The Deadly Silence of the Electric Car

Washington Post: Automakers Consider Adding Some Vroom to Alert Pedestrians

(Washington Post)  This story was written by Peter Whoriskey.

---

After years of trying to make cars sound as if they were riding on air, engineers are considering how they might bring back some noise. They're trying to make some of them -- those silent hybrids -- more audible.

But how?

A team of engineers developing the Leaf, the forthcoming electric car from Nissan and a front-runner in the race for a mass-market electric car, have recently been presenting their ideas for artificial noises to government officials and focus groups.

Maybe Chime No. 22?

Melody No. 39?

Perhaps a futuristic whirring like the aircraft in "Blade Runner"?

As hybrids proliferate and major automakers such as Nissan and General Motors prepare to launch battery electric vehicles next year, some automakers are seeking to address concerns in the United States and Japan that the nearly noiseless vehicles may be so quiet that they pose a threat to pedestrians.

At a meeting earlier this month and another over the summer, Nissan presented the chime, the melody and a futuristic whir to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has recently gathered evidence that the vehicles may pose a safety risk.

Regulatory committees in the United States and Japan are also studying complaints about the cars, and Congress is weighing a measure requiring vehicles to issue "non-visual" warnings to pedestrians.

"We are studying potential artificial noises that can be added to the vehicle," said Scott Becker, a Nissan senior vice president.

But the nascent industry is divided over whether safety sounds should be added to the quiet cars and, if so, what those noises should be.

"Frankly, we've been working for 30 years to make cars quiet -- never thinking they could become too quiet," said Robert Strassburger, vice president for vehicle safety at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group that has been working to address the concerns. But now "those vehicles may be difficult to detect."

Hybrid vehicles typically operate on hushed battery-powered electric motors when idling and traveling at low speeds. At higher speeds, the noisier internal-combustion engine kicks in. Toyota, which makes the popular hybrid Prius, a small car that runs very quietly at low speeds, does not add artificial sounds.

Cars like Tesla's Roadster, Nissan's Leaf and General Motors' Volt, which will depend on battery electric power, may be even quieter.

Officials at Tesla say they have no intention of implementing "fake noises." The company already makes the $109,000 electric Roadster, a luxury product popular with eco-conscious celebrity customers.

"We have delivered more than 700 cars, and our customers overwhelmingly say the relative quiet of the powertrain is one of the most appealing aspects of the car," said Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad. "Thanks to widespread electric vehicle adoption, we will all enjoy far less noise pollution in the future."

Evidence that the hybrid sales spurt poses a safety threat has been scant, in part because the phenomenon is new and the hybrid cars represent only a small fraction of the more than 230 million vehicles on the road, transportation officials said.

But an as-yet-unreleased NHTSA study of accidents in 12 states compares accident rates for some hybrid vehicles and their internal combustion engine counterparts.

Covering more than 8,000 hybrid electric vehicles and nearly 600,000 gasoline-fueled cars, the analysis suggests that during certain low-speed maneuvers such as turning and backing up, hybrid vehicles are 50 percent more likely to be involved in an accident with a pedestrian, said Ronald Medford, acting deputy administrator of NHTSA.

GM Hopes for Lightning Volt

"We certainly know that blind pedestrians rely heavily on the sound of vehicles as a means of determining when it is safe to cross the road," Medford said. "But all of us are susceptible."

The potential problem arises at speeds less than 15 mph, when the electric and hybrid vehicles are notably quiet, almost silent. At higher speeds, the rush of air and the slap of tires makes the electrics almost as noisy as their gasoline-powered counterparts.

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) has introduced a bill that would require the Department of Transportation to establish a safety standard under which cars would have to be equipped to issue "non-visual alerts" so that pedestrians can determine the vehicle's location, motion and speed.

It has garnered 139 sponsors, among them Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), who says he has been startled by a quiet car.

"I was down in Florida in the parking lot of a shopping center, and I was wheeling my groceries with my wife, and I didn't hear a car come up behind me," Stearns told reporters. "If all the cars are silent in the future, it does pose a problem."

But if electric cars are to be equipped with sound, there is little agreement over what the sound should be, how loud it ought to be and whether manufacturers should be allowed to create their own distinctive audio tracks.

Some automakers are already experimenting with or planning to develop noises.

The Fisker Karma, a luxury electric vehicle, will have an integrated audio system that will both alert pedestrians and give the car a "distinctive audio signature" that will be "reflective of the car's advanced technology," a spokesman said.

