New requirement for Electric cars. Straw in the spoke.

The Department of Transportation is proposing new regulations that would require hybrid and electric cars to make more noise when their engines are running. The rules are designed to make it easier for nearby pedestrians to hear the traditional quiet automobiles when they are approaching. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the change would make it easier for hybrid and electric car drivers to share the road.

"Safety is our highest priority, and this proposal will help keep everyone using our nation's streets and roadways safe, whether they are motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians, and especially the blind and visually impaired," LaHood said in a statement released by the DOT. Under the requirement, cars would be required to be heard above typical street noises when they are traveling at speeds less than 18 miles per hour.

-- Stephanie: What did you do today? Leonard Hofstadter: Well, I'm a physicist, so I just thought about stuff. Stephanie: That's it? Leonard Hofstadter: I wrote some of it down.

Reply to
Metspitzer
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I almost got run over by one backing out of parking space without looking a couple of days ago. They ARE quiet.

Reply to
Kurt Ullman

You don't want greenies to pay for their share of the roads? I sure do! Double! ...unless they're packing heat. ;-)

Reply to
krw

"Safety is our highest priority" ??????????? So why are the geniuses proposing a 54 mpg standard for vehicles?

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

Herding sheep is their highest priority.

Reply to
krw

I rode in a new Prius and it was surprising how high the road noise was.

Quiet outside, noisy inside ;)

Reply to
Frank

Baseball cards.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

HA! You beat me to this post, and mine happened just two days ago.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

The busy little 4 cyl in a Prius is hardly silent from outside either

- unless you are talking road noise when in electric only mode.

My old electric Fiat was far from silent when accelerating from a dead stop either. AC motors are a bit quieter, but if the frequency of the switching is set "right" they can produce significant sound as well.

Reply to
clare

Guess they picked that number to keep the noise down in a 20 MPH school zone.

Reply to
mike

I believe the darn things should sound like the flying cars from "The Jetsons". ^_^

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TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Get in an accident and they'll fold up like one.

Reply to
krw

So you think they should be allowed to use public property and not help pay for it?

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Sound deadening adds weight :)

The advocates of them insist they are fine for long distance driving. Yep if you want to ride a small crackerbox with limited amenities long distances.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Don't you just love the sound of the Jetsons car? ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Why insanity? They use the roads, wear them out just like the rest of us. They should pay their fair share to maintain them.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Always has been. Thus, when air bags were first put in cars, they were sold as an ALTERNATIVE safety measure for those who wouldn't buckle their seat belts.. Ooops.

Reply to
Kurt Ullman

-snip-

I agree-- and the start-up, and reverse sounds should be different, but one should be that 'meet George Jetson' riff.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Sort of reminds me of the old Western Electric company from the early days when they used to make vacuum cleaners. They had an excellent unit, that had more suction than the competition, but couldn't sell them. Why? They were too quiet and the users perceived them to not be as powerful as the noisy competition!

Reply to
Art Todesco

Per Metspitzer:

Riding my bike, I've been startled several times by cars passing me in electric mode. No close calls yet, but the hazard seems obvious.

I recall an interview with somebody about a deceased deaf person. The question arose "How did he die?". The answer was "The same way the vast majority of deaf people die: he was hit by a car.".

Rang true to me at the time, and now it's been re-enforced.

Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

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