Boy hit by silent car He was unhurt


http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/08/i...080x1200302938

 

as a kid i was taught stop,look and listen.He didnt look.People like us with hybrids learn real quick to watch carefully while in places like wal mart etc .I beleve if you were parked in the wal mart parking lot with an old truck with no exhaust and backed up people will still walk behind you and also stop behind you while they are looking for a place to park.they get their heads up their buts.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...52464745557505 "It's that wooo woooooooo. You know what I'm say'in?" "That's like an alarm clock. Woo wooooooo"

 

Another boy was hit by a noisy car, he was hurt.
Maybe there is a correlation? Silent car=no injury?

Sorry to be casual in my reply, but things like this will happen all the time, but I'm sure the media will love to talk about our "Silent Killers!!!... details at 6!!!"
Be careful when driving around dog walkers, bicyclists, joggers and children...but that goes for non-hybrids also, doesn't it?

 

Yes! I just don't get it! These young folks (I assume! uh oh! THAT word) put devices like these and the soup cans on their exhasut to make their cars louder, then speed around, get ticketed because their cars are so obvious! It would seem to this experienced person, if one wanted to race around, it would make sense to take steps to make your car NOT as obvious to the authorities, not the other way around. I just don't get it!

Also, there is so much noise in our everyday lives now, quieter is just better, IMHO.

 

Well she couldn't very well blame herself for not teaching him how or the kid for not knowing how to ride a bike safely could she???

 

I guess that the earthshaking stereos and "coffee can" mufflers are now "safety features" instead of annoyances. I guess that when these kids have their iPods screwed into their ears, you have to have the aforementioned modifications in order to avoid lawsuits. How soon before some ambulance chaser goes after this class of vehicles for being too quiet and therefore a hazard.

I believe it was either Mark Twain or Will Rogers that said:
Everyone is born with five senses. The other two; horse and common, must be acquired.

This has all the hallmarks of the beginning of an urban legend. <sigh>

 

The correct headline should be "Boy runs out in front of car." The particular kind of car is irrelevant. Children have ran or rode their bicycles in front of my big, loud truck many times. I have never hit one, mostly because I am careful and I have been lucky. Less experienced drivers are not always very careful. And any driver can be unlucky.

This didn't happen because the car was silent. This happens because children sometimes do dumb things. Most adults watch out for the kids, to avoid harming them. But sometimes you can't see the kid until its too late to avoid them. And some adults are less careful than others.

The mother shouldn't let the kid play in the road. And, the mother surely shouldn't let the kid play in the road unsupervised. And, when a kid gets hurt, it isn't because of the type of car. It's because both the mother didn't teach the kid to stay out of the road, and because both the kid and the driver were not careful enough, and then the kid did something dumb.

Some politicians will want to pass a law requiring every vehicle to make a certain level of noise. If they do, we should each find out where our local politicians live. Then we should each get an air horn (aka, train horn) that can make far more than the required level of decibels, and use it whenever we drive past that politicians house at night. After all, there might be a kid hiding in the politicians front bushes, who might not know that a car is coming.

 

I don't want to point fingers one way or the other, but (notwithstanding the absurd comment that the silent car was the culprit) I think the driver is, to some degree, at fault. I've been driving for 32 years. When I am on a small street, with kids on bikes, dog walkers, joggers, etc. I slow down and anticipate that the people there will make a sudden movement into traffic. When I see kids playing soccer, I anticipate that the ball will come rolling into the street, followed by the kids (and it always happens!).
You have to drive more cautiously when involved in these types of situations. If a cyclist is unaware of the car, I will give two taps on the horn (at a distance) to alert them. If the kids are unaware, I drive extra slow.
I was taught to wait for eye contact (to make sure that the others knew you were there). It's served me well over the years.
Yes, these cars are quieter.
Yes, some sleezebag lawyer will sue and make millions from stupid cases like this one is bound to be.
Yes, kids will do the stupidest things when playing.
and...
Yes, it is the responsibility of the driver to be extra careful and drive cautiously.
Accidents do happen, but hitting a kid on a bike in the street is absolutely a preventable accident.

The kid is 8 years old, if a driver isn't aware that an 8 year old is in the road, there is some degree of fault there.

 

As an aside, that's been the 'mantra' of the onanist motorcycle "enthusiasts" with open pipes. They've been trying to peddle the cool-aid that their noise (and air) pollution devices are really a safety feature rather than a pathetic grab at attention.

And as to 'common sense' - the biggest problem is that it isn't very common...