[Nfbf-l] Quiet hybrids

Tue Jul 6 22:01:38 UTC 2010

What is also needed, and what seems to be missed here, are noises when the 
hybrid is stopped at a traffic light, as well as when it is moving at slow 
speeds.

Mark Tardif
Welcome to my planet
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Holly" <hbeanie at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 11:52 AM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Quiet hybrids

> Subject: Quiet hybrids
>
> Quiet hybrids: An end to their sounds of silence?
>
> Silence isn't golden: Carmakers add sounds to hybrids, electric cars;
> pedestrian safety eyed
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The age of the silent hybrid may be coming to an end.
>
> Gas-electric hybrids, propelled by electric motors at low speeds, are
> well-known for their quiet ride and great mileage. But their silence
> isn't always golden.
>
> Some researchers and safety groups say that quiet operation -- "hybrid
> creep" -- can pose risks for unsuspecting pedestrians and the blind,
> who use sound cues.
>
> Advocates for the blind have sought the addition of artificial noises
> in hybrids for several years, concerned that the expected sales growth
> of hybrids could lead to more pedestrian fatalities and injuries.
> Hybrids account for about 2 percent of new car sales each year but
> auto companies are expected to boost production in advance of tougher
> fuel efficiency standards this decade.
>
> "This is an example of too much of a good thing," said John Pare,
> executive director for strategic initiatives with the National
> Federation of the Blind. "Cars got quieter, that was good. Suddenly
> they got to be so quiet that it added an element of danger."
>
> The government's auto safety agency said in a research report last
> year that hybrid vehicles are twice as likely to be involved in
> pedestrian crashes at low speeds compared with cars with conventional
> engines. The study by the National Highway Traffic Safety
> Administration examined circumstances in which the vehicles were
> slowing down or coming to a stop, backing up or entering or departing
> a parking space.
>
> More than 4,300 pedestrians were killed in 2008, according to the most
> recent data available. The government has been researching the safety
> risks that hybrids and electrics could pose for pedestrians,
> particularly the blind, along with the elderly and children, for
> vehicles traveling at 20 mph or less. When a car is going faster, the
> friction between the tire and the road's surface makes the vehicle
> louder.
>
> The quiet hybrid phenomenon already has its place in pop culture. In
> an episode of NBC's "The Office," paper salesman Andy Bernard uses his
> stealthy blue Toyota Prius to sneak up on Dwight Schrute and pin his
> bitter rival against a hedge. One concerned co-worker, watching the
> unfolding drama, says "the Prius is silent if he keeps it under 5
> miles per hour."
>
> Congress is heeding the warnings, adding sound performance
> requirements for hybrids and electric cars to an auto safety bill
> being considered after the massive Toyota recalls. Lawmakers could
> consider the changes this summer and car companies most likely would
> have to have the sounds ready to go three years after the release of
> new government rules.
>
> Automakers helped develop the proposal in Congress and are moving
> forward with new artificial sounds that will be emitted from electric
> cars and future hybrid models.
>
> Nissan Motor Corp. has produced distinct sounds for the Leaf, the
> electric car expected to go on sale this year, when the vehicle
> accelerates or moves in reverse. When the Leaf speeds up to 20 mph, it
> automatically will use a soft whirring sound that changes pitch as the
> car accelerates. When the Leaf backs up, an intermittent bell will
> ring to warn those nearby.
>
> The Japanese automaker consulted with acoustic psychologists and
> Hollywood sound designers to find a tone that addresses drivers,
> pedestrians and the community.
>
> "It was kind of like peeling back an onion. The more we worked on it,
> the more issues came up, the more of a balancing act it became," said
> Andy Christensen, a manager with Nissan's North American Technical
> Center near Detroit. Nissan plans to use the sounds on the Infiniti
> M35 hybrid to be released in 2012.
>
> General Motors Co. wanted a more subtle chirp on its Chevrolet Volt,
> so it chose an alert horn that lets the driver warn an unknowing
> bystander.
>
> "We didn't want to blast the horn at them and figuratively smack the
> people in the nose," said Doug Moore, a vehicle performance engineer
> for the Volt project. "We just wanted to tap them on the shoulder and
> say, 'Hey I'm here.'"
>
> Other automakers are hard at work, too.
>
> Toyota Motor Corp., which makes the top-selling Prius hybrid, is
> studying artificial sounds for hybrids when the vehicle is propelled
> by its electric motor at low speeds. Ford Motor Co. is working to
> bring external sounds to future hybrids and electrics, including its
> Focus electric car, expected in 2011, and a next-generation hybrid and
> plug-in hybrid vehicle planned for 2012.
>
> Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of global electrification, said car
> companies should consider standardizing tones from future hybrids and
> electrics to avoid a cacophony of confusion on the streets.
>
> "It can't be like cell phones where we all select our own sound and we
> tune out everybody else's but our own," Gioia said.
>
> Some green car advocates have questioned the need for the extra tones
> and noted that the requirement could add more noise to neighborhoods.
> Paul Scott, vice president of Plug In America, said the sounds could
> help under certain circumstances, but drivers should have the right to
> activate the tones.
>
> "After hearing how innocuous the Nissan Leaf sound is, maybe it'll be
> a minor irritant for us, but I suspect people will tire of it
> eventually and seek ways to disable the noise," Scott said in an
> e-mail from Japan, where he was test-driving the car.
>
> Les Blomberg, who is the founder of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse,
> said reducing noise from the loudest vehicles, such as trucks, buses
> and motorcycles, would increase the ability of pedestrians to detect
> sound. Adding sounds to hybrids, however, would simply enhance noise
> pollution and make it more difficult to hear an individual vehicle in
> traffic.
>
> --"God gives you 86,400 seconds in a day. Take one to say Thank You."
> Walter A. Ward
>
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