As I have mentioned before, I drive a Prius, the king of super stealthy hybrids, and I love it. If you haven’t been in a hybrid, chances are you have been near one when it is driving – it is super quiet, especially at slow speeds, with a sound a little louder than a hum. There is a great VW commercial that pokes fun at this lack of vroom vroom.
Now I will admit that there is some frustration when I get stuck behind someone walking through a parking lot who can’t hear me creeping along behind them, or when I have to slow to a crawl through my neighborhood to keep from hitting one of the many kids who fly out in front of my car because it is so quiet. But I have never felt the need some sort of sound-making function that alerts others of my presence, which was the focus of an article in the New York Times Green Inc. column this Monday.
In the article, the silence of hybrids is a cause for concern and is seen as a potential hazard, especially for blind people, bicyclists and children – and I would like to add, those of us out there who text while walking. Legislation as been introduced to Congress that would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study the issue
and establish a minimal decibel level. Of course, there are a crop of entrepreneurs who are jumping on this as an opportunity to create their own lines of noisemakers – what one refers to as “drivetones.”
To be honest, I really wouldn’t want my Prius to sound like a Harley. An ice cream truck? Maybe. Seriously though, I don’t think this is a matter of adding sound to hybrids. The responsibility is on the Hybrid owner to be aware that his/her car can catch people off-guard because it is so quiet, and drive with extra awareness. It’s called defensive driving.
sarahblanchard
meganhilfer
lauravanderpool
laurenswezey
krispendleton
