(pedestrian) almost hit by Prius!

[bennelson]

I just got an e-mail from my brother, concerning his safety. Sounds like the problem was a quiet vehicle COMBINED with a bad/inattentive driver.

Here's his message to me.

"I had a Prius scare the hell out of me when i was crossing the street to go to the post office.

It had just made a right hand turn and barely made any noise.... almost ran me down.

Those things need to play a music ringtone or something.

<I'm too sexy for my car..to sexy for..>"


Please note that my brother is currently on crutches, and doesn't usually dress as either a ninja, or in camoflage.


So what do you think? Should Hybrids be "belled"?

If quiet is dangerous, should we also force bicycles to be louder too?
Why or why not? Please explain your answer.

[Daox]

I think this needs to be delt with on both ends. There are SO MANY careless drivers out there that need to be more careful, hybrid or not. I tend to blame them more than anything. However, people also need to be aware that there are cars out there, not necessarily all hybrids, that are really really quiet.

[McTimson]

Yea, there are many cars that are almost silent, and not just hybrids. When my Tercel's exhaust is really tight and not leaking anywhere, it's near silent at idle, so the only sound a pedestrian would hear is wheel noise, which is the same that a Prius would make.

I think people need to realize that they're not the only ones on the road - drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. You can't rely on sound when you're driving or walking, you need to look around as well.

[Matt Herring]

Here's an article I posted last week regarding the GM Volt and their plans to make a "pedestrian friendly alert" which seems to be a good idea. Whether or not the driver uses it is another discussion.

GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site » Blog Archive » The Sound of the Chevy Volt

[bikin' Ed]

And how quiet is a car in EOC? Gotta look where you are going and go where you are looking.

[Matt Herring]

I think a good rule of thumb is to assume everyone on the road and the street is oblivious to their surroundings (in a car, on foot, etc.). Unfortunately, as a driver the pedestrian always has the right of way (even if they wander into the street and aren't in a crosswalk). Soooo...be extra careful out there!

[trebuchet03]

Cars are loud to pedestrians. Cars can be dangerous to pedestrians. Therefore, if you hear a car, you could be in danger. That was the line of thinking that needs to become outdated or less significant in my opinion. If cars were never loud, we wouldn't be reliant on that sense. Similarly, if cars had a distinctive smell in front of them, we'd use that sense (and then have trouble when a new car doesn't smell ).

Look right, look left, look right again... Just like in kindergarten Personally, I keep looking until I cross. I don't fall asleep while operating this body As already said, don't assume the other guy knows what he or she is doing - then, be predictable in case the other guy does know what he or she is doing.

I don't know all the circumstances of this situation - but the fact that the car was silent AND therefore nearly hit a pedestrian could very well be a fallacy. How many pedestrians are hit by noisy cars? I wonder if there's a statistic of pedestrians hit per 100 million vehicle miles by car type - I'm willing to bet their on par with each other.

The car just made a right turn, meaning the driver was probably ONLY looking left for oncoming traffic - I'm put in this situation all the time on my bike, and have had my fair share of close {slapping on the side of the car} calls. And I'll admit I've had a couple instances of a lack of concentration, and never looked right for pedestrians or bikes - luckily, never when those two were around.

I see no reason why we are unable to adapt to this change in environment. At the same time, I don't have any problem with automakers adding a pinging device.

[Matt Herring]

When I learned to drive from my grandfather his rule when turning was "look right-left-right." He also was a former Driver's Ed. instructor so a good teacher to learn from. A rule I still use today!

[MazdaMatt]

So, when everybody drove a big noisy V8, nobody got hit by cars? Silence is what is dangerous? Not people RUNNING OVER PEDESTRIANS!?!?

If you can't see a dude stumbling along on crutches, and you think it is his responsibility to hear you and not "leap wildly into your path", you shouldn't be driving!!!! Your brother should have put a crutch into the pruis' headlight.

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

... his rule when turning was "look right-left-right."

I thought it was Left-Right-Left! Unless you are in England!!?!?

I think comments about Noisy cars hitting people is right on. I don't think the problem is quiet cars. As others have noted, there are lots of very quiet cars that are NOT hybrids! We do need a culture shift for people to start LOOKING for cars (and those sneaky quiet bicycles as well.)

I suppose we could also "smell" for oncoming traffic if it was waste vegetable oil. If you smell donuts or fries, don't step off the curb...

I am thinking about adding a backup beeper to my Electro-Metro. The car is small, black, and quiet. People don't expect it to start moving in reverse, with no noise first!