How soon we forget how quiet the Prius really is !

[jdcollins5]

I have had my new Prius for about two months and 3500 miles now. I drove my wife's 2007 Honda Accord last night for the first time in a few weeks now. When I first started the car I thought she had developed problems since the last time I drove it.

After driving it for a few minutes and coming to a stop light, I realized that I had gotten so used to the quietness and smoothness of the Prius that I had already forgotten what a gas engine car felt like. The normal vibration of the engine running, and especially with the A/C compressor kicking in and out and the motor idle increasing slightly to accomodate this, made me realize just how quiet and smooth the Prius is when stopped. I had not realized how quiet and smooth the Prius' electric A/C compressor motor really was either compared to a gas engine and belt driven compressor.

I also need to add that at the time we bought it, I thought that the Honda engine was one of the smoothest running engines that I had ever owned ! Of course I still do for a gas only engine.

Go Prius !!

[Felt]

I completely agree .... but the more we talk about it the "do gooders" will want us to install bells, beeps, and other noise makers.

[bwilson4web]

With H.R. 734 in the House and S.841 in the Senate, we need to discuss the issues openly, fairly and with the one thing we bring to the party ... Prius experience. Insights, random thoughts, brainstorming are always welcome. In this case, a quiet cabin is perfectly OK.

The quiet and lack of vibration means I drive without fatigue ... attention sapping, mind numbing tiredness. Without this distraction, the noise and vibration, I'm a better driver.

Bob Wilson

[Salsawonder]

I agree that I want the inside of the car to remain peaceful. I have always thought the inside beep when in reverse was weird. However I wish that we as a people could simply learn to take responsibility for our own selves. So many times I am behind people walking in parking lots who are absolutely oblivious to anything around them. If everyone simply was more alert and less in the "me" mode then we would not need these discussions.
Don't walk in the middle of the road, watch for cars when a pedestrian and watch for pedestrians when in your car!!

[jdcollins5]

Yes, I was thinking more about the smoothness and quietness to ther driver inside the vehicle like Bob was saying.

I was not even thinking about the issues regarding pedestrians injuries and the outside of the vehicle.

[maomao]

I noticed that at full speed, my V is actually more noisy than my 2001 Passat. I think it's due to the road noise. The Prius obviously has less insulation underneth.

I remember I saw a post here about a mod for better insulation but not sure if it works. Has any one reported the results of such mod？

[Airbalancer]

I also find the Prius to more noiser then a I6 or V8 where you step on the gas

And do not open the sunroof

[Blind Guy]

On the subject of Prius's and silence in regard to the pedestrians, well, I used to think those people (including the blind, like me), were raising a lot of stink for nothing, and ought to get a life!

However, after my wife and I purchased our Prius, we both began to appreciate how quiet it really was, and that even if you were paying attention, and it wasn't noisey outside, if you're not looking directly at the car, and it's in EV mode (or operating in electric mode) it IS virtually IMPOSSIBLE to detect!

We own one, and my wife didn't hear one coming up behind her in the mall parking lot. It really opened up our eyes to this delema.

Here's where I differ from MOST of the blind community and their support groups. Why should the majority be made to conform to the minority? There are literally hundreds of thousands of Prius's, why should they be made to modify that car to satisfy a relatively miniscule population of blind individuals.

That's a lot like the ADA (Americans with Dissabilities Act) law that was passed a few years ago, thousands of small mom and pop restaraunts were forced to install handicapped bathrooms, at costs of hundres to thousands of dollars, and many (if not most) small town diners and hamburger joints saw maybe 1-2 handicapped individuals each year, again, another example of the many conforming to the few...but we do have to be politically correct.

In another Thread, I mentioned, and still believe, it's the responsibility of those with the problem (the blind for example) to solve the problem themselves.

My solution, was for an aftermarket company to develop a small receiver that an individual wanting to know the proximity of a ULTRA quiet vehicle, would carry with them to alert them of the presence of one of those type vehicles. While each ULTRA quiet vehicle would be equipped with a transmitter, that when interrogated by that receiver, would send a signal to the receiver that a quiet vehicle was present. That way manufacturers would not be forced to install a various asundry of horns and sound makers that would irratate most of the general population! Granted, manufacturers WOULD stil have to install a sending unit of some sort, but, with micro technology, that should be a small expense, and transparant to everyone except those with a receiver.

Just some food for thought.

David (aka Blind Guy)

[bwilson4web]

Some data points:

• "50,000 members" - National Federation of the Blind June 23, 2008 statement by Debra Stein in transcript.
• ". . . Legally blind individuals accounted for 0.11 percent of deaths and 0.15 percent of hospitalizations. But they account for 0.43 percent of the US population, or 0.23 percent of the US population under age 80 (Section 4.4)." - ANALYSIS OF BLIND PEDESTRIAN DEATHS AND INJURIES FROM MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES 2002-2006, Dr. Christopher Hogan
• "The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB ), by contrast, cites a 10-year-old estimate of roughly 1.3 million legally blind Americans of all ages. ..." - ibid Dr. Christopher Hogan (The American Foundation for the Blind cites a decade-old estimate of 1.3 million. Adjusted for population growth, that would yield slightly over 1.4 million currently. The citation can be found at: Facts and Figures on Americans with Vision Loss - American Foundation for the Blind. The original data source for that estimate was the National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey - Disability Supplement, 1994 and 1995.)
• "In 2008, 69,000 pedestrians were injured and 4,378 were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, representing 3 percent of all the people injured in traffic crashes and 12 percent of all traffic fatalities." - "Traffic Safety Facts 2008 Data" (DOT HS 811 162), NHTSA.
• USA Prius sales, just over 776,000 since 2000 - Wiki and September sales.
• Estimated all hybrid sales, 1,294,000 - using ratio of 60% Prius to all hybrid sales, Dashboard monthly hybrid sales, New Hybrid Reviews, News & Hybrid Mileage (MPG) Info | Hybrid Cars

The number of hybrids sold in the USA has just about matched the number of blind and exceeds the number of ambulatory blind who live alone. But I have a different take on the problem.

I look at last year's 4,400 pedestrian deaths and 69,000 injuries and see a car-pedestrian problem that needs to be addressed and not just by hybrids. Accident avoidance systems are just coming to market along with car bodies designed to minimize pedestrian injuries. Application of these technologies, like seat belts and air bags, could see a significant reduction in not only pedestrian deaths and injuries but also car-to-car accidents.

I agree with the goal to reduce pedestrian accidents but oppose HR 734 and S.841 because they legislate one solution ... "minimum sound level." We have run that experiment since the invention of the car and it has and continues to fill too many graves. Passing a bad law, one that institutionalizes a failed technology, ensures the death toll continues.

Bob Wilson

[Mike Dimmick]

Originally Posted by Salsawonder

I agree that I want the inside of the car to remain peaceful. I have always thought the inside beep when in reverse was weird. However I wish that we as a people could simply learn to take responsibility for our own selves. So many times I am behind people walking in parking lots who are absolutely oblivious to anything around them. If everyone simply was more alert and less in the "me" mode then we would not need these discussions.
Don't walk in the middle of the road, watch for cars when a pedestrian and watch for pedestrians when in your car!!

I was trying to pull out of a petrol station, after filling up, on Friday night. It was about 8pm, and full dark. Lights on, foot on the parking brake, indicating to turn, as close to the actual roadway as possible. I still had pedestrians walking in front of the car, coming from the direction that the turn signal was flashing, so they could see that.

Would it have happened had the engine been running? I don't know, but it might have made a difference.