I've been saying this for years

[Redwolf]

I direct traffic at my daughter's school once a week, and on three occasions this year alone, I've almost been run over by a hybrid backing out of a parking space. People are settling kids, talking on the cell phone, worrying about what to fix for dinner, and they just don't look as well as they should. The problem with the hybrid is, you can't hear the engine start...or even hear it at all when it's on battery power. I've been wanting to see legislation requiring backup alarms (that "beep beep" you hear when trucks back up) on all hybrids...but it didn't occur to me that they could also pose a danger when cruising, particularly for blind people:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/200 ... ybrid.kare

I'm all for saving energy, but I think something needs to be done to make these cars a little more audible.

Redwolf

[CHasR]

just wait a few years until their good old fashioned mechanical bits have repaired & replaced with used parts

SQUEEEeeeeekkkKKK

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK

wheeeezzzpffft

hrrnnn...hrrrnnn....hrrrnnn

[Jack]

The video won't load for me (I'm on wireless at a coffee shop). What happened?

[djm]

The page would only load in IE for me. It's just a blurb about how the new hybrid cars are too quiet. A kid turned his bike right in front of an oncoming car because he couldn't hear the car and didn't suspect he needed to look. A spokesperson for the blind emphasizes the need by blind people to hear some sort of sound to be able to locate oncoming vehicles.

There is a suggestion at the end of the blurb that a law may be forthcoming to make all hybrids emit some sort of sound to prevent accidents.

Personally, I think that would take all the fun out of driving a hybrid. I mean, why spend all that money on a hybrid and then not be able to enjoy some of the perks, like sneaking up on cyclists, like stealth bombing crosswalks, or like scaring the bejeezus out of blind people. There's some real wet blankets out there on the roads.

djm

[chas]

We looked at the Prius the last two times we were car shopping, but didn't buy them because we couldn't see out of them. (Yes, I realize there are other hybrids.)

[MTGuru]

A couple of baseball cards in the wheel spokes would do the trick. Simple. Vroom, vroom ...

[Denny]

the real reason motorcyclists want louder bikes

we know the drivers are blind but
some of their hearing aids are working

[The Weekenders]

They can't see out the back because of all of the smug.

[Ronbo]

They can't see out the back because of all of the smug.

[hyldemoer]

Redwolf,
Don't you live in California where pedestrians have the right of way the minute they step off the curb? (or so it seemed to me)

My husband has had a Prius for a couple years. He hasn't run over any one yet, nor has he mentioned getting a fright by almost running over someone,
but then he doesn't just pull out. He looks around before he does anything.

Think about it. If it wasn't the obligation of all drivers to watch where they're going there wouldn't be any Deaf people any more.

Those people who almost ran you over were just being irresponsibly self absorbed jerks, silent hybrid owners or not.

Perhaps a no cell phone usage while driving would be a more appropriate law to pass?

Any hoot, if someone almost ran me over I'd create a big noisy scene to try to embarrass the driver into taking precautions in the future assuming I'd be protecting some pedestrian down the road.

[crookedtune]

Sure, be smug. The problem isn't the hybrid. It's the friggin' phone.

[fel bautista]

Sure, be smug. The problem isn't the hybrid. It's the friggin' phone.

AMEN!!! I drive a stick and it is almost impossible to talk, steer and shift at the same time. I say eliminate automatic transmissions- the shift of all evil. But if you really want an automatic, get a automatic manual, i.e. paddle shifters...mmmm- where's Tyler when you need him

[Redwolf]

Redwolf,
Don't you live in California where pedestrians have the right of way the minute they step off the curb? (or so it seemed to me)

My husband has had a Prius for a couple years. He hasn't run over any one yet, nor has he mentioned getting a fright by almost running over someone,
but then he doesn't just pull out. He looks around before he does anything.

Think about it. If it wasn't the obligation of all drivers to watch where they're going there wouldn't be any Deaf people any more.

Those people who almost ran you over were just being irresponsibly self absorbed jerks, silent hybrid owners or not.

Perhaps a no cell phone usage while driving would be a more appropriate law to pass?

Any hoot, if someone almost ran me over I'd create a big noisy scene to try to embarrass the driver into taking precautions in the future assuming I'd be protecting some pedestrian down the road.

Unfortunately, all the right of way in the world won't help if you're flat. Once you're squished, it all becomes moot.

People have a tendency to be self-absorbed and irresponsible, I'm afraid...pedestrians and drivers both. And even the best drivers can have what we fondly call in our family "idiot moments."

Cell phones are only part of the problem. It would be nice to pin all the blame on them (and I'm no fan of people talking on the phone and driving), but they're only one issue of many. Distractions happen, even without the phone. A few years back, a whole family of bicyclists was taken out by a girl fiddling with the volume control on her radio.

The bottom line is when you've got vehicles moving all around you, you rely on all your senses to tell you where they are.

In my case, I'm working in a parking lot, so the whole "right of way" thing doesn't apply anyway. Think of it as directing traffic at a busy airport, only less well-organized and filled with people who are worried about getting Joey to soccer practice, dressing down Mary for her bad grades and negotiating with the pet sitter on the phone, and you'll have the idea. I rely very heavily on being able to hear them coming.

Redwolf

[Innocent Bystander]

It wouldn't be a bad idea either if bicycles had something to make a noise either, when people ride up on pavements/footpaths/sidewalks. Maybe we could fit a bell to the handlebars or something. It's an idea for which the time has come.

But, bell the Prius, certainly. It's the way to go.

[fearfaoin]

Robot drivers. It's the only way to go. Then, human can go about
their "important business" without endangering the rest of us.