Bill Will Study How to Make Hybrids Safe for the Blind

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) have introduced a bill that will require the Department of Transportation to conduct a study about how to protect the blind from silent vehicles — like hybrids are when running on electricity, before the engine kicks in.

As hybrid and electric cars become more prevalent, there will be more cars on the road with electric drivetrains that make no sound at certain times, like when coming to a stop at a light or while sitting idle. This can be very dangerous for the blind, who rely on engine noise to judge the distance, speed and whereabouts of cars as they navigate roads and crosswalks.

The co-authors of the bill point out that silent cars like hybrids — and presumably future fully electric-powered cars — can also be a danger to people with perfectly good eyesight, such as bicyclists and small children.

It’s also fair to point out that safety advocates have been talking about this issue for a while. The National Federation for the Blind applauded the bill, known as the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will be tasked with funding and conducting the study.

Comments

Ummm....why can't we just make hybrid drivers more careful and watch where they are going? The blind person cannot help it. But the driver can watch what the hell they are doing.

Some gas cars are really quite too, and those frequently sneak up on me. Actually some Lexus' are quieter in parking lots than most hybrid or electric cars I've heard.

Nic,

But it is not always the driver's fault.
Try to stop a vehicle from like 25 to 0 in let's say 10 feet. See if you can do it?
That is one of the case scenario when pedestrians that jumps in front of you while you are cruising downtown. They jumped out between parked cars into your way.

Really? Lets work on making dollar bills that are differentiated for the blind first. Here is a fix, install a louder radio system >sarcasm<.

This is fine as long as a maximum dB is agreed upon so that the end result isn't louder traffic everywhere.

It would also be nice if the sound wasn't annoying.

How about playing cards in the spokes? I swear, at just a creep, my car is nearly silent ... it's not just the hybrids. The only noise my car makes is the crunch of the tires on whatever is littering the pavement.

Free catless exhaust upgrade for all hybrids.

We really need to tap the tuners for this problem.

Just a few facts and data:

1) No Prius has been involved in a fatal pedestrian accident with blind person between 2002-2006
2) Prius has statistically the same fatal pedestrian accident rate as ordinary cars
3) An average of 5 blind pedestrian deaths each year out of 4,700

If you'll check the www.regulations.gov web site and search for "NHTSA-2008-0108-0020" you'll get the counter facts and data.

Sadly, this focus on noise makers means we won't be adopting effective pedestrian safety systems that do work:

1) Europe is rating cars on pedestrian safety such as hoods and bumpers that minimize injury and deaths ... for all 4,700 pedestrian fatalities
2) SAAB has a pedestrian radar detector to automaticly avoid an accident
3) BMW has an infrared pedestrian detector
4) Denso has a lane following and pedestrian detector video system

We need effective pedestrian accident avoidance systems, not something that is defeated by the nearby Harley or pedestrian iPod or cell phone.

Bob Wilson

Maybe there should be an artificial sound placed in these hybrids so the blind can here the cars.

Most drivers will automatically follow the standard procedure of swapping contact details at the scene. Even so, it is a good idea to back up this information so make your own note of the license plate of the other driver’s car, ask him for a business card (instead of just writing down what he tells you) and if possible take pictures of the scene and the other driver’s car and licence plate on your mobile phone.