[Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

Fri Dec 31 14:11:33 UTC 2010

My comments are not written as disparaging this legislation, but as a guide
dog handler who's out on the streets often, and as a car enthusiast, and as
a p3erson who is a realistic thinker, I just have these thoughts.  I am sure
that others have thought about these things, and they are contained
somewhere within the legislation, but voicing these thoughts on a list
created for these purposes is,, I think, a great thing.  You can't just
follow like sheep or hope that things will fall into place, because very
often that doesn't happen  This is why we are in a lot of situations today.

Thanks, Ken, Bob W and others who are not afraid to say what's on their
minds and from this we gain both respect for the individual and knowledge we
can use in our dai8ly lives.

Happy New Year and a safe one to all.

-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ken Stewart
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 10:17 PM
To: Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

I have been mulling over the notion of a different sound for forward versus
reverse gears, and now have concluded that strategy would not be advisable. 
How would a blind pedestrian passing the end of a driveway be assured that
the parked car in that driveway was not headed outward when he heard the
sound associated with forward gears, or vice versa?
--- On Sat, 12/11/10, michael townsend <mrtownsend at optonline.net> wrote:

From: michael townsend <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'"
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010, 4:15 PM

And, who's to tell whether the cars are in drive or reverse, then?  You'd
have to have a different sounder for each, and then agree upon the sounder,
paying particular attention to vehicle manufacturer and agreed upon
procedures.  

It's not a  safe world out there, folks, and if we want to be included  the
real world, not everything can be made blind proof.  

-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ken Stewart
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2010 3:32 PM
To: Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

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-came
> ras-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
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