Hybrids' dangerous drawback-taken from article

[davidinalameda]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/transportation/13777957.htm

Jenny Sant'Anna was so excited. She had waited months for just the right hybrid, choosing a Toyota Highlander because, though she wants great mileage, she also needs space to cart around her two elementary school kids and three classmates.

It was during her first trip out of the driveway on a warm August morning that Sant'Anna learned about one of the dangerous drawbacks of driving a hybrid: It's so quiet that pedestrians can't hear it when it's starting up or idling, and they often walk right into the path of the moving vehicle.

As hybrid sales skyrocket, there's a growing concern that the battery-gas powered vehicles pose a risk because they aren't as noisy as gas-powered engines. When idling, hybrids run on the quiet electric battery. Most, with the exception of GM and Honda hybrids, can also operate on the battery until the car reaches higher speeds, when the gas engine kicks in.

<snip>

For now, some drivers have their own solutions. When Joe Smith of Fremont pulls his hybrid into a parking lot, he says, ``I try to remember to crank up the radio and roll down a window so they can hear me coming.''


as someone who's hard of hearing, I don't always hear cars

the only real problem I can think of is with the blind, but I wouldn't think that too many blind people just go strolling along depending on their hearing to warn them of problems

what about bicycles? they don't make noise

[applegrove]

1. Sounds like marketing by OPEC to me. LOL.

[Coastie for Truth]

6. More like General Motors

When they didn't have anti lock brakes, they lobbied DOT to require strobe brake lights.

When they didn't have mini-vans they started rumors about Chrysler mini-vans (wheels lock up on left turns while towing).

All kinds of urban legends about products where they are not competitive.

[benburch]

2. Not too much of a drawback!

I think of silence as an advantage, and never back up unless I can see both ways, or else I literally creep back until I can. And that is regardless of whether I am driving my Prius or our Malibu.

[badgerpup]

20. just hit on one of MY pet peeves...

:rant:
My beloved Sig Other uses a wheelchair and we use a van equipped with a ramp to get out and about.
What pisses me off is when the engine is running, van is in reverse (so the red-and-white tail lights are lit) people STILL INSIST ON WALKING DIRECTLY BEHIND THE VAN! :mad:
I'm talking like within a foot of it. They get in my blindspot..although Sig Other is doing Eyes Behind and lets me know when they're there...
and they let Small Children run loose...kids who are too short to show up in the rear-view window. Just hope I see them entering the Invisible Zone so I can wait for them to come out...:scared:
STUPID PEOPLE, PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS! :mad:

Thanks. I feel better now. :blush:

[CAcyclist]

3. No excuse not to look for peds

I have perfectly good hearing but that doesn't mean I can necessarily hear a car, any car, backing up until it's too late, if I wasn't paying attention.

I am freaked out to think that some people think they can just back up without looking because they think everyone else can hear them coming.

[tonka023]

7. my car isnt quiet

and people walk out in front of me
anyhow. I don't see how a quieter
car would change that.

[lectrobyte]

4. my Prius has the beep-beep-beep thing when you are in reverse.

I admit though, it is eerily quiet when starting up. The internal combusition engine will activate within 15 seconds of powering up to go through a warm up cycle, so the silence is less of a problem than you'd think, at least starting off. Usually by the time I have the seat belt fastened and switch into drive, the engine has started.

[benburch]

21. You have a newer Prius then!

My 2002 Prius always starts the engine when you activate the car. It might shut down pretty quick, but it always starts.

[Tikki]

5. Maybe, they need to put some....

artificial scent in these hybrids' emissions.... like they do with natural gas...
that way you can smell the car even if you don't see or hear it...





Tikki

[lectrobyte]

8. Actually they make a product to do just that

Apparently for race cars or something. But when the internal combustion engine's not running, there are no emissions. Maybe they could have an electric powered bubble blower or something. More info on scented fuel additives:

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=egnsearch.asp&N=115+400273+304323&autoview=sku

Why deal with the nauseous exhaust fumes from your race vehicle, when you could be sniffing root beer, pina colada, or bubble gum instead? Manhattan Oil fuel fragrances eliminate unpleasant exhaust fumes and the eye, nose, and throat irritation that come with them. Just mix them in with your regular fuel--one 4 oz. bottle treats 30 gallons of alcohol or 20 gallons of gas. Plus, they're available in 19 different fragrances.

[Beaverhausen]

9. Ok- so not one pedestrian has been hit yet

What's the big deal?

I have a Prius and I am aware that my car at times is silent.

I am also aware that I need to look and make sure no one is behind me before I back up. All drivers should. duh.

[JuniperLea]

10. It's true

I was nearly hit in the grocery store parking lot. And it wasn't a backing out incident.


Oh, and a lot of blind people depend on their hearing while walking around town. That's why there are beepers at crosswalks now so they know when the walk and don't walk signs are flashing.

[Javaman]

11. How about a 50 cent back up beeper...

You hook it up to the wire going to your back up light.

[DS1]

12. Oh god, not more of those

:banghead:

[lectrobyte]

15. That'd work for backing up. But what about when you're going

down a city street, at speeds below 30 mph or so, it can be operating on the electric motor alone. Wait, it's coming to me now: DAYTIME RUNNING HORNS! Yes! That's the ticket: just have the computer blow the horn every 5 seconds or so when the ICE is not running. They could probably do that already with just a software patch.

[pitohui]

13. oh crap

i opened this up expecting a nice juicy human/animal hybrid story

:-)

[davidinalameda]

22. sorry to disappoint you

:hi:

[PaulaFarrell]

14. maybe not on a busy road

but on a quiet one, I listen rather than look for cars. I think most people do. Just means you have to be double-careful of pedestrians if you drive an electric car.

[jsamuel]

16. aren't we just kinda making up reasons not to buy a hybrid now?

jealous or something?

[txindy]

18. Sure sounds silly, doesn't it?

Someone walked into the car's path because they couldn't be bothered to look around them and check for cars? :eyes: Unfortunately, people drive that way, too. The sun doesn't rise until they open their eyes and everyone else needs to make way for them. :eyes:

[Touchdown]

17. The one vehicle that needs to be a quiet hybrid...

Yeah! We're all impressed with your middle aged, baby boom coporate wage slave self, trying to be a rebel by removing your muffler so we all can be moved by your throaty growl, now please shave that grey beard off, you have a meeting with the boss.:eyes:

[zbdent]

19. So what's the problem? Most of the buyers of SUVs are not concerned

with the health of what they hit, just that they're "safe" in a crash (that they most likely caused while riding the rear end of a small vehicle, or hitting a motorcyclist) . . .

[KittyWampus]

23. Funny, I read a story about how SUV's crush kids cause driver can't see

what's behind them the freaking things are so huge.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

24. This Actually Can Be Considered A Drawback, and several have commented on

that. No biggie though, it's not like they're saying they should be banned or something LOL Their positives of course far outweigh the negatives, but the quiet issue has been brought up a few times.