Sooner or later it was bound to happen, that being a person being hit by a hybrid because he/she didn't hear it coming. This time it was young Minnesota child, Owen Flannigan, who was the unfortunate victim. The good news is that the young boy was not seriously hurt. Jane Flannigan, the child's mother stated that her 8-year old son said, ""I saw the car, but I could not hear anything." The Prius apparently pulled over to the curb without the child being aware of it, and in the process, hit him...
One group that's really concerned about this lack of noise issue is the National Federation of the Blind, which believes that Hybrids pose a real threat to those who rely on noise from cars to keep themselves safe.
"These quiet cars that are very difficult to hear in the normal flow of everyday outdoor activity play a safety hazard," says Jennifer Dunnam, president of the NFB's Minnesota affiliate. "Blind people depend on their hearing to know what the traffic is doing."
Last month, if you recall, I did a blog on this very topic (Are hybrids and electric vehicles, by being so quiet, creating a safety issue?). In fact this is the third time I've blogged about it.
Full story here here.
"These quiet cars that are very difficult to hear in the normal flow of everyday outdoor activity play a safety hazard," says Jennifer Dunnam, president of the NFB's Minnesota affiliate. "Blind people depend on their hearing to know what the traffic is doing."
Last month, if you recall, I did a blog on this very topic (Are hybrids and electric vehicles, by being so quiet, creating a safety issue?). In fact this is the third time I've blogged about it.
Full story here here.
bepperb says:
06:27 AM, 05/ 8/08
I was hit by a ford ranger when I was 19, and I'll be the first to say... it takes two idiots for someone to be hit by a car. One to stand where cars drive and not pay attention, and another to drive it into him. This being a child, the blame lies between he and his parents (or whomever was responsible at the time), and also with the car's driver. But to use the fact he couldn't hear the car coming as an excuse is unbelieveable. Could he see the car? Did someone teach him to "listen both ways before you cross the street?" And what for the driver, they figured since they couldn't hear the car it must not be able to hit anyone.
Let's all go back to London in the 1800's and make someone walk in front of hybrid cars with a bell to keep these morons from further hurting themselves.
estreka says:
06:34 AM, 05/ 8/08
Someone's already ahead of you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9q37AvbKxA
blueguydotcom says:
08:02 AM, 05/ 8/08
Ridiculous. You look for cars with your eyes, not ears. The is the fault of the parents and child, not the car.
SubyTrojan says:
09:22 AM, 05/ 8/08
I'm actually for hybrids and EVs having to make a minimal amount of noise. Hehehe
orangutan says:
09:57 AM, 05/ 8/08
Yeah, right. Easy excuse to blame someone or something else, especially one that is already in the news and litigation, rather than the person actually at fault.
brn says:
09:57 AM, 05/ 8/08
The article says he SAW the car. Freekin ridiculous.
Who gives these morons air time?
carlisimo says:
11:24 AM, 05/ 8/08
Residential street paving typically allows for reasonable tire noise. Isn't that usually louder than engines themselves, at those speeds?
For an easy solution they could take a cue from my girlfriend's RSX - from outside the car, when it's at low speeds, the loudest thing about it by far is the cooling fan!
billt9 says:
05:36 PM, 05/ 8/08
You don't hear cars when you're biking. Wind noise would drown out car noise anyways.
You wouldn't hear any cars at crawling speeds with wind rushing by your ears. You would rely on your eyes.
This is a simple kid-rides-bike-in-front-of-car, which happens all the time. Nothing to do with hybrids.
slickersdrip says:
09:24 PM, 05/ 8/08
So should I just drive my SRT-4 with the downpipe opened right below the turbo for maximum sound? If the government would like that, I won't complain.
Seriously, though, one must question if flashing lights and daytime running lamps need to be required for hearing impaired persons, sirens for speeds under 35 mph for blind, and mild sprinkler systems for the 21st century Helen Kellers?
Bureaucracy at its finest.
vacagrande says:
06:40 AM, 05/ 9/08
Hopefully this doesn't give ammo to the 50-year-old dentists who put straight pipes on their armchair-on-wheels Road Kings because "loud pipes save lives".
steve_ says:
10:26 AM, 05/ 9/08
@billt9 - I biked a lot back in my 20s and 30s. I got to where I could hear a car approaching behind me from blocks away.
I like the Japanese clip-clop sound effects idea myself.
firstwagon says:
04:20 PM, 05/10/08
I wish they had hybrids when I was a kid. When I was 11, I rode my bike across a road without looking. Got hit by a car and ended up with a wrecked bike and stay in the hospital while all my friends were enjoying summer vacation.
It would have been so nice if I (or my parents)could just blame the magic silent car but since they weren't invented then I just had to admit I was stupid and didn't look.
Life is so much easier now when you just blame others for your mistakes.
billt9 says:
06:17 PM, 05/11/08
Inattentive kid biker ftw!
You could potentially net your parents some lawsuit money if you get hit by one of those new-technology-thingamajigs!
Sue sue sue sue sue
Everybody dust off your bikes and go for the gold!
ateixeira says:
01:36 PM, 05/15/08
This sucks! Imagine when they start making invisible cars! Then they will have to add an LCD display in front of them where you see a virtual image of a horse.
LOL