Hybrid and fully electric vehicles have come under fire as of late due to the quietness at which they operate. While this is seemingly a good thing for passengers of the vehicle, there are legitimate concerns that blind people will not be able to detect the rapidly approaching vehicle if it is not making any sound. Along with blind pedestrians, safety advocates are concerned that children and cyclists will be at risk from silent vehicles.

The issue of hybrid and electric car silence is a complicated one. Of course, these vehicles are not really "silent," as the tires and associated systems do emit some sound, though it may be inaudible with other various traffic sounds. Some are proposing a minimum sound level for all vehicles, though nothing is likely to happen until the situation is studied.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to begin research right away into the dangers of quiet hybrids and electric cars and has plans to introduce "technology neutral" ways to combat the problem. This continues to be an interesting discussion and one we're sure to hear plenty more about.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click above for more pictures of the Vibering concept

Safety is obviously of paramount concern with automobiles, whether we are talking about big, bad performance vehicles or fuel-sipping hybrids. We are also concerned not only with the safety of those kept inside the vehicle, but also with pedestrians outside as well. As has been discussed on these very pages, there is an ongoing concern having to do with the safety of blind individuals and hybrid or electric vehicles which don't have a running internal combustion engine to warn people of their presence. Deaf people could also use a bit of a helping hand under certain circumstances.

Here is a novel idea, created by a team of designers named Kwang-Seok Jeong, Min-hee Kim and Hyun-joong Kim which would offer some help with the aforementioned situation. Rings worn by deaf persons would be able to sense hybrid or electric vehicles and would vibrate with varying intensity depending on where the vehicle is located and how far it is from the wearer. Besides helping locate vehicles, the rings could also be preprogrammed to listen for other designated sounds.


[Source: Yanko Design via Jalopnik]

You're probably familiar with the recent problems with quiet and silent vehicles and people with less-than-perfect sight. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has been on the case for a while, but there is one angle of their advocacy I didn't know about until Harper's printed the lyrics. The lyrics to what, you might ask? Well, the lyrics to a reworked version of the 1943 song Surry With the Fringe on Top (from Oklahoma!) and used by the NFB's Committee on Automobile and Pedestrian Safety. Mary Ellen Gabias wrote new lyrics to the song that go:

Kids and dogs won't know when to scurry.
Silent death arrives in a hurry.
All who walk have reason to worry 'Bout the hybrid car.
We all want to stop the polluting, Save a lot of gas while commuting.
If they made sound there'd be no disputing With the hybrid car.
Saving the planet we all hold dear, Nobody wants to destroy it.
Please make cars pedestrians can hear 'Cause we want to be 'round to enjoy it.
We don't need a noisy vrum-vrumming, Just a simple audible humming,
So that we can know when you're coming In a hybrid car.
Then we all can walk with safety on the street Without fear that we will accident'lly meet
A hybrid car.

Gabias told AutoblogGreen she hoped the song "would make people think about the issue, especially pedestrians who are not blind and may not have considered how they would be affected by nearly silent automobiles." Many thanks to Gabias for permission to post this song. You can download it yourself here and listen by pushing play, below:



This version is sung by Tom Bickford with piano by Chris Danielsen.

[Source: National Federation of the Blind via Harper's, thanks to Ann]

There has been quite a hub-bub about the dangers of hybrids because they are more quiet than internal combustion motivated vehicles. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) naturally takes these matters quite seriously and in the Spring of 2007 approached SAE International about the problem. Minds can now be put to rest because, according to a press release issued by the SAE, decisive action has been taken.

Immediately following the request, the SAE International Motor Vehicle Council asked the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Technical Committee to look into the problem. It was quickly discerned that they lacked the necessary skill sets to offer an expedient solution so they expeditiously passed it to the SAE Safety & Human Factors Committee. They promptly decided to form the Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians (VSP) subcommittee. The VSP speedily created three different "Task Forces" to further aid in determining the technical issues of who the benefit should target, which sounds would achieve the most desired and least desired effects and "what combination of vehicle conditions, vehicle status, and ambient conditions are required." The Task Forces will be meeting independently and reporting back to the VSP subcommittee on a monthly basis. We can be rest assured that the VSP subcommittee plans to issue a technical report or recommended practice by the end of 2008. You can read the press release after the jump for all the exciting details.

If the speed of the effort being put forth by the SAE isn't reassuring enough you will be happy to hear that various governments are also getting involved. the state of Maryland has already announced it is taking action and just today, Representatives Edolphus "Ed" Towns (D-NY) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) introduced a bill called "The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008" which requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on how to protect the blind and others from being injured or killed by vehicles using hybrid, electric, and other silent engine technologies.

While we wait for the outcome of the various studies, recommendations and legislation we suggest people take care around pedestrian traffic, sighted or otherwise.

I mentioned in my driving impression of the Chevrolet Sequel that engineers need to do something about the whooshing sound coming out of the tailpipe. The frequency and texture have absolutely no intrinsic connection to the automobile. Fortunately, you can barely hear it.

That's not good news for a blind person, however. I noticed a brief comment in a story from the San Luis Obispo Tribune about boot camps for blind students where they can learn more about navigating their surroundings.

"The biggest challenge is hearing a nearly silent electric car," said the story, noting that the students are taught to listen for tire sounds. That's great if the vehicle is running on 37-inch mud-terrain knobbies, but hybrids and electric vehicles are designed with low-resistance tires. They don't make any noise.

The story also said the National Federation for the Blind is working with automakers on a solution. So a quick search of the NFB Web site found an interesting presentation from Deborah Kent Stein. She asks: "How could blind people travel independently in a world filled with silent electric cars?"

Stein conducted a personal experiment when she heard a friend brought a new Prius. She had him drive by a few times and couldn't hear the car. She could feel no vibration or sense tire friction. With the backing of the NFB, Stein is a leader in reaching out to manufacturers and NHTSA to find a working solution. She has suggested starting up the cooling fan when the vehicle is a stop or have the vehicle emit a clicking noise when the axle turns. Another suggested a radio signal be mandatory so blind pedestrians could carry a beeper that signals when an electric vehicle is near.

This issue is not lost on the hybrid owners. A post on treehugger.com earlier this year was quite sympathetic to the problem, noting that one owner plays his music a little louder in parking lots to make sure he's heard.

[Source: National Federation for the Blind]