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

[Piwoslaw]

Can't they make ICE cars be as quiet as electric vehicles?

[gone-ot]

...majority RULES...I can hear, tough stuff (wink,wink).

[redpoint5]

I had a Subaru that was virtually silent while idling. If I was coasting with the clutch disengaged as I often do, the only sound you would hear is tires on the road and wind from the car. This noise is quite prominent though, so why do we need to add more noise pollution?

Is this even really a problem (meaning there is significant statistics showing blind people who have been injured by EVs, as compared to others)?

[TedV]

Originally Posted by dcb

You gonna whine about brail around ATMs now?

you never wondered about the braille at a drive up ATM? Who gave the blind person a license? Guess it's so the seeing eye dog driving wont learn the PIN

There are plenty of ICE cars and bikes I've had to put my hand on to tell they were running. How many people try to start a car that is already running?

isn't there something better to argue about? There are so many dumb car laws where red flags must be carried in front to warn other people, must notify police before you drive into town, notify people so they can hide their horses from the car. Here in TN "When you pull up to a stop sign you must fire a gun out the window to warn horse carriages that you are coming."

[NeilBlanchard]

I think this is a solution in search of a problem; but having said that -- it is a very subtle noise. Barely noticeable for most of us, but it would probably help locate the car for a blind person. So, either way it is nothing to worry about.

The Leaf is incredibly quiet to drive -- a friend has tinnitus and I'm pretty sure it would not require him to wear ear plugs.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by TedV

you never wondered about the braille at a drive up ATM? Who gave the blind person a license? Guess it's so the seeing eye dog driving wont learn the PIN

Or maybe because it's a lot more efficient for the ATM makers to use one standard keypad for the drive-up and walk-up machines :-)