[Quietcars] Japan rethinks position on sale of hybrids.

[michael townsend]

As sent by a friend on another list:

Japan rethinks silent hybrid cars

BBC World News (UK), July 3, 2009

Japan is considering the introduction of noise-making devices for
near-silent hybrid cars following safety fears from vision-impaired
pedestrians.

"Vision-impaired people feel that hybrid vehicles are dangerous", a
transport ministry official told AFP.

The top-selling hybrid vehicles run almost without any sound when they
change from fuel to battery mode.

The ministry of transport has brought together a panel that will draw up a
report by the end of the year. The panel is considering forcing
manufacturers of hybrid cars to introduce a sound-making function that
alerts passersby to the presence of a vehicle.

"Blind people depend on sounds when they walk, but there are no engine
sounds from hybrid vehicles when running at low speed," the transport
ministry official said.

The world's most popular hybrid, the Prius, was launched by Toyota in 1997.

Paul Nolasco, a spokesman for Toyota Motor in Tokyo, told the BBC it had no
immediate plans to add noise-making devices to the hybrid vehicles.

"But if it becomes a social concern, it is something we will have to
address", Mr Nolasco added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/813 


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