the european bell the hybrid is also going to start!!! :-(

Google creates Engrish. :madgrin:

I'm so sorry for you. I thought the US was the only place collectively stupid enough to think making more noise is a solution to this (possible) problem.

 

My experience is that, driving silently or not, people are simply not looking when they are walking on the streets, crossing them or even thinking of crossing them. I had to watch out with my "noisy" diesel VW Polo and I have to watch out with my Prius - people/pedestrian simply don't watch where they are going and are very distracted or thinking about their own stuff when walking in/on/crossing streets. I don't see any need to add a noise making device to the Prius, since it will not make any difference - people would get used to it and simply ignore it, like they do already with normal cars.
BTW: kids following balls are certainly not run over some quiet Prius and blind or deaf people are usually very careful in any case. It is my responsibility as a driver to make sure to drive slow enough and to watch out of people thinking they are walking in their back yard - it is the pedestrian respo to make sure they are not a threat to themselves or to other traffic. Crossing in the middle of nowhere is no reason to put a beep into the Prius when in EV mode.
Plus, could you imagine in the future all cars beeping happily around?!?! I would go insane after a single day...

 

The motivation comes from:

• Blind advocacy groups - who want the world to make noise for their access regardless of whether it saves lives or improves safety
• Hybrid skeptics - who want to throw anything they can in the way of hybrids ... since the market continues to ignore the skeptics

So it comes down to a question of 'Where are these accidents documented?'

Bob Wilson

 

No doubt!

Off the top of my head, we've encountered the following lies:

*You can be electrocuted if you go through a deep puddle.
*Rescue workers won't save you in a wreck as they'll get electrocuted.
*The Prius is more damaging to the planet than a hummer.
*The battery will need to be replaced often for about $5000.
*Blind people are dying because it's too silent.
*Any wind will blow you right off the road.
*You'll never save enough gas to make up for the higher cost (and that's the ONLY factor you should consider)
*There's ton of oil left and there is no need to worry about buying less of it from our enemies.

 

But all of these are true! I read about them on the Internet.



Tom

 

Did you know that if you hit a bump you can lose all braking for several seconds? I read that right here on PC.

 

Quick story. I was backing out of a parking lot the other day when I noticed a young couple with a young child standing on the curb. The woman was talking on a cell phone (husband was watching me) when suddenly she and the child stepped off of the curb and in my path. She immediately started giving me the what for so I stopped and got out of the car to make sure they were OK.

She was going off about not hearing my car. Before I had time to say anything the man apologized for his wife's behaviour and they left.

Is this a Prius problem or hybrid problem? No, for two reasons. First, the woman was distracted by the cell phone. Second, I was driving my wife's 2007 Honda Accord - non-hybrid.

 

Crazy. I have had a few of my customers go on about my car being dangerous because it sneaks up on the blind etc. Odd, as many of my regular customers are blind students and not one of them has indicated any problems about it when we have discussed the subject.

They comment on how quiet it is to travel in, but they say they can hear it when I approach.

It appears to be another case of Prius haters having a go. I get it from some customers here who say, almost with pride, that the Prius isn't the most economical car in the world as some small diesel car beats it. Well, great for the small diesel car, but the small diesel car isn't able to carry 4 passengers and luggage. Anyway, it isn't a competition.

I have recently even had customers ask what mileage I get and then when I tell them, they deny it and tell me I don't, almost in a matter of fact way. I say I do and they again say, no you don't! lol, ok I don't! I think I know what mileage I get.

There's nowt as strange as folk, as they say here in Yorkshire.

 

Such bullshit. I've had normal, conventional engine cars sneak up on me at times when walking through parking lots. Most of the time it was my fault for not paying sufficient enough attention to my surroundings. At slow enough speeds most cars are quiet enough that their noise gets blended into the background or mentally filtered out.

 

Electric me pointed out one I missed...

The gas bladder will contract and burp out gallons of gas over your new clothes and a spark will ignite you into a giant fireball....(or at minimum, the bladder won't let you squeeze in that last half a gallon and your range will be limited to only 500 miles.