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View Full Version : House approves bill to make hybrids louder




Rael
12-16-2010, 06:40 PM
WASHINGTON – Silent hybrid vehicles may soon be a thing of the past.

Auto safety regulators would have to set minimum sound levels for hybrid and electric vehicles under a bill approved Thursday by the House. Blind pedestrians say the quietness of hybrids can pose risks for them because they use sound cues to travel safely.

The House passed the bill 379-30. The Senate approved its version last week, and the measure now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Rep. Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, says it will protect blind pedestrians along with joggers, children and others who need to be alerted to approaching traffic.

The bill was supported by automakers and the National Federation for the Blind.

LibForestPaul
12-16-2010, 06:45 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Fido, fido, what is it boy, do you hear something....

God do I see a goofy looking seeing eye dog, Kenny after eye surgery, and a south park episode in the future.

LibForestPaul
12-16-2010, 06:46 PM
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk255/badcasperrocks/MoreCowbell2.jpg

akforme
12-16-2010, 06:52 PM
if the bill was supported by the automakers, why didn't they just make their cars louder?

HOLLYWOOD
12-16-2010, 06:55 PM
if the bill was supported by the automakers, why didn't they just make their cars louder? Because they(Auto Manufacturers) can get ADDITIONAL Subsidies/Corporate Tax Credits/ Refund Write-Offs after the fact for something that has propably has been designed into the ELECTRON vehicles. We the People... PAY AGAIN. Another hidden tax, just watch.


LOL... More Cow Bell at Cross Walks!


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk255/badcasperrocks/MoreCowbell2.jpg

agitator
12-16-2010, 07:04 PM
What about the blind and deaf pedestrian? They need to make the cars smelly too!

pcosmar
12-16-2010, 07:43 PM
http://www.bucklesofestes.com/images/Biker%20Buckles/2008/Loud_Pipes_Save_Lives.jpg

Been busted for it.

Smells like hypocrisy to me. :(

jkr
12-16-2010, 07:47 PM
fo real ! let me dissect this one.

is not blind more challenging than deaf? WHY DO YOU HATE BLIND PEOPLE?

some cars are almost all ROAD NOISE not propulsion related...

not only will they make us meet an arbitrary rule, that does NOT address universal design strategies, they will eventually have a bureaucratic (demoCRATIC) $ stream from "cops" to statistical analysis time to people deciding weather or not i can put "I WISH WAS IN DIXIE" on a loop on my car GENERAL LEE STYLE!
in short ever facet of it-now THAT is sum jERb creat'n

how about removing the now counter productive NoisE oRdaNNANCEEes which yield lower potential revenue than thier latest apparent scheme...just TURN IT UP BABY!!!

amy31416
12-16-2010, 08:43 PM
Technically speaking, how the hell are they going to do this? Canned "vroom-vroom" noises? Something else equally stupid?

If vehicle engines had been developed differently and were quiet from the beginning stages, this would not be an "issue." Personally, I think it's a great selling point for electric cars. (Unless you're Pete :) )

Aratus
12-17-2010, 10:35 AM
a LOUD puuhhHHHhhrrrrrrr is now to be LAW insted of a quiet purrrrrrr?

TonySutton
12-17-2010, 11:03 AM
I think joggers should be required to wear bells on their shoes so blind people will hear them as they jog down the sidewalk.

TruckinMike
12-17-2010, 11:12 AM
I think blind people need radar hats with a stereophonic guidance system (I'm not kidding - its very doable). People could donate funds for the radar hats. They shouldn't cost over $200 - $300.

TMike

pcosmar
12-17-2010, 11:18 AM
Technically speaking, how the hell are they going to do this? Canned "vroom-vroom" noises? Something else equally stupid?

If vehicle engines had been developed differently and were quiet from the beginning stages, this would not be an "issue." Personally, I think it's a great selling point for electric cars. (Unless you're Pete :) )

:D Bigger grin.
I have long felt that the Industrial Revolution was a mistake (or at least badly handled)
But I was born into this world and have made my living with these machines.

The idiocy of lawmakers never ceases to amaze.
:(

Brian4Liberty
12-17-2010, 11:39 AM
I think joggers should be required to wear bells on their shoes so blind people will hear them as they jog down the sidewalk.

Don't forget bicycles...


Because they(Auto Manufacturers) can get ADDITIONAL Subsidies/Corporate Tax Credits/ Refund Write-Offs after the fact for something that has propably has been designed into the ELECTRON vehicles. We the People... PAY AGAIN. Another hidden tax, just watch.


"Oh Mr. Lawmaker, please don't throw us in the briarpatch."

No doubt the law was written by the auto lobbyists, and is 100,000 pages long...

dean.engelhardt
12-17-2010, 11:50 AM
If we make our Unmanned Air Vehicles louder, maybe they'd kill less poeple too?

economics102
12-17-2010, 12:10 PM
Technically speaking, how the hell are they going to do this? Canned "vroom-vroom" noises? Something else equally stupid?

