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jkp1187 06-05-2010 08:25 AM
ARTICLE: Automakers Reach Agreement on Sound for Electric Cars
 
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

Quote:
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....”

ShadeTreeMech 06-05-2010 09:49 AM
LOL, I always thought regular cars were pretty silent as well. And why would an electric car be harder to see than a regular car....wait a minute, it's the blind people who are worried about this....how many blind people are on the sidewalks compared to the sighted people?? Is it more than 1%?? Seems a bit excessive to me!

RobertSmalls 06-05-2010 10:04 AM
My gas fired car is mostly silent in parking lots, and I haven't had any problems.

I would convert that system to manual operation really quickly. I find it very peaceful to coast to a stop and listen to the sounds of nature and human activity, rather than having it all drowned out by your own clattering engine.

jkp1187 06-05-2010 10:12 AM
Seriously. Gasoline cars are pretty quiet nowadays, especially at low speeds. I was walking in my housing complex a few weeks ago, and heard some tire-on-road noise behind me, so I stepped out of the street without looking, figuring it was one of the hybrids that 'live' here in electric mode.

It wasn't. It was a Honda Pilot. I was really surprised at that. Didn't hear the engine at all.

(But I DID hear more than enough noise to warn me that a car was approaching.)

The thing that really annoys me about this is the "no one should be able to change it" attitude. I agree - if I get an EV in the future, this'll be the first thing to get modded.

RobertSmalls 06-05-2010 10:18 AM
Haha... I will have a customized "ringtone" that sounds like tires on pavement. The pitch and amplitude will vary with speed to give blind people an idea of how fast I'm going. And, to save on cost, complexity, and energy, it'll be a completely passive system. :rolleyes:

Bicycle Bob 06-05-2010 12:22 PM
This should have been a simple imitation of an engine. People know what it means, and can tune it out subconsciously. We have had a rash of water-main troubles around here, and could sleep through the noise of the excavators, but not their bleeping back-up alarms, which were totally redundant in that situation.

dcb 06-05-2010 01:21 PM
I gotta second the engine noise thing. That is an intuitive "look out" noise. Chirp? WTF?

cfg83 06-05-2010 02:14 PM
Hello -

I third the engine noise emulation.

CarloSW2

jkp1187 06-05-2010 02:25 PM
Engine noise is my third choice, behind Blade Runner car noise and just regular old silence. :)

cfg83 06-05-2010 02:45 PM
jkp1187 -

Quote:
Originally Posted by jkp1187 (Post 177687)
Engine noise is my third choice, behind Blade Runner car noise and just regular old silence. :)
Or maybe the sound of the Giant Ants in THEM (go to 1:24) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2PLls02gOU#t=1m13s
The sound actually came from a worn out pump on a car that was pulling into the Warner Brothers parking lot.

CarloSW2

gone-ot 06-05-2010 08:46 PM
...and "THEM" will make a good generic name for soundless cars too!

jason1973tl 06-05-2010 11:18 PM
Bull Sh!t!! I just got a ticket for my Trans Ams (excessive noise). Now you are telling me I could get a ticket because the EV I am building is too quiet? These people piss me off. They make it harder for the rest of us to start a business. Now the multi billion dollar corporations can absorb the cost of extra complexity, pass the cost on to their customers and keep the rest of us from competing with them by making it ridiculously complicated to start a business.

Piwoslaw 06-06-2010 04:41 AM
I think the noise should sound like (and be as loud as) a fully loaded truck, decelerating down a hill. Everyone who hears that will get out of the way ASAP!

dcb 06-06-2010 09:26 AM
lol, chirp,

"I thought it was big bird so I ran out to hug him" :)

ShadeTreeMech 06-06-2010 02:04 PM
LOL a jake brake sound would be perfect!

Or just a horn to sound off when somone looks like they're about to step in front of you. What a concept!

I swear this is an example of big oil trying to get electric cars to be thought of as stranger than they really are. If the oil companies didn't pay for this, then they bought the weed these loonies were smoking to come up with this nonsense!

cfg83 06-06-2010 02:23 PM
dcb -

Quote:
Originally Posted by dcb (Post 177822)
lol, chirp,

"I thought it was big bird so I ran out to hug him" :)
How about ice-cream truck music? Everyone loves ice-cream truck music.

CarloSW2

ShadeTreeMech 06-06-2010 02:36 PM
Considering the main purpose is to attract attention, why not just attach a loudspeaker to the exterior of the car, and since this would be in use in the cities more than anything, have it play country music. That'll garner attention!

Clev 06-06-2010 02:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw (Post 177807)
I think the noise should sound like (and be as loud as) a fully loaded truck, decelerating down a hill. Everyone who hears that will get out of the way ASAP!
LOL! I'm want to add this to my gasser!

Piwoslaw 06-21-2010 07:35 AM
Crossposting:
People upset because Nissan Leaf's 'pedestrian warning sound' can be deactivated

ARTICLE: Anti-Noise activists oppose sounds for electric cars

gone-ot 06-21-2010 09:47 PM
...I vote for a "beans & beer flatulance" sound...now, THAT'll turn heads (and stomaches)!

JacobAziza 06-21-2010 10:46 PM
hmm, how odd...

I have been riding a bike on city streets for about 20 years with no engine noises or chirps, and yet I haven't yet run into a single blind person.
Just been really lucky so far I guess

Deyeme 06-22-2010 02:49 PM
So you can't pull into your own driveway at night with the lights off to avoid bothering the neighbors (DRLs always on), and now you won't be able to avoid being loud and obnoxious, either? Funny. As was said on pg1, this would be converted from auto to manual pretty quickly.

I love how quiet my truck is (144v DC-powered Dodge Dakota), but it's not "perfectly" quiet, since the motor controller switches to a lower (audible) frequency for the motor at low speeds, plus there's the tires, vaccum pump, and power steering pump all making noise.

ShadeTreeMech 06-22-2010 04:14 PM
it is sad that common sense can't be taught. Otherwise this wouldn't be an issue.

JacobAziza 06-22-2010 04:19 PM
I EOC a lot. I try for more than 50% of the time.
But people can usually hear me coming anyway, because of the 400watt stereo system.

Angmaar 06-22-2010 09:35 PM
What about people looking both ways before crossing a street.

gone-ot 06-23-2010 12:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angmaar (Post 180361)
What about people looking both ways before crossing a street.
...for blind people that would have to be: "...listening both ways before crossing a street."

Piwoslaw 06-23-2010 01:40 AM
I personally believe that electric cars were invented to sneak up on people and run them over. They are especially good at stalking blind people. By adding mandatory sounds we are turning the tables and nobody will want to buy EVs. We should respect this for historical reasons.

Angmaar 06-23-2010 10:24 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man (Post 180378)
...for blind people that would have to be: "...listening both ways before crossing a street."
:eek: I forgot the blind people.

jason1973tl 06-23-2010 04:18 PM
What about the Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords. I can hear the tires long before I can hear the engine. Check out this vid......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyqmKuDbPOw
I can hear the damn Leaf....its louder than the Versa. It makes almost no noise at all; and its an I.C.E. car.

IsaacCarlson 06-23-2010 11:44 PM
I like hearing a good strong Cummins. That dang beeping would drive me batty! I told my wife I want a Leslie RS5T horn in the car. Those puppies are loud. She is afraid it will vibrate the car to pieces. (this is a dream of mine since they cost $$$$) It would be neat though.

gone-ot 06-24-2010 09:19 AM
...I can just see it now, an after-market, add-on horn: "the JERICHO...and the walls came tumbling down...and it smite thee pedestrians down"


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