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Toyota has begun offering a speaker system to customers in Japan that makes a whirring sound similar in volume to a regular car engine that will alert pedestrians of your quiet car's presence. The device is available for the most recent generation Prius and will be offered for any new hybrids from Toyota going forward. Drivers can buy the system for about the equivalent of $150.
The speaker was designed to protect pedestrians, especially blind pedestrians, who may not hear the car when it's traveling at low speeds and only running on the electric motor. The device will turn on every time the car starts, but can be turned off with a switch.
The U.S. auto safety agency found that hybrids were twice as likely to be involved in a pedestrian accident at low speeds than cars with conventional engines.
The Prius has been the top selling car in Japan for over a year. The popularity of the quiet hybrid vehicles led to a Japanese government report on the danger of silent cars and new guidelines that Toyota followed when developing the speaker system.
If quiet cars really are a hazard to pedestrians, it makes sense that this would be an added feature on hybrid or all-electric vehicles, so it seems strange that Toyota is offering it as a voluntary, paid option instead of just making it a standard feature.
via Physorg
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written by Barney Sperlin, September 11, 2010
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written by Chris V, September 12, 2010
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written by CNCMike, September 12, 2010
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written by Andy, September 13, 2010
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The report in Table 6a, pp., 13, found "Making a turn," 19 incidents, and "Backing," 7 incidents had a slightly higher percentage of incidents than the gas equivalent car. Sad to say, these were not incidents divided by the number of cars in the 12 study states but just comparisons of percentages. Even the report limits their conclusions to just "Making a turn" and "Backing."
In contrast, Table 3d shows hybrids are significantly safer in "Going straight" incidents, nearly 109 incidents avoided. Yet no one discusses the safer aspects of hybrids in "Going straight." The reason this is so traced to the math trick, comparing percentages of incidents, not rates of incidents per vehicle or vehicle mile. Let me give an example.
Take two identical pies and then manually cut them into eight pieces. Then measure all eight slices. If you find the northeast slice in one pie smaller in one pie, it is easy to claim,"this piece is smaller." But both pies still have the same amount and other pieces will have larger. Don't mention the larger pieces and OUT OF CONTEXT claim "pie A has smaller pieces than pie B" and you've just been suckered in by the math trick this report pulls.
Read the source report, DOT HS 811 204, and check the math. It does not claim 'hybrids are twice as dangerous' which by the way agrees with the NHTSA Fatality Analylsis Reporting System data.
Bob Wilson, Huntsville AL