[Quietcars] Clarification: operator enabled or on all the time

[David Evans]

Dear Robert and All,

AS my name has come up in this message, I would like to respond.
I believe that the warning sound needs to be on any time the key is on and 
the vehicle is ready to move or is moving.
If we allow the operator to have control of this feature, there will always 
be someone who doesn't like and/or chooses to turn it off or just forgets to 
use it.
We know that there are, and I think that there always will be, those who 
don't care or don't want to follow the rules and if given the ability, will 
not use or disable the warning sound, the same way that hot rodders remove 
pollution controls, mufflers and illegally modify their cars to suit 
themselves.
Driving is a privilege and not a Right.  We all have a Right to live and not 
to have our lives cut short or impacted by someone else's negligence.
We can not rely on the good intentions of all drivers to remember to turn 
the warning sound on or off.  What if the driver is not paying close enough 
attention or just doesn't notice us on the street corner?  What if the 
driver is surprised by us in some situation we can not foresee?
What if the driver just doesn't care or hates to have to use it for some 
reason as it effects his image as a driver or a Man.
There are more reasons that it should be on and out of the control of the 
driver than those for the driver to be able to decide if, where and when it 
should be on or used.
AS a car enthusiast, builder and car lover and engineer and a blind 
pedestrian and former driver/racer; this is the way I see it.
No offense to Robert or anyone else, but this is the way I think it has to 
be and I do think that the legislation should be made to bring this about.

Thank you Robert for your post.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
Former Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Wilson" <bwilson4web at hotmail.com>
To: <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 1:23 AM
Subject: [Quietcars] Clarification: operator enabled or on all the time


>
> Hi,
>
> Recently, there has been some buzz in the hybrid community that the goal 
> is to:
>
> ". . . There is no sound unless the driver wishes to make sound. Just like 
> the
> horn won't blow until you hit the middle of the steering wheel - the
> pedestrian alert will not sound unless you pull the "flash to pass"
> stalk." - posting in PriusChat, May 25, 9:35 PM.
>
> However, I remember David Evans posting to this list, "It also has to be 
> something that is on any time the key is on and the vehicle is ready to 
> move." 11/1/2007 4:48 PM. Also the language of HR 734 and S 841 are 
> explicit that "require that vehicles emit a minimum level of sound" with 
> no mention of an operator control. My understanding is the noise generator 
> would NOT have an operator control.
>
> Am I correct, the noise generator would not have an operator control like 
> a "flash to pass" option on the light control stick?
>
> BACKGROUND: most cars have a light control stalk similar to the turn 
> signal indicator. When passing traffic on the highway or other times when 
> we need to attract the attention of other drivers, we can briefly pull the 
> stalk and flash the lights. It is often used when passing trucks on the 
> highway and has replaced a long forgotten practice of 'bleeping' the horn 
> (for those who drove in the 1950s!) This light switch stalk is spring 
> loaded to return to OFF.
>
> Adding a short bleep to this 'flash to pass' would significantly improve 
> the safety of all drivers, both hybrid and non-hybrid by adding an 
> automatic, audio alarm to the visual, light flash. But we do not see this 
> intent in the current legislation nor any of the advocacy postings for 
> putting audio alarms on hybrids. In fact, I remember some pretty skeptical 
> statements, not just David Evans, that the vehicle operator should have no 
> control of the audio alarm. That is why I'm asking the question.
>
> Bob Wilson
>
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