Quiet hybrids pose an 'invisible' risk

I'm going to install a set of speakers that play this! :blink: B)

 

just imagine 2 or more hybrids in the same parking lot making those foghorn or Formula car sounds...that could be quite annoying...

How 'bout the Jetson's car sounds?...not so intrusive.


If you hit some idiot because they aren't responsible for their actions by not looking...and if you suspect they would sue....just put the car in reverse and finish the job. <_<

 

The answer is obvious. We should all install one of those super high power stereos, fill the trunk with speakers and subwoofers. Then listen to the radio at a very high volume. Pedestrians can hear the boom-ba-ba-boom from a mile away just like gasoline cars. The only draw back is that we will need to wear our pants really low.

 

Yes, the invisable risk I 've heard people comment on, however, by us fellow hybrid people creating a better tomorrow by driving hybrid now should not be criticized. People(walking) need to practice what we all learned at 4 years old about crossing the street! They also need to ask, is our cars that horribly quiet or are the cars they are used to hearing that incredibly loud that they've just grown accustomed to. They should be thanking us!

 

Oh.... my head hurts. Welcome to my world, folks. Before hybrids, this same argument was reserved just for us EV drivers, of course.

We've driven a *completely* silent EV (of some form or another) for better than 70k miles now. And we haven't run down a pedestrian yet! It was mentioned in the article that many new cars are almost as quiet as an EV when only going 5mph... I also wonder if anybody has stopped to realize that pedestrians could actually hear EVs if there were no noise pollution from ICE vehicles!

I spend most of my time on a bicycle, and I haven't run anybody down with THAT silent form of transportation either. Yes, I realize I likely wouldn't kill anybody if I did hit them, and the thing is smaller - but it is even quieter, and I ride it faster than I drive in parking lots. I also ride it on roads that are just PACKED with pedestrians (I ride across a UC college campus regularty). Yes, I sometimes surprise people with my EV and with my bicycle, but I have never even come close to running anybody over. I've surprised people by silently walking near them as well. I have had one woman walk into my car while I was stopped. We really should consider legislating stupidity before legislating vehicle silence.

 

Somewhere in this thread I read about the concerns that blind people might have since they rely on their hearing to avoid traffic. The suggestion was made to have stealth vehicles emit sound.... What I'm going to suggest is not sarcasm, just my thoughts. Let me also say that I lost vision in my left eye two years ago and realize that I may be on borrowed time with the other. Here it is:

Why not come up with some sort of cool appearing, small radar unit that would give an audible feedback to the wearer. Like sonar pings. Solar powered, back up battery. Hybrid Sonar Shades!

 

Last Halloween I was quite scared driving silently amongst all the scary little creatures in an unfamiliar neighborhood! It's on rare occasions like that when I wish I could play a "normal car engine sound" from a speaker in the engine compartment.

Although the car sound from the Jetsons (as was proprosed by another user in this thread) would be superb too!

For 99 and 44/100ths percent of the time, silence is simply golden.

- Bill

 

Ah. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you've never been in a FCV? They aren't quiet my friend. The electric drive train is, but not the fuel cell stack (and associated pumps). Those things make a whirring, whistling racket, especially when cold. I'm sure they'll get better in the 25 years it'll take to bring them to market.

The only really quiet cars are battery cars... and the ones in the Flintstones.

 

When I was 8 I was hit by a neighbor kid riding his bicycle on the sidewalk (!) past my house. Broke my clavicle and put me in a full-chest cast for months during a hot summer. Much more stealthy and dangerous than a Prius on the street.

 

Pimp my Prius. Let's install hydraulics that make your Prius bounce up and down to the beat.

 

After backing down my parents' driveway a few times while my mother was in the front yard watering, she freaked so bad I had to install a back up beeper just to shut her up. She swore I'd run over a child because my car was so quiet.

I disabled the regular beep and put a back up beeper in the left rear taillight. It's not real loud but you *can* hear it from outside.

And you know what? I've watched people in parking lots while I'm in reverse waiting to back up...and they just ignore it. They just keep walking right into my right of way.

I've also cruised the mall parking lots and watched people as I approach. They don't notice me either. They don't hear the crunch of the wheels or the quiet whine of the electric motor. They also don't hear my stereo even if I crank it up and all of the windows are down.

Maybe if I installed a water gun with a 360 degree radius that had a camera and remote trigger for aiming I could just spray them to get their attention?

Anyone hear of the Darwin Awards?

 

Oh, FCV's are quiet compared to any ICE, certainly. Just not compared to battery cars. Batteries tend to not make much noise.

My EV1 was somewhat "loud" (by EV standards) because of gear whine under acceleration. The Rav4 is all but completely silent unless you have the heat-pump on for climate control.

But I digress...

I agree with the other posters here - It doesn't matter if I'm driving my ICE, my EV or my bicycle. Nobody gives a damn that I'm about to run them over!

 

I've had my new 2005 Super White Prius for just a couple of weeks, so I was perusing the owner's manual when all this hubbub about the noice was released. Toyota did put a warning near the beginning of the manual to remind drivers that the car can be nearly silent.

I love the silence. I've been turning off my radio a lot recently just to enjoy the silence of the ride.

I do worry about pedestrians, especially in parking lots. One more reason to always drive with the headlights on. At least that helps at night and in parking garages.

 

:lol: I like that idea, the Jetson's sound that the "cars" made when they passed by. That's hilarious :lol:

 

The article in question has made it to Fark, resulting in some of the funniest comments I've read in a while. The following amused me greatly, especially the last one...

Safe for work.. So far...
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1899388

-Ken

 

A 360 Degree water gun.. i like that idea...

 

Run the swabs over. If they're too stupid to look before they leap it's their own damn fault. This is such a non-issue. If anything, the country benefits from this.

 

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