Senate OKs Noisemaker Rule for Hybrids, EVs; House Action Next
By John O'Dell December 10, 2010
Ah, the bliss of rolling down the road in your nice quiet EV!
Wait! Did we say quiet?
Maybe at speed, but apparently not when you are rolling slowly through residential neighborhoods or pulling up to crosswalks.
The U.S. Senate has just unanimously (amazing they can do anything unanimously these days!) approved a measure by hybrid-driving Sen. John Kerry that will lead to a requirement for hybrids, EVs and other quiet-running vehicles to generate a pedestrian warning noise of some sort.
The measure by the Massachusetts Democrat is called the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010. It instructs the Transportation departmental to establish safety standards for alerting pedestrians to the presence of vehicles that otherwise are so quiet as to be difficult to hear.
The act was promoted by the National Federation of the Blind.
In anticipation of a national requirement, both the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and the Nissan Leaf EV are equipped with sound generators that produce a warning tone at low speeds and when pedestrians approach a stopped, idling vehicle.
Infiniti's 2012 M35 Hybrid also will have one and Hyundai has just announced a delay in delivery of the new Sonata Hybrid, which was due to begin arriving in the U.S. this month, so a pedestrian warning device could be added.
The Kerry measure - Senate Bill 841 - is now to be taken up by the House, which is expected to pass it as well.
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Nice to see they pass laws now without doing any kind of study about whether or not any such device is actually needed.
Let's see what other laws can we introduce based on unverified possible hazards? Oh wait, it's never been done before. All current laws have been enacted due to personal or public injury. Why are EVs the first? Mainly because there's no voter base to defend or even slow down this legislation.
We can't pass laws against corporations that do untold millions or billions in damages to people and environment, yet we can unanimously pass one based on sheer conjecture.
Honk if you love noise. And thank the omnipotent foresight filled nanny-state for protecting us from what might happen maybe.
Next thing they will mandate horns on bicycles, joggers, dogs....and we will all live safely ever after.
Nice to see they have us in mind whiling away the empty hours in D.C., awaiting to return home to the campaign trail !
You guys are right on the mark! Why is a law like this even on the RADAR? The senators have nothing better to do with their time? How was it determined that only "quiet" EVs and hybrids are a menace to society? Quiet luxury gasoline cars are apparently safe enough... but not those quiet EVs! Say... why not pass a law that makes ALL cars quieter so we can hear other stuff that's going on around us?
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