I only just ordered my Prius, so I have no experience of how much of a safety problem the quietness is in relation to pedestrians. But I think it would be a great idea to install gentle music under the hood so that they will hear you. Has anyone done it, and if so, what reactions have you had ?
The quietness isn't a safety issue, unless you drive with your eyes closed or talk on the cell phone while drinking a soda. Seriously, it isn't much different than with any other car; you have to pay attention. Tom
I just disconnected the middle front speaker from my sound system. Seems to me to be a good tap for an external speaker (if you can get through the firewall) or a subwoofer. OTOH you could buy a cheap portable radio and stick it in front of the radiator.
Hi Pol..., In the parking lots, just roll the front windows down, and turn up the audio to an appropriate listening level. In the rest of the driving situation, pedestrians on cell phones, or with music players are not going to hear any coasting car. So, horn them, even when you are not in a Prius, if they make any movement torward the road.
Most of the discussion seems to be about the responsibility of pedestrians to locate vehicles by sight, rather than sound. Regardless of safety, I find it to be a real problem navigating a crowded parking lot with pedestrians wandering all over the place. Since they don't hear a Prius, they wander down the middle of the lane. It's usually not a horn level problem, but some lesser noise (bicycle bell, trolley bell, backup beeper...) would clear the way. I've seen electronic horns that play a variety of sounds. In addition to the usual horn sounds, they have barnyard animal sounds, bird sounds, that sort of thing. There's a unit that lets you provide your own several second recording. Rather like a cell phone ringtone. I made a CD with an MP3 file of the sound of a Corvette idling. It's kind of fun playing it on the factory CD player, but an external speaker would actually make it useful. Here's a link to a company that sells a variety of horns. For the parking lot, I particularly like the frog sound... http://www.wolo-mfg.com/spec.htm
Why do you need to make additional noise when in a parking lot? Shopping carts seem to do a lot more damage in parking lots than cars. I've never seen a shopping cart with a horn or radio making noise before it hit a car. Keith
Pedestrians wandering all over the lane in front of you won't get out of the way if they don't know that you're there. Add enough noise, and many of them will step to the side. Add too much noise, and they'll get hostile and block your way. So you want a polite "there's a car behind you", not silence, and not "GET OUT OF THE WAY".
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tech_Guy @ Oct 24 2007, 05:45 AM) [snapback]529565[/snapback]</div> It's a serious issue. I once killed a cat that had unwisely laid down just behind a wheel. It was a nice cat. Although the engine noise didn't save it in this case (they are kinda lazy), I expect with the Prius the near field problem is greater because whatever animal or small child might be there will have no warning from the engine noise, nor have time to detect the initial movement. Also, I read that some blind people consider the Prius a hazard. Statements that it isn't a problem merely indicate that the person making the statement hasn't yet had such an accident. In any case, a Prius making a little music seems a lot friendlier than a SUV making lots of engine noise, particularly in a parking cellar, so I don't suppose there is much of a downside.
Anyone got an MP3 of a funnycar running a 6 second 1/4 mile? Play that at volume and I bet they get out the way!!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PoulStaugaard @ Oct 23 2007, 10:43 PM) [snapback]529577[/snapback]</div> You are right! It is a serious issue. My car has been attacked several times by silent moving shopping carts. Keith P.S. Sorry about your cat. I use to have a dog that had a nasty habit of chasing parked cars.......