Officials with the National Federation of the Blind, which has pressed the safety issue with automakers and regulators, have advocated that electric cars make sounds similar to those of gas-powered cars.

"Society is conditioned to that sound," said John Pere, director of strategic initiatives for the group.

There is some concern that if a variety of noises are permitted, then electric cars could merely add another layer to the urban cacophony, potentially conflicting with state and local laws governing decibel levels.

"If we all do it differently, we will confuse the heck out of the consumer,'" said Nancy Gioia, director of hybrid and sustainable technology at Ford.

Nissan declined to release the audio tracks being considered but said it would make its final decision in consultation with regulators.

It is also seeking approval from drivers, some of whom have been fussy about the various sounds tested.

"They are too flat and irritating in hearing for more than even five minutes," one respondent in a Nissan test said.

"Monotonous sound makes me sleepy," said another.

Said Pere: "We are certain that there is a safe level of sound that isn't burdensome to society."

[EPOWER-CARS-LTD]

China High Speed Electric Vehicle in Production Share this please Just follow this link to see the video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/epowercarsltd/4073357751/
(If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it from this email into your browser's address bar.)
see also: http://www.epower-cars.com/index.files/page0004.html
By http://www.epower-cars.com

[sightpoint]

Funny! The horseless carriage use to startle the horses because of their noise. People hated it. Now, We can't imagine not having that "terrible" noise. Imagine the city streets with all electric vehicles. The silence would be strange. I say designer sounds like ringtones. Then again wouldn't we all hear the thumping stereos everywhere? Noisy tires, yeah thats it. No wait, make them sound like horses!

[ibzjem]

With these cars being so quiet, you should now be able to hear the noise of people yakking on their cell phone, or the sound of them punching keys while texting.

Then, you should feel alarmed.

[Hosheen]

This is a stupid as the government gets. The sound of the tires and the wind are enough. If I had a car with an artificial noisemaker, the first thing I would do is disable it.

[ianlou]

How about making a Harley Davidson version and pump the sound through the sterio system.

[actornaught]

After years of bicycling at Death Speed, and having many close calls from unwary pedestrians, noise matters. I'm lucky enuff to be able to yell pretty loud, and watched people jump out of their skin.

Anyway, how about the Jetson's Flying Car noise?

[Hosheen]

If you are bicycling at death speed, dead is what you deserve to be, You obviously have no thought for anyone but yourself and the sooner you are out of this world, the better.

[kphx]

I was startled by a Prius when I was taking my mail out of my mail box and about to step into the street. A quiet Prius just whizzed past from behind. And I am not blind and I couldn't hear anything either. I could totally understand, how it could be a real blind person.

And adding the noise is for pedestrians and outside the car. The driver and passengers can still ride in quiet comfort when all their windows are rolled up and listening to their music. So I don't understand what the fuss is, in adding a little noise outside the car.

[superdem1]

I've ridden in a friend's Prius, and I found it alarming that I could not hear any engine running. It's like when your car dies or stalls out - that panicky feeling that you have lost control and you only have a few moments to do something about it. I think an engine sound - when the vehicle is running - is appropriate. It's more than a sound, it conveys information to the driver as well as pedestrians.

[billpl-2009]

Hmmmmmmm.... (problem solved)

[lami987]

It appears car manufacturers are trying to tell us that electricity is free. Unfortunately it is not. As far as I know there is no data produced by car manufacturers on the amount of electricity consumed by their electric cars. There is also no data on the efficiency of their charging systems.

[elliesamericana]

A car that is silent seems quite acceptable to me. Why should we want to add noise to it?

[kodiak09]

If you've ever ridden a motorcycle you'd know it's better to be heard than not seen. Noise get's your attention, although I don't think it needs to ear splitting.

[ianlou]

Maybe thy can laundry-clip some playing cards to the wheels.

[ludvig1-2009]

For all us bicycle riders. When we ride down the street and a car is parked in our path and we start to merge, it's nice to be able to hear a car coming from behind you. My wife is deaf in one ear and she has to take extra care when riding her bike.

[ToolMangler1]

From a motorcyclists view point Sometimes noise is good, sometimes it is bad. Noise is good when warning pedestrians, noise is bad when advertising to dogs and other animals.
Pedestrians will get out of the way, Dogs, (Big ones for the most part) Run toward the noise to try to tear it apart. Big dogs and deer can mess up a biker very bad if they get in front of the bike at road speeds.