"Summertime, and ..."

if you read the story from the start, it states " I've suggested in the past that american summers arn't particularly dangerous but that american summer journalism is." he goes on to state. "A lot of intelligent editors also take time off in the summer, editors whose judgement might have protected us from stories like this." He was saying the stories are bogus and didn't deserve to be written. ie he is on our side.

 

It sounds like the "fully-sighted young boy"'s parents are at fault for not teaching him to look both ways before crossing the street. I understand your point; at least this news article is an actual incident to report in addition to the "unprofessional" hollywood drama scare tactics, BUT.. This incident it completely irrelevant since this boy was not blind! (note: my criticism goes toward the journalist and not you).

 

^^^ What he, and the guy above him said..

When I was a kid I ran into a car pulling into a driveway... lets see that was 25 years or so ago... nope wasn't a Prius fault then.

Also mom hit a kid who was jumping off a curve into the street .. happened to be a friend of mine Oh yeah also around 25 years ago... not Prius fault.

I think the real problem her is allowing kids to ride bikes!

 

What are blind people crossing the street without the assistance of another human being with sight or a seeing eye dog anyhow? All I keep hearing is that the prius' are too dangerous because they are so quiet. Anyone who walks into a street without looking both ways beforehand deserves what they get, I'm sorry. Like one other commentor said, my parents taught me to look both ways, and so should all parents.
Lastly, it's rare that my prius drives sloley on the battery anyhow, most of the time the cumbustion engine is running.

 

Has anybody done research on the amount of coal that is burned to make the electricity to power electric cars or hybirds?

 

Go away troll. :fish:

 

Dude, a prius generates it's own electricity. It used zero coal. ZERO! You don't plug a Prius in, it recharges itself. Even still, if everyone had cars that they did plug in, that would decrease our dependency on foriegn oil. Lastly, coal isn't the only way to generate electricity. There's hydro, wind, solar, and nuclear power to do that, so, all in all, it would be much better, and much less carbon elements introduced into our already fragile environment

 

Is a hybird some type of bird/transportation device that consumes electricity? :madgrin:

 

Yeah, scram Troll!

Anyway, here's another take on the silent Prius. I sort of agree that our silence is a problem. Weren't YOU a kid on a bike counting on your ears to tell you if a car was coming. I know I did.

However, having us make noise is a crazy solution. Noise pollution. Let's just deal with it, but admit that one or two folks with blindness or kids on bikes or little old ladies are going to get it before people learn to look.... Americans hate cost benefit analyses like this, because we are so individual focused (protect that last individual, but don't have health insurance for tens of millions).

 

Here is a problem with the "let's make the hybrids noisy so the blind people can hear them" solution:

How fricken loud are you going to have to make it to ensure that blind people will hear it under all conditions? Louder than an idling diesel truck? Louder than a Harley with straight pipes? If its near an airport, will it need to be louder than a jet engine?

 

Before requiring hybrids to make noise, there oughta be a law requiring SUVs to have backup cameras. How many more kids have to die before these retarded lawmakers get a freakin' clue?

 

If they put a noise maker on my next hybrid (will be a Volt or Prius PHEV) it will be my singular mission in life to figure out how to disable it. This "quiet" thing is so ridiculous. You don't hear modern cars' engines going down the road, you hear tire noise and air displacement.

 

Well, what about the deaf? Should all cars come in only blinking neon colors so they can been seen better by those who cannot hear?

... Brad

 

Right no one could ever possibly figure out the correct noise level.

Too bad for blind people, they should just stay inside rather than inconveniencing Prius drivers.

 

If I equip my car with a noise maker that puts out 75 dB SPL @ 10 ft and a delivery truck pulls up next to it putting out 83 dB SPL @ 10 ft, will a blind person be aware that my car is there?

How about if the delivery truck is stopped at a cross street and I have the right of way? Will the blind person hear my car over the rattle of the delivery truck?

Or have you already figured it out for us?

 

Unfrikenbelievable.

Are you on Acid?

 

I will ignore your insult this time, but no, I actually have experienced this:

Standing on a street corner, a delivery truck was stopped at a red light. On the cross street, cars were traveling by, but I could not hear them over the rattle of the idling truck. I am not blind, but I personally do not believe a blind person would have been able to hear them either. None of those cars were hybrids, just normal modern cars.

So my point is:

How loud does the Prius have to be to make sure that blind people will be able to hear it?

Perhaps there is a more effective solution to this problem.

 

Run your logic by someone in the real world. See how they react to it.

 

Can I assume you are in the "real world"? Answer my question: How loud does the car need to be?