This is about the complaint about the quiet Prii, adding sound enhancements. Tell us what you think:Amplifying Safety in Hybrid Cars : NPR
Seen this before and they can shove it. I believe the whole thing is a non issue. 2 days ago I drove past a blind man with a dog, the man turned and faced directly toward me as I went past, that is his face(had dark glasses on) followed my movement as if he could hear my car. Until flying cars are invented which are also silent, cars will have tyres and tyres make noise as they roll on the road. I also believe in regard to low speed incidents, the driver is responsible for keeping a look out for hazards. I rue the day that drivers rely on pedestrians not to walk out in front of their vehicles in inner city intersections and simply drive over them when they do. This is why the Prius has a buzzer inside the car for reversing rather than outside, it is the driver who must look out for pedestrians not so much the other way around. Trucks have the beeper outside because there are places close to the back of the vehicle the driver can not see, but a Prius has no such place an adult, or even a child old enough to walk without holding an adult's hand could hide. Toyota have shown it can be done so lets legislate that all cars and trucks manufactured from 2010 be as quiet as a Prius and make our cities much quieter. Make it so we can not only hear the sound of tyres on pavement but we can also hear the birds and wind in the trees. The blind will find, with less background noise they are far more easily able to negotiate the city streets.
