Do Not Fold, Spindle Or Mutilate

[catgic]

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[Swanny1172]

I disabled by reverse beep because I found it annoying. I have driven long enough to know whether or not he car is in reverse. If the "R" is highlighted on the dash and my car is going backwards, then I am in reverse. Simple enough for me.

[ibcs]

The reverse beep was disabled after one year of putting up with it. The beep was annoying enough to me to make me rush when backing. After turning off the annoying beep, I feel at ease when backing the car. At first I thought it was a good thing, until I turned it off. I'm more confortable and tend not to hurry to stop the racket.

On topic #2, I would NEVER, Never disable the beeping for seat belts. My life was saved when I was sixteen when I rolled a van several times. I could not move my foot from the gas to the brake to disengage the cruise control. I know the value of a seat belt.

[ZA_Andy]

You ask two questions, and in both cases set about explaining why those who might answer you shouldn't have done what they did.

Your opinion in terms of these warning devices is as valid as any other opinion, but no more valid than anyone else's.

For example, assuming I had disabled the reversing beep, would that mean I am any less aware that I was reversing than before? Any less capable of observing rearward progress? Watching for hazards? One must presuppose the warning tone actually assists the driver in order to infer it should be left to beep away - and if the driver finds it annoying or distracting, then the tone is actually counter-productive and needs to be shut off for improved safety in vehicle operation.

Might it not be that for some, the world is already sufficiently full of buzzes, tones, dings, pings, boings, beeps that adding to the cacophony is the last thing desirable?

Might it not be that amongst us there are actually some people who are able to take responsibility for their own actions sufficiently they don't need the vehicle to warn them about it?

Might it not, in it's basic form, be a simple matter of the exercise of personal choice? And if so, what on earth could be wrong with that?

[Godiva]

I disabled my back up beep because I didn't want two beeps going at the same time.

I installed a back up beeper in the rear tail-light so that it could be heard from outside. (I must confess, at the insistence of a hysterical mother in her 70s. She insisted I was going to run over a child someday and was afraid of the car.) This is the first major modification I've ever done to a car and took it carefully and quite seriously. At the same time I documented everything with notes and pictures as the directions I had from Priuschat did not include pictures are detailed step by step directions. The first step was to disable the back-up beep, which I did.

I can understand why it is annoying to some. I can't understand why Toyota didn't design it to be heard outside. The car is quite when you first start up and if you're going to have a back up beep to warn the driver, how hard is it to warn pedestrians too?

I never disable the seat belt warning beep. I see no need.

The other modification I did was to remove the stock plate and replace it with a BT plate. I was a little more confident of this because it didn't involve cutting wires.

Why do people do these things? Convenience and customization. Others have gone so far as to remove the stock mirrors and install side signal mirrors, remove all of the interior and install noise deadening insulation. I would like the side signal mirrors but that is a little too much rewiring for me. I'll wait until my next Prius to see if I want to take on a project like that. I have no need for the extra sound deadening material as I don't drive my car to listen to superior sound so the stock radio and car are fine for me. I consider them a lot quiter than my last car so have no complaints. I have no problem with the stock seats either so I've never removed them to put in more padding or make the rails longer. Others have.

Convenience, comfort and customization. It goes beyond decals, which I have applied.

[alexstarfire]

No offense to the OP, but if you get hit by a Mack Truck head-on, I don't think it's gonna matter if the airbags deployed or not. Size doesn't matter that much, because I don't think even a Hummer could stand up to a Mack Truck head-on.

[ZA_Andy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(catgic @ Aug 7 2007, 11:01 AM) [snapback]491817[/snapback]</div>

COMMENT: Military combat aircraft have missile threat protection systems that emit “annoying” audio warning-advisory tones into flyer’s headsets to advise-alert the Flyer-Driver of any detected incoming air-to-air or ground-to-air missiles. None of the Navy flyers I flew with, drank coffee with and chatted with after mission-sorties ever opted to “exercise their personal choice” to disable-mute these “annoying” missile threat advisory-warning tone systems. At least none that ever returned to base or the ship to fight and fly another day.
[/b]

Well now, that's not at all the same thing is it? If nothing else, the attack warning device of which you speak is there to warn the pilot of something he or she could not know otherwise, whereas the warning signals in the Prius only supplement what the driver and/or occupant can observe perfectly well for themselves, namely, that the vehicle is traveling backwards or that a person is sitting on a seat with no seat belt fastened.

I was also curious to note that a common complain amongst pilots at one time was the growing cacophony of warning tones in the cockpit, which can actually cause confusion rather than provide clear warning and air crashes have been reportedly caused by distraction caused by tonal warnings - hence the reason many aircraft use verbal warning tones for critical functions.

Whether to have the tones on or off in the Prius is a matter of personal choice - which of course doesn't ensure that choice is exercised wisely in all instances. However, if one assumes a driver is trusted sufficiently to be allowed to place a vehicle in reverse, one must assume that he or she can be trusted to understand the implication.

All that said, I have not turned either warning off. I would not think to start the car without having first put my seat belt on, and I left the tone on to help ensure any passenger does the same without needing to be nagged by me to do so. It hasn't failed in that regard so far. As to the reversing beep, I don't really notice it since I'm concentrated on the business of reversing safely, but I can see how it could be a significant distraction and if I find that to be the case I'll turn it off for safety reasons.

[priusincc]

I would have to agree with the OP in both points. The audible warnings are there for a purpose. Backing up is a critical time of reduced visability (even with the camera), and the warning signal is a good reminder. (How much time do you actually spend in reverse anyway?) Same with the seat belts, the chance of survival is generally always better with the seat belt on. Better safe than sorry.
I guess part of this is going back to my service days of operating a nuclear power plant, you never want to get complacent.

[galaxee]

i see no need to be babysat by my car. i know when the car is in reverse- i put it there.

[David Beale]

In the past I have always disabled the seat belt warning on previous vehicles. Why? Because I always start the vehicle with the seat belt disconnected. You do that after two vehicles you attempt to drive start on fire upon startup (one a Ford, the other a Chev). The silly seatbelt buzzers in those vehicles were so loud I couldn't hear the engine starting.

Oh, and BTW, I don't listen to idiots in govt. telling me to be careful. They are NOT qualified. I have installed and used seat belts in cars since -long before- those "cover your ass" people decided they had better mandate it, or even mandate the belts be there! My father and I used to purchase aircraft belts and install them in our cars.

The Prius seatbelt warning is not obnoxiously loud. It does sound every time I press "On", as my belt is not fastened. I will not be bothering to shut it off. I may yet shut off the reverse beeper. Very silly idea. Flashing light, ok. Beeper, inside the car, just silly! More "cover your ass". Passenger belt beeper - I think I will leave it alone. It warns me the passenger air bag is enabled when it shouldn't be so I remember to move the items on the seat to the back where they belong.