[Quietcars] Comment on proposals by Kerry and Spector.

[michael townsend]

Folks, I have a comment or two on what senators Kerry and Spector have
proposed as per the legislation regarding the quiet car. 

While I applaud the efforts of the senators from Massachusetts ad
Pennsylvania to coauthor legislation to begin research or studies on how the
quiet car effects blind and otherwise disabled persons and nondisabled
persons, and the cosponsoring of legislation between the NFB ad the ACB to
find out solutions that make quiet car operation a positive thing rather
than a negative influence on the blind community, in particular, I would
hasten to point out, AGAIN, that we are responsible as pedestrians to hold
up our end of the bargain to ensure that we don't create situations that may
cause us to be harmed by this technology.  

I have pointed out that several dog guide schools have either leased or
purchased a hybrid vehicle and are training students and dogs as part of
their training toolboxes to interact with the hybrid vehicles.  This effort
has been in place, for the most part, since 12007, in January of that year.


If your school does not have such a program, ask about it or, if you are not
a dog guide handler, ensure that your mobility specialist assist you in
working with a hybrid so that you can familiarize yourself with the
operation and logistics of the vehicle so that you will be able to make
better judgments when an evaluation of the hybrid legislation is voted upon
or that discussions ensue concerning these vehicles on list.  

If neither your efforts with your dog guide institute nor your mobility
specialist pan out to secure hybrid car awareness training, reach out to
friends and neighbors to see if they have a hybrid vehicle with which you
can become familiar, and avail yourself of the opportunity to ride in it and
to interact with it as a dog or cane user as well.  

In finding a solution to the quiet car issue that will allow the cars and
trucks to make noise so that we pedestrians can hear where they are, we have
found, thus far, that a team at Stanford University has come up with a plan,
that will allow some noise emitting devices to be affixed to cars so that
pedestrians can hear where they are. Whether two or four speakers are used
has yet to be determined that will emit noise that will allow a pedestrian
on foot or using other means of conveyances to determine where the car is
and if it's approaching them, and if the pedestrian is good at determining
this, how fast its coming at them and when it moves away from them.  

Both the developers of Lotus, and a German manufacturer have come up with a
noise emitting system, which broadcasts different automobile exhaust sounds
through speakers that are strategically placed on the vehicles, that will
allert a passerby or a pedestrian who needs to know where a car is at a
street crossing, for example, and then, that person can tell if the car is
coming towards them, passing them by or standing still at a particular
point.  

However, I believe that I have recalled that these latter systems are driver
programmable and can be switched off, which will ultimately defeat the
purpose of a device  that should allert those who need to know about where
such a vehicle is, and therefore, not be useful in determining vehicle
proximity to a pedestrian.  

It is also important to note that hybrid vehicles usually are equipped with
lower rolling resistant tires, thus, even the tires make less noise as they
move about on the streets and parking lots.  

Several questions have yet to be answered, to my satisfaction, anyway, as to
whom should be the responsible party that will bear the cost of research and
development of such allert sounds, and which sounds will be chosen as the
most effect to combat the dangers of the hybrid vehicle on pedestrians.  And
too, will this system be affixed to only new cars sold in this country or
retrofitted to those automobiles older than the year in which the mandate
applies?  

If anyone knows the answers to any of the questions I have posed or has
thoughts on what I've said, I'd be interested to hear from you as a
discussion, as it seems that less and less traffic has been evident on this
list for quite some time.  

Mike Townsend and Seeing Eye dog Brent
Dunellen, New Jersey  08812
emails:  mrtownsend at optonline.net; 
michael.townsend54 at gmail.com
Home Phone:  732  200-5643
Cellular:  732  718-9480