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

[Mary Ellen]

I don't know where it comes from. A colleague here sent it to me. I'll write
and ask him for the source.



-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Deborah Kent Stein
Sent: September 13, 2010 6:48 PM
To: Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] FW: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid,Electric Cars as
Safety Measure




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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