Hybrid Cars A Safety Risk For The Blind
I don’t want to get run over by a quiet car
Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from the blind. Because hybrids make virtually no noise at slower speeds when they run solely on electric power, blind people say they pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to determine whether it’s safe to cross the street or walk through a parking lot.“I hadn’t imagined there was anything I really wouldn’t be able to hear,” said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the National Federation of the Blind’s Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety. “We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn’t hear it.”
The tests (admittedly unscientific) involved people standing in parking lots or on sidewalks who were asked to signal when they heard several different hybrid models drive by. “People were making comments like, ‘When are they going to start the test?‘ And it would turn out that the vehicle had already done two or three laps around the parking lot,” Stein said.
National Federation of the Blind President Marc Maurer was quick to point out that they’re not advocating a return to gas guzzlers. They’d just like the fuel-efficient hybrids to make some noise. “I don’t want to get run over by a quiet car,” Maurer said. Manufacturers are aware of the problem but have made no pledges yet. Toyota is studying the issue internally. The Association of International Auto Manufacturers and the Society of Automotive Engineers are considering the possibility of setting a minimum noise level standard for hybrid vehicles.
