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US Demands Electric Cars Make Noise at Low Speed

posted by martyb on Wednesday November 16 2016, @03:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the fake-engine-noises-FTW-Vrrrm-Vrrrm! dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

A US road safety body has demanded that electric cars travelling at low speed make a noise to warn pedestrians.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the rule was needed because battery-powered vehicles are very quiet.

It said the rule would particularly help blind pedestrians, or those with a visual impairment, detect electric cars and hybrids on the road.

The new safety rule could help prevent 2,400 injuries a year, said the NHTSA.

The rule demands that the cars make a noise when travelling either forwards or backwards at speeds of less than 30kmh (19mph). The regulation covers vehicles with four wheels that weigh less than 10,000 pounds (4.5 tonnes).

The safety specification requires car makers to use a two-tone signal similar to that currently emitted by heavy vehicles when they are reversing.

It would be more fun if drivers could customize what that sound is, such as "La Cucaracha" or the whine of a Shadow vessel.

An Anonymous Coward also wrote in to tell us:

Electric and hybrid cars are to include a noise generation device for travel at low speeds with no internal combustion engine: http://www.nhtsa.gov/About-NHTSA/Press-Releases/nhtsa_quiet_car_final_rule_11142016.

There goes my quiet electric future.

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Wednesday November 16 2016, @05:28PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday November 16 2016, @05:28PM (#427628) Journal

    I want the ice cream truck jingle: have all the kids come running out just to see me drive away laughing.
    Except for the blind kids, who will end up chasing me for a block because they can't see that, damn it, I'M NOT THE ICE CREAM MAN!!!

    :)

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 16 2016, @06:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 16 2016, @06:42PM (#427679)

    Respect to the man in the ice cream van!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 17 2016, @02:09AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 17 2016, @02:09AM (#427921)

      1. Clowns
      2. Ice Cream Van Man
      3. Sentient Toasters
      4. Abandoned Pool Toys

      Things that scare me, in descending order from most to least scary.