(pedestrian) almost hit by Prius!

[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

I think the whole quiet car thing is a crock as well! But when you have something new (like EV's) everyone has their two cents. One kid gets hit by a Prius and all of the sudden their death machines. The government, special interest groups, etc...they all want their piece of the pie.

On the other hand, there have been alot of important safety measures taken based on a particular genre (children wearing helmets when riding bicycles, motorcycle helmets, horns in cars, braille on all public signage, crosswalk user-initiated buttons for safe passage). I think it's a good thing to at least have the safety discussion for all new products.

Did I play both sides of the fence there...sign me up for public office!

That reminds me of something in my ENGL 104 textbook. Something about a greater fear of guns as opposed to swimming pools when swimming pools are actually responsible for more deaths than guns...

As for a solution, I think just adding some white LEDs as daytime running lights should work and is pretty inexpensive. Maybe even strobe them to improve visibility.

Funny part is, the small EVs used by the landscaping workers at my university are almost completely silent and I have yet to hear about an accident involving one of those...

[Tango Charlie]

Dude steps off the curb and almost gets hit by a Chevy Caprice.
"Stupid driver", the dude thinks. Or "Whoops. Shoulda looked first."

Dude steps off the curb and almost gets hit by a Prius.
Dude says, "Gol-durn Dangerous, New-Fangled Electric Car!"



Not disrespecting your brother, Ben. I'm just sayin. If he would've had a close call with any other car, he probably wouldn't even considered it as cause to tell you about it.

[Matt Herring]

look...heres the deal...

everyone has the answer for world peace...why gas is expensive...why the dinosaurs died...why jfk was shot...why the mona lisa has a wry smile on her face...

maybe it was fate or an accident that his brother had to deal with that by a guy in a prius...maybe the guy driving the prius is a jerk or maybe hes a father of five thats the nicest guy in the world thats having a bad day...

bottom line...as ecomodders and enlightened drivers we can either swim in negative crap or support our bottom line...promoting great mpgs safely.

were all drivers...we have all had bad moments behind the wheel and as pedestrians...theres 350 million people on the planet and as good as people as we are (i believe) theres always something that will drive us nuts...im all for disagreeing...but cant we at least agree to disagree and move on

[Matt Herring]

and furthermore...go vote today...for one of the guys that have been on the tube every day for what seems like the last two years...and vote for local issues that are on your card as propositions that effect your daily life in your state and towns...

and if you really want to make a difference beyond pulling great mpgs and conserving fuel take an hour a week or even an hour a month to donate your time to a greater cause...its free to donate your time and youll get more from the experience than anyone can pay you for the time you spent

[Chris D.]

rule of thumb, "No one's paying attention except you"

[BBsGarage]

This is actually a very big problem for the blind.
Here is an article about it
I have heard more then one story where a guide dog has saved someone from stepping into the street in front of one.

[Sean T.]

I think this is a completely valid argument... but if you think about it... the people that are concerned enough to add an extra noise to their car to warn pedestrians they are coming, are probably the only people who actually pay attention while they are driving.

I really like MetroMPG's idea of adding a tiny or bicycle horn for close-up honking. I find myself in the position all the time where I really want to honk at the person but I end up not pushing hard enough on the button and I end up not honking at all.

I actually have a Honda spree horn hooked up to my car right now because one of my horns broke, but if I could isolate it, that would be awesome. Thank's for the idea!!!