Disabling the prius prime noise maker.

Lee Jay, Where is the link that lists the Pedestrian-EV injuries verses the Total Pedestrian-Auto injuries?

 

"We estimate that the benefits of reducing the pedestrian injury rate per registered vehicle for HVs and EVs to that of ICE vehicles, if four percent of the fleet is HVs and EVs, would be 2,390 fewer injured pedestrians and pedalcyclists among passenger cars and LTVs. We also estimate that this rule will result in 11 fewer injured pedestrians and pedalcyclists caused by LSVs. Thus, 2,401 total pedestrian injuries are expected to be avoided as a result of today’s final rule equating to 32 equivalent lives saved over the lifecycle of the 2020 model year vehicle fleet."

3% Discount Rate 7% Discount Rate
Total Monetized Benefits $320.0M $247.5M
Total Costs (Install+Fuel) $42.M $41.5M
Total Net Impact (Benefit – Costs) $278.0M $205.9

Link

 

So? Turn on the radio or suck it up.

Some people claimed seat belts drove them nuts. Others still say the same about bicycle or motorcycle helmets.

 

Lee Jay, All the assumptions that the PhD wrote in the 300+ pages is amazing. He's put a lot of words down, but without any proof that the injuries were because the pedestrians didn't hear the vehicle. He only Assumed that they didn't. This activity is crazy. And it hasn't been questioned by anyone. Strange.

 

What's strange is how you totally didn't understand it. Looks like you only read the first line and you didn't understand that.

It was *signed* by the NHTS Administrator. It was *written* by a whole department, doing several statistical research studies. The basic idea is quite simple, and it makes perfect sense. I'll bet you didn't either read or understand the idea behind the analysis.

It was put out for public comment, and those comments were addressed.

All this stuff is referenced in the report.

 

I do not agree with disabling the sound.

I think your quote is not yet valid though. It is not required until 2019 if I recall correctly. They finalized the requirements late in 2016.

 

Manufacturers aren't required to put it on the car until then. But several manufacturers have done so in advance for safety.

 

True but your other quote was about disabling a required sound. They are not yet required so the law has not yet been broken.

 

Excellent post. Thank You

 

It's not broken by him anyway, since it's a manufacturer requirement, which Toyota met early. However, I suspect he could be both civilly and criminally liable if he hits someone after disabling a safety device designed to prevent that occurrence. It's practically the textbook definition of "reckless".

An act of proceeding to do something with a conscious awareness of danger, while ignoring any potential consequences of so doing. Reckless disregard, while not necessarily suggesting an intent to cause harm, is a harsher condition than ordinary negligence.

 

OK Lee Jay, I give up. I won't disconnect the speaker.

I'm fearful the Prosecuter would call you as a witness !!!

 

bwilson said the study is flawed. that's good enough for me. i haven't run into a blind/deaf person in 45 years of driving. into/over/around/whatever.

 

Just wondering if tesla or other ev car had the same noice?

There must be something for the insurance company that Toyota has to put in. I will recommend to use as is.



iPhone ?

 

some do, some don't but they all have to, by 2019. i don't think tesla does, but they do have some type of pedestrian avoidance.
in my mind, this law would be more effective, if it applied to all cars with decibels below a minimum at idle.

 

FYI. I saw many google car (mini bettle) around mountain view and I don't hear anything when close to it.


iPhone ?

 

true, some gassers are whisper quiet. between the engine tech, mufflers and sound deadening under the hood, you can't tell if they are running.

 

I think of the noisemaker like I do of daytime running lights. They may or may not decrease accidents. The jury is still out how effective they can be. I do hear the noise inside my car. It doesn't bother me. I actually like the spaceship noise and people have asked me about the noise. It reminded me of the Saturn commercials from the 1990's. Everyone was telling the driver he forgot to turn off his light. That was the point of the DRL so that people see him. So the noisemaker gets attention. I wish it were louder.... or pedestrians less rude. I've come up to people before standing in the middle of the road looking the other way and not giving a care they are blocking traffic.

 

i haven't disabled mine, but i support the right of those who wish to.

 

I throughly disagree with the law that mandated these noise makers: Prius Fatalities 2001-2007

However, it is important that we have a population of cars with the noise makers to compare before and after accident rates. IMHO, the noise generators will have no measurable effect. We can't do that analysis if there is wide-spread disabling.

Now I think the flawed accident reports are hiding a more important truth, the effect of windshield support, the "A" pillar, in blocking driver view of road. There is a left-turn, right-turn bias in the data and this suggests a closer "A" pillar is blocking view of pedestrians:

• direct view by one eye based upon the width
• enables the "blind spot" of the other eye to not see the pedestrian

But we need a substantial population of 'noise' cars to do the statistical analysis.

Bob Wilson