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

Tue Sep 14 20:06:57 UTC 2010

Many thanks!

Debbie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'" 
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 8:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] FW: [List] UN Mulls Noisier Hybrid, Electric Cars 
as Safety Measure

> 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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>>
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