Robin van Spaandonk wrote:
> I have been dreading this. Just when there was a chance that some of the > noise > pollution in cities would be abated by the introduction of electric cars, > some > bloody idiot decides to make them noisy. > Calm down. It isn't so bad. Nobody hates noise and light pollution more than me, but I can see the wisdom of this. It is a necessary trade-off. Sometimes a beautiful technology has to be compromised for practical reasons. The Prius is so quiet, it can be a serious safety issue, especially with blind pedestrians. On several occasions I have driven the Prius through a parking lot and surprised and disconcerted pedestrians who did not hear it coming. I open the window and say "excuse me!" but you can't do that every time, or on the road. The thing is, 55 dB is only about as loud as an airconditioner in an office room (according to the Japanese text of the news article), or a "normal conversation" (other source) and the sound cuts off above 25 kph (15 mph). At that speed the sound of the tires and the ICE will be loud enough to alert pedestrians. - Jed
