[Quietcars] Nissan adds sounds to a quiet car

[michael townsend]

	Nissan leads the way with sound of silence.  This is one
manufacturer's way to get the ball rolling.  Their solution has a sound
foundation, and while drivers can turn the system off, it's a start that is
at least logical.  Given that Japan has no ADA as we know it in the states,
this is forward thinking and a showing of great concern on the Nissan Motor
corporation's part.

 Mike T

 

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Car manufacturer adds noises to quiet electric vehicle to alert pedestrians
to its presence. by Peter Whoriskey.

It was quiet. Maybe too quiet. With advocates for pedestrians and the blind
warning that hybrid and electric cars could catch strollers unaware, the
designers of the Nissan Leaf have added sound effects to the otherwise
nearly silent vehicle. After exploring a hundred sounds that ranged from
chimes to motorlike to futuristic, the company settled on a soft whine that
fluctuates in intensity with the car's speed. When backing up, the car makes
a clanging sound. Nissan says it worked with advocates for the blind, a
Hollywood sound-design company and acoustic psychologists in creating its
system of audible alerts. While silence is golden, it does present practical
challenges," a Nissan statement said. The Leaf is scheduled to go on sale in
part of the United States in December. Nissan added the artificial noises as
lawmakers and regulato
> rs study whether auto manufacturers should be required to install 
> warning sounds in their vehicles to alert pedestrians. With more than 
> 1.6 million hybrid vehicles on the road, and the number of electric 
> cars expected to rise with the introduction of more vehicles like the 
> Leaf, a number of safety advocates have warned of the dangers to 
> pedestrians. According to a study by the National Highway Traffic 
> Safety Administration last year, hybrid vehicles are twice as likely 
> as conventional cars to be involved in a pedestrian crash in some 
> low-speed situations. Others have argued that adding sounds to cars 
> works against decades of effort by automakers to make cars that run 
> quietly. Some electric car companies complained that silence is one of 
> the main virtues of the battery-run cars. Nissan's sound system is the 
> first created by a major manufacturer. The company says it is 
> controlled by a computer and synthesizer in the dash panel. The sounds 
> are delivered through a speaker in the engine compartment. A switch 
> inside the vehicle can turn off the sounds temporarily, but the system 
> automatically resets to "on" at the next ignition cycle. At speeds 
> greater than 20 mph, any car, electric or not, makes significant noise 
> because of the tires slapping on the pavement, engineers say. The 
> noises for the Nissan operate only at the lower speeds.