BBC NEWS
Japan rethinks silent hybrid cars
Japan is considering the introduction of
noise-making devices for near-silent hybrid
cars following safety fears from vision-impaired pedestrians.
"Vision-impaired people feel that hybrid vehicles
are dangerous", a transport ministry
official told AFP.
The top-selling hybrid vehicles run almost
without any sound when they change from
fuel to battery mode.
The ministry of transport has brought together a
panel that will draw up a report
by the end of the year.
The panel is considering forcing manufacturers of
hybrid cars to introduce a sound-making
function that alerts passersby to the presence of a vehicle.
"Blind people depend on sounds when they walk,
but there are no engine sounds from
hybrid vehicles when running at low speed," the
transport ministry official said.
The world's most popular hybrid, the Prius, was launched by Toyota in 1997.
Paul Nolasco, a spokesman for Toyota Motor in
Tokyo, told the BBC it had no immediate
plans to add noise-making devices to the hybrid vehicles.
"But if it becomes a social concern, it is
something we will have to address", Mr
Nolasco added.
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