Loud pipes save lives....quiet hybrids KILL!!!!

[SteveJobs]

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/VNB.asp

http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/Bus...Id=2384416&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=4.1.1

[Tofer]

Here's my answer:

Outfit all cars with a transmitter that broadcasts its GPS position. Have pedestrians worried about their safety carry around receivers that say "car coming!" when one is close. Volume is not the answer...

-Tofer

[SteveJobs]

hopefully they can beep when their batteries fail.

[IronMac]

Loud pipes? Are you talking about those obnoxious burp-cycles? How come they're touted as a safety item when the sound is directed away from the people they're supposed to be warning?

[blusubaru]

I recently interviewed a couple of blind GA's here at BSU. They use public transportation to get from home to school/work every day. One also uses a seeing eye dog and the other uses the stick. In the series of questioning, I asked how they know which bus is theirs at the bus stop. One said that you learn the different sounds of different buses quickly. On campus, we have public transportation buses and University shuttles, and different routes for each type of bus, all using the same stops on the main drag of campus. There are turbine-powered hybrids, super clean biodiesels, and regular old diesel buses. I've tried just listening to the different sounds of the buses and it's very subtle, but it's there. The hybrids have a high pitched whine to them, the regular diesels sound just like normal diesles, and the biodiesels sound like a mix of diesel and hybrid.

[the_poochies]

Are you sure that The Onion isn't behind this story?

[Robert M]

Iron,

The noise from the pipes isn't supposed to warn the rider of anything. It's to let the rest of the world know the rider is within the immediate vicinity. They work quite well for that purpose.

Robert

[Lux Interior]

When I was in Switzerland, I visited the town of Zermatt, which only allows electric cars on its streets. Beautiful place, but you never hear the cars coming.

But since it's Schweiz, they always yield to pedestrians.

That was weird. If you even looked like you were thinking of crossing the street, the cars would stop.

[voodoopenguin]

Every step forward seems to have some sort of negative component. I think it's wonderful that cars can be made quieter and it is up to the public to recognise the value of this and adjust accordingly. No, I'm not blind but I do have a bad hearing disability and so am careful when out.

A few years ago Mercedes made a big step forward in their braking system. After a year it started to show up that modern Mercedes were increasingly involved in accidents. Looking more into the details they found that the majority were due to rear end shunts. What's the answer? Make brakes worse or try and get the public to adjust their driving?

[IronMac]

[quote Robert M]Iron,

The noise from the pipes isn't supposed to warn the rider of anything. It's to let the rest of the world know the rider is within the immediate vicinity. They work quite well for that purpose.

Robert
If they worked that well, how come I'm almost always startled by a motorbike zipping up to me?