[Nfbf-l] Fw: The State | 08/24/2010 | Prius gets sound option to protect pedestrians
Patricia A. Lipovsky
plipovsky at cfl.rr.com
Wed Aug 25 02:31:06 UTC 2010
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 9:57 PM
Subject: The State | 08/24/2010 | Prius gets sound option to protect
pedestrians
>Prius gets sound option to protect pedestrians
>
> By YURI KAGEYAMA
> AP Business Writer
>
> Toyota's Prius hybrid is becoming a little less quiet with a new
> electronic humming device that is the automaker's answer to complaints
> that pedestrians can't hear the top-selling car approaching.
>
> The 12,600 yen ($148) speaker system that goes under the hood of the
> third-generation Prius sets off a whirring sound designed to be about
> the same noise level as a regular car engine so that it isn't
> annoying, Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday.
>
> It goes on sale Aug. 30 in Japan, and owners pay extra for
> installation charges. Its use is voluntary.
>
> Overseas sales plans are still undecided, but Toyota is studying
> regulations and considering offering it in the U.S. and other markets,
> said spokeswoman Monika Saito.
>
> The gasoline-electric hybrid gets good mileage but is also quiet
> because it runs as an electric car much of the time. That advantage
> has drawn complaints that pedestrians, the blind in particular, are at
> greater risk of being hit by the car, especially at low speeds.
>
> The U.S. government's auto safety agency found in a research report
> last year that hybrids are twice as likely to be involved in
> pedestrian crashes at low speeds compared with cars with conventional
> engines.
>
> Toyota, which also makes the Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models, said
> it plans versions of the device for other hybrid models, plug-ins,
> electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.
>
> Pedestrian deaths compared to overall traffic fatalities are higher in
> Japan than in the U.S. and many other nations because of Japan's
> narrow and crisscrossing crowded streets. Japan is also a rapidly
> aging society, making audible cars critical.
>
> Toyota said the device is based on guidelines addressing the dangers
> of silent cars, including hybrids, issued in January by the Japanese
> government.
>
> Other automakers, including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and
> Nissan Motor Co., are also working on countermeasures to make quiet
> ecological cars safer.
>
> The Prius device's humming is so soft it is barely audible in a noisy
> street but can be a lifesaver in quieter environments. It can be
> turned off with a switch but goes on automatically every time the car
> starts.
>
> The Prius has been the top-selling car in Japan for the past 15 months
> straight, benefiting from incentives designed to boost sales of green
> cars.
>
> Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, has sold nearly 337,000
> third-generation Prius cars in Japan. It has sold more than 2.68
> million hybrids around the world so far, a million of them in Japan.
>
>© 2010 TheState.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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