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Home Front: Culture Wars
U.S. proposes minimum sounds for 'quiet cars'
2013-01-08
[DETROITNEWS] The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing new rules to require minimum sound levels from electric vehicles, hybrids and other quiet cars to warn pedestrians.

NHTSA's proposal -- required by Congress in 2010 -- sets minimum sound levels for hybrid and electric vehicles to help make all pedestrians, especially visually impaired people, aware of approaching vehicles.

Electric and hybrid vehicles do not rely on traditional engines and at low speeds can be very difficult to hear.

NHTSA plans to phase in the new rules starting in the 2016 model year over three years. It expects the proposal will cost the auto industry about $23 million during the first year.

NHTSA estimates the cost of adding a speaker system to comply with the requirements to be around $35 per vehicle.

The new rules would also apply to electric motorcycles and heavy-duty vehicles.

NHTSA estimates the odds of a hybrid vehicle being involved in a pedestrian crash is 19 percent higher compared with traditional gas- or diesel-powered vehicles. For a bicycle crash, it's 38 percent higher.
Posted by:Fred

#24  Wire wheels. With playing cards (or baseball cards) clothespinned to the fenders.
Posted by: Glenmore   2013-01-08 19:37  

#23  Golf clap, Brer Rabbit. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara   2013-01-08 19:13  

#22  Out of the ballpark, BreRabbit.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2013-01-08 18:45  

#21   So now they want a whine for their cheesy cars?

We have a winner!
Posted by: SteveS   2013-01-08 18:42  

#20  So now they want a whine for their cheesy cars?
Posted by: BrerRabbit   2013-01-08 18:40  

#19  Maybe they could have a guy walk ahead of the car, ringing a bell...
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226   2013-01-08 16:07  

#18  Whaddabout the noise pollution? Now wwe'll have upper and LOWER limits?

How about the increase in carbon footprint and corresponding reduction in mpg? The energy to make the noise ultimately comes out of the gas tank.
Posted by: Bobby   2013-01-08 12:56  

#17  There are some things you cannot say on the Burg. :-)
Posted by: KBK   2013-01-08 12:36  

#16  Forget rngtns, there's a real market here. Prius: flivver. Leaf: slipping fan belt.
Posted by: KBK   2013-01-08 12:35  

#15  I imagine the sound the cars made in the Jetsons cartoon.

bebebebebebebebebebebebe
Posted by: Hellfish   2013-01-08 12:14  

#14  
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2013-01-08 11:55  

#13  When gas gets up to around $4.00 per gallon, my entire fleet gets very, very quiet.
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-01-08 10:53  

#12  

If the proposal for minimum sounds passes into law, these guys have a chance of "customizing your sound".
Posted by: Au Auric   2013-01-08 10:05  

#11  Cowbells! It's even eco-friendly!
Posted by: CrazyFool   2013-01-08 07:39  

#10  Or replace the hood ornament with a Van de Graaf generator to give nearby pedestrians and bicyclists powerful electric shocks.
Posted by: SteveS   2013-01-08 07:30  

#9  My Smart Car is so quiet I often sneak up on people.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2013-01-08 07:24  

#8  Either a sound like Fred McMurrays flubber powered Model T or a Ferrari 365GBT4/A
Posted by: Shipman   2013-01-08 05:17  

#7  You could generally hear a... clunker coming.
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-01-08 04:22  

#6  I have the solution...
Posted by: tu3031   2013-01-08 02:06  

#5  Now while I reeeeally don't like the idea of data-recording devices being required by the Feds, the idea of a noisemaker on a Toyota Prius or Nissan Leaf electric drive makes sense. There are a LOT of these things on the streets of Seattle where I walk to & from work daily, and I've learned to make a special effort to look for them, especially when walking from the office during the fall & winter.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)   2013-01-08 02:00  

#4  Don't fergit the Black Boxes = Cameras + Voice Recorders, etc. soon-to-be-mandatory devices.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-01-08 01:33  

#3  Not a bad idea. I have seen several new hybrid, 4 cylinder and electric cars that have been so quiet, if I wasn't watching I wouldn't have known they were there. After which I have always wondered why they didn't have those things make more noise.

On a related topic, good police and military vehicle to sneak up on a target building.
Posted by: DarthVader   2013-01-08 01:10  

#2  To warn pedestrians which means Prius going below 15 mph or so. Seems reasonable and I'm surprised the Japanese didn't add that themselves.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2013-01-08 00:48  

#1  I wonder if this will be like the fleet mileage standards - some vehicles can be nearly silent just as long as enough others are really, really loud.
Posted by: SteveS   2013-01-08 00:30  

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