Actually that's exactly how it's being done. The cars basically have speakers that emit sounds. Think of it like a "ringtone" for your car -- technically it could play any sound you want, such as a Jetsons flying car sound, etc...

Having a bit of knowledge on the subject, I do think it's a very good idea that the cars artificially emit some sound for safety purposes, but of course I'm not interested in the government mandating it or offering subsidies or any other preposterousness.

Elwar
12-17-2010, 12:11 PM
Another law that will have unintended consequences...

MozoVote
12-17-2010, 05:24 PM
This will be hacked in notime. Pranksters will change the audio to farting sounds, or a voice yelling "I've been stolen!!!"

Jordan
12-17-2010, 05:31 PM
if the bill was supported by the automakers, why didn't they just make their cars louder?


Because they(Auto Manufacturers) can get ADDITIONAL Subsidies/Corporate Tax Credits/ Refund Write-Offs after the fact for something that has propably has been designed into the ELECTRON vehicles. We the People... PAY AGAIN. Another hidden tax, just watch.


The automakers, through their trade group, rarely fight against any bill that is sold on the idea of "public safety." The pros are often outweighed by the cons.

There is only so much give and take. Check out what they've lobbied against in the latest quarter: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-17/auto-alliance-spends-1-5-million-on-3q-lobbying.html There's too many stupid regulations that the one in this thread doesn't really seem like that bad of an idea. Plus, since it's sold on the idea of safety, and probably won't cost anything (might even cost less to produce louder cars) it isn't worth fighting.

AxisMundi
12-17-2010, 06:02 PM
WASHINGTON – Silent hybrid vehicles may soon be a thing of the past.

Auto safety regulators would have to set minimum sound levels for hybrid and electric vehicles under a bill approved Thursday by the House. Blind pedestrians say the quietness of hybrids can pose risks for them because they use sound cues to travel safely.

The House passed the bill 379-30. The Senate approved its version last week, and the measure now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Rep. Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, says it will protect blind pedestrians along with joggers, children and others who need to be alerted to approaching traffic.

The bill was supported by automakers and the National Federation for the Blind.

For decades the fight for quieter cities has been ongoing.

And now this?

I have every sympathy for the blind, but give a boyscout something to do and leave our cities quieter.

This does stink to the high heavens of special interest groups and g'ment subsidies.

dannno
12-17-2010, 06:12 PM
Think of it like a "ringtone" for your car -- technically it could play any sound you want, such as a Jetsons flying car sound, etc...



I would actually change my mind and be "for" this bill if they required them to use the Jetson's flying car sound.

That's the only useful intervention into the economy I can think of.

coastie
12-17-2010, 06:15 PM
Well damn, I guess I shouldn't have spent all that time in New Hampshire 6 yrs ago fighting a "loud exhaust" ticket for my car. I won by fighting it, as I had the cops disdain for anyone driving anything modified, especially if it was foreign, come out in court and his own mouth sealed the deal. My exhaust is actually the quietest on the market(I HATE the pissed off bumble bee fart cans on Honduhs), had it tested for dB's-whole nine yards.

I think he was just pissed that my Honduh would SPANK his Ford LTD Police Interceptor, any day of the week. Turbo'd 26 psi on a 4 cyl. 11.02 on street tires, 10.37 on slicks.:p:cool:

Oh-and it was quieter doing it:)

ETA: my wife has the Jetsons vehicle sound as her text ringtone, lol

Romulus
12-17-2010, 06:26 PM
Did someone say bub-rub and lil sis whistle tips?? Its goes WOO WOOO!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_JtoW7GrdY&feature=related

Wait, what if you're blind AND deaf? What shall we do then m'lord!?

MelissaWV
12-17-2010, 06:26 PM
Technically speaking, how the hell are they going to do this? Canned "vroom-vroom" noises? Something else equally stupid?

If vehicle engines had been developed differently and were quiet from the beginning stages, this would not be an "issue." Personally, I think it's a great selling point for electric cars. (Unless you're Pete :) )

Maybe it will be like a ringtone, or your own personal theme music? (various someones beat me to it)

* * *

I thought it might be dumb... so I checked with my blind friends... and yeah... it's dumb.

As it is, many of them already deal with the "CHIRP... CHIRP... CHIRP..." at crosswalks, not to mention various other "helpful" noises, to the point that they all make it nearly impossible to walk around and have a normal conversation. It's also making people not care about landmarks, etc., and learn their way around that way. You really shouldn't be stepping into traffic at all, and crosswalks are generally already "blindguy safe" in a lot of locations.

I do know some folks who need to have their car just blare "douchebag! douchebag!" over and over again :p

MelissaWV
12-17-2010, 06:31 PM
I think blind people need radar hats with a stereophonic guidance system (I'm not kidding - its very doable). People could donate funds for the radar hats. They shouldn't cost over $200 - $300.

TMike

There are hats that allow people who became blind under certain circumstances to "see" using that sort of technology. They are not $200. Like most things that have to do with the blind, since it's such a slim and niche market, they're massively overpriced.

Think about the fact that what amounts to a Blackberry for blindguys runs into the thousands of dollars.