People upset because Nissan Leaf's 'pedestrian warning sound' can be deactivated

[jkp1187]

I think this one goes under the "give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile" column.

Blind Advocates ‘Disappointed’ in Nissan E.V. Sounds for Pedestrians - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

Originally Posted by New York Times "Wheels" Blog

[A]fter three years of field work, Nissan’s Approaching Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians is completed. But not everybody is pleased. The National Federation of the Blind said in a statement that while it was pleased that the alert existed, it was unhappy that the driver was able to turn it off.

Is it REALLY too much to ask that the driver be able to turn off the sound??!?

That said, the sounds aren't as annoying as I feared they might be -- audio clips can be found at the link posted.

[dcb]

ok, kinda turbiney, that's better than chirp.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...es/driveby.mp3

[ShadeTreeMech]

That would kinda make electric cars seem a bit cooler I think. Unless you had a parking lot full of them

[Rokeby]

When all else fails;

[dcb]

It's nice that the manufacturer is listening, and that legislation might be avoided. But it would get smacked down in legislation unless they change the verbiage to include all cars when silent, or out of tolerance on a db or frequency.

Wouldn't it be interesting if they standardized the sounds? i.e. if they all had a middle c component of a certain amplitude. If you put the effort into having perfect pitch, you could tell how fast the vehicle was approaching from the dopplar shift, and you could judge the distance by the intensity.

hmm, an arduino "chime" that activates with the kill switch might be a fun project here is the easy cheezy chime code: http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/...num=1228475606

[Thymeclock]

The idea of accommodating the blind is nothing new. Note the date on this article.



Now, after we accommodate the blind, must we not also accommodate the deaf? Should we not make flashing warning lights mandatory on all vehicles? At least to be activated when the horn button is pressed? (Which would add a few hundred $$$ to the production cost of a vehicle...)

Where does this end? Welcome to the slippery slope of lobbying for the disabled.

[dcb]

It's ok to think about it. You gonna whine about brail around elevators and ATMs now?

[Piwoslaw]

Crossposting:
ARTICLE: Automakers Reach Agreement on Sound for Electric Cars

ARTICLE: Anti-Noise activists oppose sounds for electric cars

[NeilBlanchard]

I got a good look at my sister-in-law's 2012 Leaf, and the noise maker is very subtle. I knew to listen for it, but if you didn't know that it was there, you would probably assume that it was just the motor and/or gears whirring. It is almost subliminal, and quite tasteful, really.

The car also beeps when backing up, and this is louder than the "low speed" noise, it is hardly going to startle anyone; let alone be heard from say 3 parking spaces away.

[tjts1]

Can't they make it some weird high pitch frequency that only blind people and dogs can hear?