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California may just pass Maryland as the first State to require hybrid and electric cars to have a minimum sound level. While the East Coast state has created a task force to study the issue, the Senate in the far-left State has just now approved a bill which would establish its own committee for the same purpose. The bill will now be passed on to The Governator, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, who has apparently not taken a stance as of yet on the politically-charged issue. Although Cali is just the third-largest State by land area, it is the most populous and has a huge collection of hybrids and electric vehicles due to its strict emissions requirements, and we all know how important California's auto legislation is for setting the stage across the country.

While many may argue over whether or not legislation is really required for cars being too quiet, the technology certainly exists to take care of it. Lotus, for example, has already demo'd its Safe and Sound system.

[Source: AP via San Jose Mercury News]

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For the past two decades, Lotus has been working on active noise cancellation technology to make cars quieter. While that may have been a good thing on internal combustion cars, the spread of hybrid and electric cars has made advocates for the blind concerned. Electrically driven cars tend to be almost silent at lower speeds meaning that visually impaired pedestrians who rely more on audio inputs to know what is going around them have a problem. Lotus is now taking its technology and turning it around on a Toyota Prius demonstrator. Instead of using internal speakers to generate opposite sound waves to cancel noise, Lotus is mounting speakers externally with a controller tied to the accelerator pedal. The system generates simulated engine sounds that will allow people in the vicinity hear the car approach. Lotus is working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association to develop the system. The press release is after the jump. You can also view videos of the demonstrator at the Lotus web-site.


[Source: Lotus]