Quiet cars may need alert for pedestrians | detnews.com | The Detroit News

This is the note I sent Tom:

Hi Tom,

I too visited the Detroit Auto Show and saw: (1) Volvo pedestrian avoidance radar; and (2) Denso lane following, sign reading, and pedestrian tracking radar and digital camera. Also, you might have noticed BMW announced "the BMW 7 Series will include several technical innovation firsts, including the World's first Night Vision system with individual pedestrian recognition." These systems work for all pedestrians, the 4,700 who die each year, not just the 5 blind pedestrians.

There is an old saying that to someone who only has a hammer, all problems are nails. That pretty well sums up how the Nation Federation of the Blind perceives all vehicles. Sad to say, they haven't looked at the noise levels from all vehicles

In Europe, they also measure vehicle noise:
VCAcarfueldata.org.uk - Downloads . It turns out the Prius is not the quietest but it is is in the top 10% of all quiet vehicles. Others in that list include:

BMW 3 Series
Nissan X Trail 207
Mazda6
MBW 5 Series
Toyota Yaris
VW Passat
Daihatus Charade
Subaru Impreza
. . .

Currently the NFB is trying to get H.R. 734 passed, we call it the "Bell the Hybrid Act." The problem is it will only make hybrids just as deadly as today's vehicles. Safety is not improved because the advanced technologies like Volvo, BMW and Denso are delivering are not considered. H.R. 734 legislates the 'status quo', might as well require horse clops from cars.

Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held a hearing in DC, June 23, on "Quet Cars" only the record also includes our opposition research. There is another side to the story:

www.regulations.gov - search "NHTSA-2008-0101-0020" for our research.

Bob Wilson