[Quietcars] FW: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid, Electric Cars as Safety Measure

[Deborah Kent Stein]

This is a nice article, and one I have not encountered before.  Thanks for 
sending it on.  Where does it come from?

Debbie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Ellen" <gabias at telus.net>
To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'" 
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 7:20 PM
Subject: [Quietcars] FW: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid,Electric Cars as 
Safety Measure


> FYI
> I apologize if this article has already been posted to the list. I'm 
> behind
> on messages and don't know whether it has.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: list-bounces at cfb.ca [mailto:list-bounces at cfb.ca] On Behalf Of Gaston
> Bedard
> Sent: September 10, 2010 2:56 AM
> To: list at cfb.ca
> Subject: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid, Electric Cars as Safety Measure
>
>
>
>
> UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid, Electric Cars as Safety Measure
>
> A U.S. Department of Transportation study found that the rate of accidents
> involving hybrid electric vehicles was twice as high as normal cars in
> certain situations.
>
> By Hui Min Neo
> Agence France-Presse, September 9, 2010
>
> Kenneth Feith, who is from a UN group trying cut vehicle noise for over 30
> years, admitted it was quite a surprise when he got a request for electric
> and hybrid cars to make more noise. "My response was, 'you're crazy'," he
> recounted.
>
> But as he was taken through the issue of cars so silent that they creep up
> unnoticed on the visually impaired, elderly and cyclists, the chairman of
> the UN working group on quiet road transport vehicles
> acknowledged: "Clearly, there is a problem."
>
> To combat this safety issue, Feith and his team began in March 2009 to 
> work
> towards creating a new noise standard for electric and hybrid vehicles,
> which hum almost soundlessly compared to regular petrol or diesel cars.
>
> A U.S. Department of Transportation study found that the rate of accidents
> involving hybrid electric vehicles was twice as high as normal cars in
> certain situations, such as when reversing and entering or leaving a 
> parking
> space.
>
> "Cars have become dangerously quiet," said John Pare Junior, executive
> director for strategic initiatives at the U.S. National Federation of the
> Blind. "This is a big concern for all pedestrians throughout the world,
> particularly blind people, who can't see cars but can hear cars. We rely 
> on
> the sound of the vehicles to travel safely," he added.
>
> The UN group is now trying to establish the volume of sound needed, 
> whether
> a reversing car should emit a different sound, or if a particular sound is
> necessary when the vehicle is stationary even if its engine is on. This 
> does
> not necessary mean creating more noise, said Feith, noting that what is
> required is a distinctive sound signaling the arrival or a presence of a
> vehicle.
>
> "We think we can do that without increasing the noise impact overall," he
> said, noting for example that a ticking sound could be introduced when a
> vehicle is accelerating.
>
> As hybrid vehicles gain traction with the public, a global norm is needed
> urgently, said Feith.
>
> Japanese car manufacturers, including Mitsubishi and Nissan, are working 
> on
> developing systems to make their hybrid cars a little noisier. Toyota is
> already offering such a system to customers.
>
> To avoid a situation in which each brand comes up with their own types of
> sounds to signal different situations, the UN working group, which 
> includes
> major car manufacturing countries -- the United States, European Union and
> Japan, is aiming to come up with a global standard in coming months. It
> expects to complete its work in the next one and a half years.
>
> The finalized standard should include specifications on areas such as 
> sound
> spectrum, sound limits and the detectability of the vehicle over a certain
> distance.
>
>
>
>
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