Ah, nothing so heartwarming as when advocacy groups team up with lawyers to set mandates for the rest of is, is there?
Automakers Reach Agreement on Sound for Electric Cars
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Originally Posted by GM-VOLT.com
....[B]lind advocacy groups have been working with automakers for two years to reach a consensus on whether and how electric cars should be equipped with sounds. Recently an agreement was reached.
Automakers will equip their electric cars with audible pedestrian alert signals that will not be driver activated. These chirping sounds would automatically be emitted when the car operates at low speeds to let pedestrians know that it is nearby.
When the first generation Volt goes on sale later this year it will be equipped with a manually activated pedestrian alert, however when the new agreement goes into effect, the sound will have to be automatic. Nissan has equipped the electric LEAF with an automated chirp....
Mark Perry, marketing director for Nissan said the LEAFs’ sound will be revealed to the public next week in Japan. Earlier reports indicated it would sound like the flying cars in the movie Blade Runner....
The often proposed idea of downloadable ring tones for electric cars cars seems unlikely. ”We do hate the idea of ring tones,” said Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, . “We think manufacturers should decide the sound or set of sounds, and drivers should not able to alter them willy-nilly....” |