Toyota Explains, Demonstrates Noisemaker coming standard in all 2012 Prius models

Exactly, and it should be benchmarked against brand new ICE cars, such as a conventional Toyota Camry. If the Camry only emits X decibels while going 5mph, then the hybrid should MATCH those X decibels!

Otherwise, to ensure that blind people are safe, ALL vehicles, including SUVs and sports cars should be REQUIRED to have these noisemakers.

 

I would claim the ICE was running and hence the noise maker was off. Who would be able to say something against it? And in any case if you hit a pedestrian, at least in EU, no matter how noisy the car was or not you are considered guilty (to a degree) no matter what happened.
Back to the noise generator. Why a spaceship sound, that would lead people to look up, and not simply a sampled track from the engine of the car itself? I mean, the ICE is plenty noisy when it runs already (and no pedestrian gives a damn about it while checking their FB page while crossing the road...)? Why not use that?

 

I don't wash my car. Ever. It gets dirty. Very very dirty. The front end is filthy, in fact. There is debris, stones, and gunk caught up in just about everything near the front end. Heck, to be honest, since I can't even hear that magic noise making whatever it is, and have never heard it since I am always inside my car with the music on, how would I have even known it was covered up with dead leaves and dirt?

 

You should not hear any magic noise because your auto does not have a noisemaker. This thread is referencing MY 2012 Prius models.

 

Thanks, Toyota. The world is not noisy enough.

 

In all my life I've never hit a pedestrian. I'd say you'd have bigger things to worry about after hitting a pedestrian than if you disabled your noisemaker.

 

Unfortunately it looks like on/off switches will not be allowed. Look what happened to Hyundai...

On-Off Switch for Hybrid Noisemakers May be Banned

 

According to the link you provided, the law will not take effect for a few years. Also the article indicated a ban on the on-off switch was being considered.

I wish I could find out for sure if the new Prius will have an on-off switch for the noisemakers on the 2012's.

This is important to me because I will go out and buy a 2011 Prius now, if this noisemaker will be on all the 2012's with no way to turn it off.

 

Well read the post and listen to the video. Danny's post says "The Vehicle Proximity Notification System" will be standard and mandatory on all 2012 Prius.

The video makes no mention of an off switch and says the system is active at speeds less than 15mph. Which is a little unclear, but I'd imagine if Toyota was going to provide North American drivers with an off switch, it would of been mentioned in the video.

I'd assume no off switch, and coming in 2012...

I'd also assume you could make an "off switch" pretty easy if you wanted to take the associated risks that doing so might encompass.

 

I'm sure you could find ways to disable the speaker without deliberately cutting the wire. (for example: repeatedly throwing water on it until it eventually stops working.

I think the comments above have a very good point: Have you ever hit a pedestrian before? Do you always look where your car is going and slow down and be extra cautious when pedestrians are present? Do your brakes work? To be charged with deliberately killing a pedestrian AS A RESULT OF DISABLING THE NOISEMAKER, their attorney would have to prove that in this incident the noisemaker would have actually made a difference (the person could not see you), and the pedestrian would have to be either 1) a blind person (usually with a red-tipped walking stick, which you would see and slow down, esp if you knew the noisemaker was disabled) or 2) a pedestrian walking out in front of your car in a situation where they cannot see your car with their eyes.

I think this is a calculated risk with the odds HIGHLY in your favor that you will never hit a pedestrian in a manner where a noisemaker would have actually prevented the incident (the pedestrian couldn't see you AND you didn't see them and apply your brakes). Have you ever hit a pedestrian before?

 

Not to mention, Al Hibbler.

 

Someone will most certainly figure out a way to turn it off but it'll be DIY.

 

What is this place called? Take me to your leader.

 

Toyota should take the nomenclature a step further: Vehicle Proximity Notification System For Head-Up-A**-Pedestrians. By HUA I refer to people who walk in the middle of the parking lot aisle, or cross the street without looking for traffic while yakking on the phone, etc. Especially a problem in California, where the pedestrian has the right-of-way. The sound of an impending accident, such as squealing tires might just possibly get the attention of these folks. But wait until one of them crosses in front of the noisy Prius and gets hit by the truck coming the other way. Then it will be because he couldn't hear the truck!
There is a visually impaired fella in my neighborhood. I slow down and give him and his dog a wide berth. This noise is going to scare the two of them, I'm sure. I'll make it point to stop and explain to him why my car is being so annoying, and assure him that it is not the result of little green men landing their spacecraft.

 

By default though, the Leaf (a)noise, as I call it, turns on with each startup. Several Leafers have disconnected it. I'm just saying, we who mod, will find the PIP to be equally easy to disconnect. Therefore, my shorts will not get bunched up over this issue.

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I gotta say when I got to test drive the new cars at the green drive expo a few weeks ago I did notice a little noise coming from the cars in the front but it was not nearly as loud as the videos on this page. And to be honest I thought all the hybrids made that noise....until I read this post.

But thats me a person who does not have a hybrid. Either way this is just another concern for me and buying a new 2012. I get an Entune system and USB, and minor refresh.... but I also get a sound that wasn't existent in previous models.

All in all It would be incredible to modify the sound to emit something different or turn it off if it really bugs you. But hopefully we can trust Toyota will take our concerns into consideration and emit the sound at a lower volume... which if they keep it the way it was at the expo it shouldn't be all that bad.

 

nothing changed to the sound you heard... and it will be easy to disconnect (cut the wire).

 

I was speaking in future tense, like 2-4 years.

 

Do you want to wake up your neighbors when you leave at 6am for work or roll in late at night???

 

This is just stupid.. I can appreciate their concern for this issue, but putting a noise generator on the Prius does not address the real issues at hand. That both drivers, and pedestrians are both doing other things when their primary focus should be paying attention to where they are going. This is the same thing in my area when a bicyclist gets hit because they think they own the road (before jumping on me realize I am a road cyclist myself) and that cars should heed to them. There are laws regarding peds/cyclists/cars but people choose to ignore them. This device is somehow trying to mitigate accidents, but it too will also fail as people will think that they will be able to pay attention less than they already do.. So in the end I either expect that accident numbers will be unchanged, or actually increase due to this device.... This kind of goes inline with the fact that people think because they have a GPS it will never steer them wrong. Then they wind up dying in the freezing cold, driving into bodies of water, or run out of gas in the middle of the desert. Technology will never be the answer in these cases. Only personal responsibility, and people looking out for the lives of others will operating deadly machinery will be the answer.