of your choosing. If people complain, you simply tell them that you are keeping the safety of the blind in mind and letting them know you're there.

By: Rom

Rom — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:09:00 +0000

I agree with you. A more reasonable 35-40 mph should be the starting point.

Though they are probably going to over thinking this and make a ‘pedestrian safety device’ with a similarly named price to go with it.

I’m sure a ‘recycled’ container can be formed into a bendy that rubs the rims for a nostalgic putter of a playing card in a bike wheel.

By: Robert01

Robert01 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:09:05 +0000

Maybe there should be a little “ring ring” sound like the tinkling of a butler’s bell? That would be pretty cool.

By: simon@syd

simon@syd — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:26:21 +0000

I do hope the sound can be transmitted in a cone forward of the vehicle. It would be just too awful to reproduce – artificially – one of the disadvantages of conventional engines. Like turning off a good feature, or even turning on, a bad one.