Car Tech forum: Poll: Noise generators for hybrid cars to keep people safe?

In these days of government regulation(s), we certainly don't need more. Enough is enough.

Years ago, when LONDON had electric, silent trams, I don't recall it being a problem then. Pedestrians need to take more care; in my experience, car drivers are more aware than cyclists and pedestrians, who don't appreciate the danger they put themselves and others in.

What you say is true enough at moderate to high speed, but at very low speed, my Prius (2010) makes no engine sound while operating off the battery and very little tire noise. Actually, the electric system does make a high-pitched whining sound outside that my girlfriend can hear readily, most of the time and I can hear occasionally. But her hearing's a bit unusual-- she's a trained musician with a high-frequency cutoff somewhere around 30KHz (as opposed to the usual 20KHz or lower). She has managed to sneak up on me in the car on a couple of occasions.

Tire noise is dependent on what surface the car is on. There is none on dry, solid pavement, a sort of hissing sound from water being flung off the tires and hitting the insides of the wheel wells while on wet pavement. and the usual crunching, etc. sounds on gravel.

So, in a parking lot, driving at sane parking lot speeds, on dry pavement, and with the gas engine not having kicked in yet, there's not a lot to hear (unless you're a bat, a dog, a dolphin, or my girlfriend) and I am mindful of this.

I am torn between thinking that some kind of noisemaker wouldn't be a bad idea and a general distrust of yet more regulations. I'd probably buy a gizmo that generates a burst of engine-ish noise when I press a button, rather than being on all the time. I'd use it instead of the horn in those situations. I think it would be more polite. Save the horn for when they obviously know I'm there and are just walking down the middle of the row "because".

This is the appropriate solution! It's the parking lots where they will be coming slowly & silently. We are not as attentive in this surrounding.

People have forgotten how to walk safely on roads and then wonder why they get hit. They wear dark clothing, wear ear buds and have traffic come from behind them. Then these same people expect the drivers to keep an eye out for THEIR safety. First these pedestrians should make themselves safe. If drivers can't see you, how can they let you know they are there? People with ear buds in don't even react to regular cars behind them and get upset if you blow the horn.

Not just for hybrids; what about all those electric cars. But do we need to add to the ambient noise. Bicycles have bells to warn of their approach. Perhaps cars should have something less than the usual car horn to do the same. And then make it compulsory for the warning signal for cyclists and pedestrians. I would hate, however, to have the blaring that some cities have. But a continuous noisy presence no thank you.

It is not that pedestrians and cyclist should be more aware of these quiet cars, the DRIVER should be more aware that the pedestrian or cyclist that are coming up on can't hear them so they should give a gentle tap on the horn or relax. Noise generators would only just add more to the cost of these already overly priced vehicles.

My mother just bought a hybrid (her third) and it has a beep tone that is generated whenever it backs up. Hopefully, when the car is going forward, she is watching where she is going and won't surprise someone (with or without a noise generator). I am in agreement that with the number of regulations we currently have, we really don't need any more. However, we could use a lot more responsibility on the part of the drivers, like paying attention to their driving rather than texting, talking on the phone, eating or the plethora of completely stupid things people do while piloting a 3,000 pound piece of metal that can kill even more people at once than a bullet. Alas, that would be asking too much, wouldn't it?

We have way too much regulation to protect the stupidest and least competent now. At most, cars should have an additional horn: a whistle or bicycle bell (remember them? Thought not.) that can alert people something is coming without blasting them out of their skin.

Seriously, my wife's Camry isn't a hybrid but is dead quiet and it's quite a few years old now. The other day she pulled in to the driveway while I had my back turned and it wasn't the MOTOR that alerted me it was the sound of the tires rolling over the cement. Cyclists can't hear a hybrid but THEY don't make noise so pedestrians can hear THEM. So many people are waling and texting/talking/surfing etc. they don't notice delivery trucks about to run them down. I watch one woman almost step out in front of an ambulance with it's lights and siren on.

People are stupid and oblivious. That goes for me too sometimes. Maybe it's time the herd is thinned out.

No, no one needs to die but pain is a teacher. Maybe shock collars on the pedestrians that don't pay attention LOL.

Ok, kidding aside any noise make will quickly just become background noise we'll automatically filter out. That's the way it works.

We in the U.S.A. who favor badly maintained pick-ups that sound like dragging a sackful of scrap metal around, already make enough sound to alert any oncoming pedestrians with just the windows open in our hybrids.

We talk loudly, we are rude, and we basically scream at anyone who gets in our way. Not to mention the Metallica or Billy Joel blasting out of our hi-def Toyota factory installed speakers. There's no need for noise generators. We are the noise generators.

Oh, and let the pedestrians fend for themselves. Pedestrians need to take more care and train themselves to be on the lookout at the slightest change in air temperature or pressure - always vigilant for silent hybrid vehicles traveling in their direction while they are tending to their children for an instant, or casually strolling through a parking lot on their way to make a donation to a worthy registered charity.

I mean, who cares about pedestrians? When did they get the right of way anyways?

... require everyone to turn up radio to 11 (we live in a nanny state anyway... may as well dictate our personal space noise levels too).

If you can't see a car I think you should get run over. And before you people jump on your soap boxes about blind people and other disabled people (which I am one. I have Brain Cancer) The blind have dogs and canes. There are cross signals.

So there are no reasons to make noise pollution. I think the world would be a little bit better with less noise.

I don not believe that adding noise to hybrid vehicles will only serve to increase costs to solve a problem that is scientifically understood to correct itself. This problem self corrects through a process known to Science as Natural Selection. Individuals who are not aware of their surroundings will be killed and have less reproductive opportunities than those who are fully aware of their surrounding and, therefore live to reproduce. The genes for awareness will be favored and, over time, those genes would be more prevalent among the population. Over many generations, you will see a marked decrease in the number of pedestrian fatalities because a larger percentage of the population would have that genes that provide the human organism with the heightened sense of awareness of the surroundings. It stands to reason that you will see the prevalence of these genes in modern industrialized societies since clean fuel technologies are usually found in these societies.

More information Natural Selection can be found in a book sold on Amazon, or if your budget doesn't allow, your local library may carry the book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Origin-Species-Charles-Darwin/dp/0517123207