[Quietcars] FW: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid, Electric Cars as Safety Measure
michael townsend
mrtownsend at optonline.net
Tue Sep 14 13:25:05 UTC 2010
Maryellen and all, did a quick Google and found this:
http://www.industryweek.com/articles/un_mulls_noisier_hybrid_electric_cars_a
s_safety_measure_22720.aspx
-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mary Ellen
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 1:49 AM
To: 'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] FW: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid,Electric Cars as
Safety Measure
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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