Blind action group want beepers on hybrid silent cars.

[mac2]

http://www.hybridcars.com/safety/blind-people-hybrid-safety.html

No one has been injured but just in case....

What! We have an intersection near us with no stop light. Not until five people had been in auto accidents did they put in a stop light. Not that even one was good.

This is just plain silly since we would have to put beepers on bicycles, quite cars such as Cadillacs, etc. If a blind person does step into the street when they shouldn't, the car owner can beep at them. There are usually other cars there too. Does their seeing eye dog not see the car?

[kristopher]

1. How about this.

Pedestrian carries a medium range transmitter that activates the mandatory beepers on all cars that are in range.

It sounds like it might be fun for pranksters also.

Seriously though, electrics are darn near silent at low speeds.

[seriousstan]

2. Then you can't depend on sound. Have a button for crossing upon request.

Have blind routes upon request. Give these priority over the general proliferation of blind crossings.

[mac2]

3. Still not going to stop the "silent" bicycles.

Can you imagine the noise of beepers all day long on your car...many cars?

The blind should have a beeper to see when the traffic is stopped, etc.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. I've had people walk right in front of me driving a gas-engine car ...

Cell phone, Walkman, or iPod wasn't to blame either. Only my reflexes (not something to be overly relied on) kept one guy out of the hospital, and he never turned his head even after I hit the brakes. Modern cars are *very* quiet, when they don't have the stereos blaring. I drove right up behind a guy wondering why he didn't get out of the middle of the road. He jumped when he realized there was a car behind him, and got mad at me, thinking I was trying to be rude to him.

A lot of times the only noise that gives a well-maintained modern car away at low speed is the noise of the tires on the surface. I can hear gravel crunching under the wheels -- often nothing else.

This isn't something new. I understand the concern, but the "solution" needs more reflection and refinement.