Jun23
Quiet cars threaten not just the blind, NHTSA hears
WASHINGTON -- Hybrid cars and other quiet vehicles post threats to more than the 1.1 million legally blind Americans, according to leaders of groups that represent people who have lost their sight.
Quiet vehicles also threaten children, cyclists and as many as 20 million Americans who are visually impaired but not legally blind, said Mark Richert and Deborah Kent Stein.
Richert is director of public policy for the American Foundation for the Blind. Kent Stein represents the National Federation of the Blind.
They were among witnesses at a public hearing held here today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on risks created by the increasing number of quiet vehicles -- mainly hybrids that switch to all-electric mode at low speeds.
Richert said rapid growth in the population of older Americans, many with vision troubles, means the problem will get worse.
Kent Stein called for a minimum sound standard for all vehicles. She said it should mimic the noise made by traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines, so pedestrians can tell when vehicles are speeding up or slowing down.
But a consensus may be difficult to find. NHTSA officials have said they don't want to worsen the problem of noise pollution.
Bob Wilson, an engineer from Huntsville, Ala., who was in the hearing room audience, told Automotive News he doesn't think adding sound to hybrid vehicles is an effective remedy. He said the answer probably lies in some kind of wireless communication between pedestrians and drivers of quiet vehicles.
Wilson runs a company that is working on ways to rejuvenate the batteries of older hybrid cars. He complained that hybrid owners did not have a voice at today's hearing.
NHTSA Deputy Administrator Jim Ports said the agency is eager to hear from interested parties and is accepting written comments on the issue.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents the Detroit 3, Toyota and six other automakers, was scheduled to present oral testimony today.
The alliance favors research into ways to provide safe mobility for blind people and others, said Robert Strassburger, the group's vice president for safety. "We don't know" whether adding sound to vehicles is the answer until that research occurs, he told Automotive News.
An SAE International panel has been studying the issue since late last year. It is scheduled to make a report by year end.
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This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your car lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com