The first time you stand near a Prius running solely on electricity, the near-silence is uncanny. And noise-free driving does sound like an advantage — unless you rely on that noise to stay out of harm's way. As hybrids become more popular, blind pedestrians have a new threat to contend with. The National Federation of the Blind is calling on the auto industry to make hybrid vehicles emit more noise — before there's a rash of injuries and deaths. Meanwhile, Toyota and other automakers say they are "unaware of the issue."
In fact, bicyclists, children, and other pedestrians are also at increased risk of being hit when there's no sound from the car to alert them to danger — and as a constant cyclist in a city full of Priuses, I can testify to that firsthand. Will adding warning beeps to hybrids and electrics solve the problem? Do traffic laws need to change to correct for this unintended consequence? Or do we need to rethink the spaces shared by walkers, bikers, and drivers in a more radical way?
[Source: The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)]
