Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
#1
07-08-2008, 12:08 PM
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 5,613
Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...WS01/807080395
Bob Wilson
Advocates want vehicles to make some sound
By Rick Rojas
rrojas@courier-journal.com They're quiet, save gas and are easier on the environment.
But for blind pedestrians, hybrid vehicles are accidents just waiting to happen, advocates say.
Now a move is under way in Washington to require manufacturers of hybrids to set minimum sound standards for new cars and trucks, with advocates arguing blind pedestrians can't hear the nearly silent vehicles, which use a gas engine for higher speeds and an electric motor for slower speeds.
...
Another idea is to use a feature similar to a panic button on many vehicles' keyless remotes. A blind person would carry a device, and if they neared a vehicle, the device would be triggered to sound an alarm.
"We're going to have to use technology," said Robert J. Wilson, chief executive officer of 625k Inc., an Alabama-based company that works to maintain older hybrids. But he said that could be difficult, as another sound from a hybrid might not be discernible to a pedestrian amid the chorus of traffic noise.
Still, he said, he understands the concern.
"All they want is the hybrid cars to make noise," he said.
...
By Rick Rojas
rrojas@courier-journal.com They're quiet, save gas and are easier on the environment.
But for blind pedestrians, hybrid vehicles are accidents just waiting to happen, advocates say.
Now a move is under way in Washington to require manufacturers of hybrids to set minimum sound standards for new cars and trucks, with advocates arguing blind pedestrians can't hear the nearly silent vehicles, which use a gas engine for higher speeds and an electric motor for slower speeds.
...
Another idea is to use a feature similar to a panic button on many vehicles' keyless remotes. A blind person would carry a device, and if they neared a vehicle, the device would be triggered to sound an alarm.
"We're going to have to use technology," said Robert J. Wilson, chief executive officer of 625k Inc., an Alabama-based company that works to maintain older hybrids. But he said that could be difficult, as another sound from a hybrid might not be discernible to a pedestrian amid the chorus of traffic noise.
Still, he said, he understands the concern.
"All they want is the hybrid cars to make noise," he said.
...
#2
07-08-2008, 03:44 PM
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
Bravo... the agument has been shifted a little.Now we have an opening, it's up to us to use it properly and not jump to a technical quick fix that won't do the job.
#4
07-12-2008, 08:10 PM
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
I've even heard of sighted people being hit by not hearing the cars coming and stepping out into the street before looking. Even in parking lots. I've heard this disease is called Cranial-Rectumitis. Maybe you could put some of those deer whistles on that you buy at Wal-Mart that go on your front bumper to warn deer to get out of the road. You can also get some pretty cool stuff at truck stops like cow bells and train horns. 
http://chromestore.com/Merchant2/mer...Code=cow_bells
http://trainhornkits.com/ <<< Guaranteed to get their attention.(or make them crap their pants)
http://chromestore.com/Merchant2/mer...Code=cow_bells
http://trainhornkits.com/ <<< Guaranteed to get their attention.(or make them crap their pants)
#5
07-12-2008, 10:11 PM
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 5,613
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
Rep. Robert Berry [D, AR-1]
Rep. John Boozman [R, AR-3]
Better still, write a letter to the editor of the largest newspapers in Arkansas with your opinion of HR 5734. Posting here is 'practice', writing and calling your congressional representatives and newspaper editors is real. Remember, your silence is assent.Rep. John Boozman [R, AR-3]
If you want to post a draft, I'll be happy to comment and offer technical suggestions, the facts and data, that can make a letter more effective. I've been researching this since May, 2007 and attended the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hearing on June 23 trying to find the facts and data. For example, from Dr. Hogan's report:
- 4,700 annual pedestrian deaths by engine noise, emitting vehicles already
- making hybrids as noisy continues the same 4,700 dead each year
- hybrids have the same pedestrian accident rate as engine vehicles, 2002-2006
Last edited by bwilson4web; 07-12-2008 at 10:49 PM.
#6
07-13-2008, 09:57 AM
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
When the first cars hit the streets, many areas demanded that a person proceed the vehicle to warn pedestrians and horse traffic that the car was coming...
This is the same protectionist mentality that led to red light cameras, which are documented to increase "rear-ender" accidents at intersections where they are employed by 25%. Amazingly enough, when left to their own judgement, people stop when it's safe, and roll through when it's not.
This is the same protectionist mentality that led to red light cameras, which are documented to increase "rear-ender" accidents at intersections where they are employed by 25%. Amazingly enough, when left to their own judgement, people stop when it's safe, and roll through when it's not.
#7
07-21-2008, 05:35 PM
Pretty Darn Active Enthusiast
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Deep in the heart of Florida
Posts: 351
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
I've even heard of sighted people being hit by not hearing the cars coming and stepping out into the street before looking. Even in parking lots. I've heard this disease is called Cranial-Rectumitis. Maybe you could put some of those deer whistles on that you buy at Wal-Mart that go on your front bumper to warn deer to get out of the road. You can also get some pretty cool stuff at truck stops like cow bells and train horns.
As for those "advocates for the blind," they're utterly full of it. My wife can easily hear our HCHs' engines, and she's 100% deaf in one ear. Aren't the blind supposed to have more acute hearing to compensate??
The fellow who caused a mini-furor recently by calling America "a nation of whiners" was spot on. Now the blind have joined the whinefest.
Leave it to the "lamestream" media to parrot this garbage without any attempt to verify it. Then they wonder why they're losing audience & money.
#8
07-22-2008, 07:45 AM
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
You might even be able to find one of those music players like on an Ice Cream truck. That would get peoples attention. And the soothing music would make people calm around you in rush hour traffic.
#9
07-22-2008, 11:50 AM
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
Now THAT you need on your big rig! It would certainly disarm anyone that wanted to get agressive against somebody trying to work an 18 wheeler through a tight city environment.
#10
07-22-2008, 03:06 PM
Re: Hybrid cars may pose silent threat to the blind
It's hard not to react sympathetically to the blind people, here (you guys seem a little insensitive to me- something's wrong if hybrid drivers come off as not caring about the world). However, bikes are also pretty silent and can cause traffic accidents when they hit pedestrians (and anyone who wants to quibble about how car accidents are so much more severe than bikes might be right in general, but should have met my college friend Julia, who ended up in a coma after being hit by a bicycle).
Other pedestrians can hit you. Blind pedestrians can fall in ditches, trip over curbs or skateboards, and in short, encounter all kinds of silent dangers when walking near traffic. In the constant hum of traffic, smelling the exhaust and feeling the wind rush by would probably be as big of an indicator of the presence of moving traffic as noise, maybe even bigger. In the absence of actual data that indicates this is a problem (instead of simple anecdotal stories about blind people who are afraid that hybrids might be a particular problem), -and Bob's study is quite convincing that no such data exists- it just seems like a better use of our time to worry about more significant risks, things which are proven and which are more dangerous or a bigger departure from existing conditions.
Other pedestrians can hit you. Blind pedestrians can fall in ditches, trip over curbs or skateboards, and in short, encounter all kinds of silent dangers when walking near traffic. In the constant hum of traffic, smelling the exhaust and feeling the wind rush by would probably be as big of an indicator of the presence of moving traffic as noise, maybe even bigger. In the absence of actual data that indicates this is a problem (instead of simple anecdotal stories about blind people who are afraid that hybrids might be a particular problem), -and Bob's study is quite convincing that no such data exists- it just seems like a better use of our time to worry about more significant risks, things which are proven and which are more dangerous or a bigger departure from existing conditions.
