[Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

Sat Dec 11 20:32:19 UTC 2010

I agree, David.  I was hit by a silent car backing out of a parking lot space.  I yelled and it stopped with its right rear wheel resting on my foot,sending me to the hospital emergency room.
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has retrofitted its entire fleet of hybrids as you describe.. to emit a repeating sound whenever the gear shift is put into reverse.  I have asked it to do the same with the forward gears too!

--- On Fri, 12/10/10, David Evans <drevans at bellsouth.net> wrote:

From: David Evans <drevans at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
To: "Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety" <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Date: Friday, December 10, 2010, 11:15 AM

Dear All,

I do believe that cameras are a good idea, but I think that an audible warning sound should also be mandatory as well and is a less costly and easier fix that can be applied to all vehicles even now.  It only requires and electronic beeper, some wire and a contact switch that makes contact when ever the shift lever is placed in reverse.  It could even just be placed in the same electrical circuit with the back-up lights.
In the last 2 years, I personally have had 3 incidents where "quiet cars" have nearly backed over me and one did strike me to the point that I had to drop my white cane and jump upon the rear of the car to keep from being run down.  My cane was sticking out in front of the car by the time the driver stopped the car from my beating on the back window.

The cameras will warn the driver, if they are watching and paying attention, but an audible warning beeper, will take care of the other side of the coin and warn people like me that a car is moving.
I think that the problem will not be solved as best as it can be until we address both sides of the coin.
There will, I am afraid, still be accidents as drivers will still be careless, as well as pedestrians will be careless or distracted or unable to react in time.
I also think that along with an audible beeper sound device that the rear lights should also "flash" on and off with the beeper to warn those who are deaf or hard of hearing and also warn approaching other drivers that the vehicle is backing up.
If we do all of this, I believe that we will have done all we can reasonablely do to fix the situation until cars become more autonomist and take over more of the driving functions and have "self awareness" of the environment around them.
I know as a engineer and futurist that this will happen in the not too distant future.
Then things will be safer for all of us.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
----- Original Message ----- From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'" <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:01 AM
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

> Once again another excellent post; not necessarily aimed at our audience,
> but a more universal one, and we could all benefit greatly.  Thanks, Bob.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Robert Wilson
> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 5:27 AM
> To: quietcars at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
> 
> 
> A week before the June 23, 2008 hearing, I first learned about the back-over
> problem. Today, I came across the welcome result:
> http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/li-boy-s-death-may-mean-cameras-in
> -all-cars-1.2527253
> * * * quoting from the article * * *
> Greg Gulbransen thought at first that maybe he'd backed over the newspaper.
> The pediatrician had gone out at night to flip his BMW SUV around so that he
> wouldn't have to back out of his driveway in the morning when kids were
> headed to school. As he continued in reverse, his headlights lit up a scene
> that would change his life forever.
> Gulbransen's son Cameron, 2, lay sprawled in the driveway. He had on blue
> pajamas, was holding a blanket and was bleeding heavily from his head.. . .
> "That's when life ended pretty much as I knew it," Gulbransen said
> Wednesday. "Complete and utter devastation. I still can't believe it
> happened."
> Now, eight years after the October night in Woodbury when Gulbransen
> accidentally killed his son, the federal government is taking comment on a
> key provision of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
> that's meant to prevent such tragedies.
> After the 60-day comment period, announced Friday by the National Highway
> Traffic Safety Administration, automakers will be required to eliminate
> blind zones behind vehicles that can contribute to deaths like Cameron's. In
> practice, that means automakers will have to outfit new vehicles with
> monitors that display to those driving in reverse a live image of the blind
> zone. Such rearview cameras are already found in some luxury models.. . .Ten
> percent of new vehicles must meet the requirement by September 2012 and 100
> percent by September 2014. The federal government estimates that the move
> will cost the auto industry as much as $2.7 billion and individual car
> purchasers an extra $159 to $203 per vehicle.
> Federal safety regulators estimate that in an average year, 292 people are
> killed and 18,000 injuries occur due to back-over crashes. Some 228 of those
> fatalities involve common passenger vehicles, regulators estimate, with 44
> percent of those deaths being children under 5 and 33 percent adults over
> 70.
> * * * end quote * * *
> This safety legislation received near universal support because it applies
> an effective solution to a well documented and too often fatal problem. It
> is timely because rear view mirrors are losing their effectiveness as
> tougher roll-over safety rules require stronger roofs that further obscure
> visibility. SUVs and pickup trucks are a particular hazard because their
> higher than normal body style and lengths lead to especially poor
> visibility. But no car or vehicle is immune.
> Universal backup cameras make a lot of sense which due to economies of scale
> will become much more affordable. This is the application of new, video
> technology to replace the century old, and barely adequate mirrors.
> Bob Wilson
> _______________________________________________
> Quietcars mailing list
> Quietcars at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/quietcars_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Quietcars:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/quietcars_nfbnet.org/mrtownsend%40opto
> nline.net
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Quietcars mailing list
> Quietcars at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/quietcars_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Quietcars:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/quietcars_nfbnet.org/drevans%40bellsouth.net 

_______________________________________________
Quietcars mailing list
Quietcars at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/quietcars_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Quietcars:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/quietcars_nfbnet.org/cclvi%40yahoo.com