Lotus makes electric cars noisier

[xcel]

"We hope that legislators introduce minimum noise requirements for vehicles to encourage the adoption of technologies, such as ours, which will ultimately increase pedestrian safety."

UK Telegraph – Aug. 7, 2008

2008 Toyota Prius.

Lotus, builder of the 150 mph Elise. Are they really interested in pedestrian safety or the $$’s? -- Ed.

Eco-friendly electric cars are to be fitted with artificial engine sounds for fear they are too quiet to be heard by pedestrians.

Lotus has developed technology to simulate the noise of a real engine to make the vehicles more audible, to the blind and cyclists in particular.

Fitted under the hood of hybrid and electric vehicles, it is hoped the loudspeakers will compensate for the lack of engine noise emitted by electric motors.

Lotus said its "safe and sound hybrid technology" has been trialled in a Toyota Prius, one of the most popular hybrid cars on the market.

The engine sound is played through a waterproof loudspeaker next to the car's radiator, with the pitch and frequency helping to identify the vehicle's distance and speed.

The front-facing speakers mean that once the car has passed, the sound is no longer heard.

The system will operate all the time in electric-only vehicles, but in hybrids, it only operates when the car is using electric power… [Read More]

[guzmania]

No noise needed. There's too much noise on the road as is. Silence is golden.

Mama told you to look both ways, not listen both ways.

[Takashi]

Originally Posted by guzmania

No noise needed. There's too much noise on the road as is. Silence is golden.

Mama told you to look both ways, not listen both ways.

There was an incident in US where a child got hit by a Prius because he couldn't hear the car coming. It's not the fault of the driver when the car is too quiet.

I don't think artifical engine sounds will solve the stupidity in parents and kids now-a days. You need 7 foot fence between the sidewalk and road and red flashing lights with 100 db sirens when cars are approaching.

[voodoo22]

This is ridiculous. People should be paying more attention to their surroundings and not relying on reactions to auditory stimulus. I guess I'm the one who is crazy for expecting people to use common sense though.

[xcel]

Hi Takashi:

___The boy ran into the street without looking and not "seeing" the Prius the culprit. Hearing had nothing to do with it. Most importantly, he was uninjured. Imagine if that would have been anything else

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[JusBringIt]

Originally Posted by xcel

Hi Takashi:

___The boy ran into the street without looking and not "seeing" the Prius the culprit. Hearing had nothing to do with it. Most importantly, he was uninjured. Imagine if that would have been anything else

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Imagine if it had been ten tons of truck with those wretched front ends


Look both ways, don't be trying to cross streets by yourself if you are blind and cannot see. Dont go ANYWHERE by yourself, that is stupidity.

my baby brother knows not to run out into the street, if a ball goes into the street he starts looking around to see if someone older is there.

[laurieaw]

cars already make too much noise. you can certainly hear the tires, even if you can't hear the engine. good lord people, common sense has totally gone out the window.

[Radio_tec]

Hey, I have an even dumber idea. Why don't we attach a tailpipe to it that generates emissions for people who want to do the car in garage with the engine running thing.

[RichXKU]

Fake engine noises hold no candle to

WATCH THE TRAM CAR PLEASE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8WqU5pqFDo

It wouldn't be the Wildwood boardwalk without it...

[fuzzy]

The blind cannot look both ways, and have as much right to cross the street as anyone else. They must depend on auditory cues.

But some of the anti-quiet-car hype does seem ridiculous. Numerous traditional cars already make less engine noise than tire noise at street speeds, so this problem is not unique to electric and hybrid vehicles. And in the Seattle area, enough unaware teens have been killed by freight trains, in spite of blaring locomotive horns, to demonstrate that no amount of noise within OSHA safety limits is sufficient to prevent all deaths from pedestrian inattention.

I believe the biggest single problem is the lack of consistent legal consequences for driver inattention. A particularly bad example is the habitual traffic offender in Seattle who killed a city council staffer in a marked crosswalk. Though convicted, he received no jail time. His congregation even gave him a new car, when he really needed bus tickets and taxi vouchers. With no meaningful penalty, most drivers just don't put this issue up on their radar screens.

Dean