[Nfbofnc] Blind people and our children want to be able to travel safely.

[Tim Jones]

Blog
National Association of Blind Merchants applauds National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration01/08/13 at 05:06 PM | Published Under Current
Events<http://www.blindmerchants.org/blog/nabm/categories/current-events>
 by Nicky Gacos



2,300 blind entrepreneurs make up Randolph-Sheppard. Hundreds of blind
entrepreneurs which are not licensed under Randolph-Sheppard are members of
NABM or are inspired by our work. These blind merchants and their families
travel to and from their businesses,school , the store and church all the
time. Blind people and our children want to be able to travel safely. More
than ten years ago, our members noticed that it was difficult to safely
cross streets when not able to hear hybrid vehicles. We supported the
National Federation of the Blind in its effort to find a solution to the
challenges to our safety posed by silent cars. I can’t believe it has been
two years since we were able to get our Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act
passed by the United States Congress. As we worked diligently for passage
of this important legislation, we were contacted by other groups of
citizens concerned about the safety risk posed by silent cars. Sighted
children playing in driveways could not hear the hybrid backing out of the
garage. Other such examples were brought to our attention.

I was happy to read this morning that the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act
is now being phased in. I’m proud of blind entrepreneurs for joining the
fight for safety. There have been some naysayers over the years. Some have
said, “We want cars to be quieter, not noisier.” But, the fact is that many
automakers quickly came to realize that silent cars could be dangerous
cars. They realized this after the National Federation of the Blind and the
National Association of Blind Merchants brought it to their attention.
Frankly, even before the law was passed, automakers in the United States
and in Europe began testing to develop an appropriate sound to be added to
hybrid or electric cars. Below you will find an article from The Detroit
News. It is exciting to know that the work we began years ago will soon
bring safer streets for all Americans:

*David Shepardson, The Detroit News* - "The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration is proposing new rules to require minimum sound levels from
electric vehicles, hybrids and other quiet cars to warn pedestrians.

NHTSA's proposal - required by Congress in 2010 - sets minimum sound levels
for hybrid and electric vehicles to help make all pedestrians,
especially visually
impaired people<http://www.blindmerchants.org/blogs/nabm/2013/1/8/national-association-of-blind-merchants-applauds-national-highway-traffic-safety-administration#>,
aware of approaching vehicles.

Electric and hybrid vehicles do not rely on traditional engines and at low
speeds can be very difficult to hear.

NHTSA plans to phase in the new rules starting in the 2016 model year over
three years. It expects the proposal will cost the auto industry about $23
million during the first year.

NHTSA estimates the cost of adding a speaker system to comply with the
requirements to be around $35 per vehicle.

The new rules would also
apply<http://www.blindmerchants.org/blogs/nabm/2013/1/8/national-association-of-blind-merchants-applauds-national-highway-traffic-safety-administration#>
to
electric motorcycles and heavy-duty vehicles - despite the opposition of
BMW to the motorcycle requirement.

But the rules would not apply to quiet traditional internal combustion
engines or those equipped with "stop-start" fuel-saving technology that
shuts off the motor at intersections. NHTSA said it may in the future opt
to require sounds in those vehicles.

NHTSA estimates the odds of a hybrid
vehicle<http://www.blindmerchants.org/blogs/nabm/2013/1/8/national-association-of-blind-merchants-applauds-national-highway-traffic-safety-administration#>
being
involved in a pedestrian crash is 19 percent higher compared with
traditional gas- or diesel-powered vehicles. For a bicycle crash, it's 38
percent higher.

"Our proposal would allow manufacturers the flexibility to design different
sounds for different makes and models while still providing an opportunity
for pedestrians, bicyclists and the visually impaired to detect and
recognize a vehicle and make a decision about whether it is safe to cross
the street," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

The sounds would need to be detectable under a wide range of street noises
and other ambient background sounds when the vehicle is traveling less
than 18 mph.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers - the trade group representing
Detroit's Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and
others - praised the flexibility in the rule, but is still reviewing it.

"We understand that the proposal allows for some flexibilities in the
specifics of the simulated sound autos will produce, while avoiding opening
a Pandora's box of sounds. That's how it is in the real world: Some cars
sound differently than others; it can even differ from one brand to the
next," spokesman Wade Newton said. "The alliance will continue working with
National Federation of the Blind, and others, to work toward this being the
model for an international safety standard. In the coming weeks we'll
review the proposal's technical elements to help ensure that the safety
standard meets the needs of the blind, and takes into appropriate
consideration concerns about overall levels of ambient noise."

Automakers told NHTSA not to worry about setting the specific sounds.

Automakers said "they did not believe it was necessary to try to prevent
annoying sounds because manufacturers would not use annoying sounds as
alert sounds because they do not want to annoy their customers," NHTSA said.

NHTSA is considering allowing hybrid and electric vehicles to meet the
minimum sound requirements for the backing scenario with a beeping sound
similar to the sound made by a backing truck, but wants to know "whether
such a sound would be annoying to the public."

NHTSA said at 18 mph and above, vehicles make sufficient noise to allow
pedestrians and bicyclists to detect them without added sound.

NHTSA is allowing automakers to have a significant range of choices about
the sounds it chooses for its vehicles, but the characteristics of the
sounds must meet certain minimum requirements.

NHTSA says each vehicle of the same make and model would need to emit the
same sound or set of sounds.

NHTSA estimates the proposal will lead to 2,800 fewer pedestrian and
cyclist injuries over the life of each model year, compared to vehicles
without sound.

NHTSA has been studying the issue since 2007.

In September 2009, NHTSA's study of 600,000 crashes found hybrid vehicles
are two times more likely than traditional gas-powered vehicles to be in a
pedestrian crash when the vehicle is backing out, slowing or stopping,
starting in traffic, and entering or leaving a parking spot.

NHTSA is working with regulators in Japan and the European Union to set a
single standard for automakers worldwide for minimum sound levels through a
United Nations working group.

In developing the rules, NHTSA staff traveled to the national headquarters
of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, where NHTSA staff
were blindfolded and trained to use a white cane outside on city streets
with blind and visually impaired individuals as guides.

NHTSA officials attempted to navigate city streets and cross at
non-signaled intersections.”n

-- 
Tim Jones
North Carolina Food Service
Fort Bragg, NC
Office:  910-396-2297
Cell:  704-491-1486