Hybrid cars endanger lives!!

[ryan256]

A house committee in Annapolis voted "yes" to a bill Thursday which would require more hybrid cars to be sold in Maryland.

But, as WJZ's Suzanne Collins reports, there is one group of people saying a law like that could endanger their lives.

The National Federation of the Blind said it is very concerned about any law that would require more hybrid and fuel efficient cars be sold because those cars make very little noise.

"For blind people we use the sound of the traffic not only to determine when to cross the street, but to navigate, and hybrid vehicles are silent," said Chris Danielsen from the Federation of the Blind.

Many blind people have said they support conserving fuel and promoting a clean environment, but they want an amendment to the Maryland bill, which would require hybrids to make noise.

Advocates for the blind have made two suggestions to lawmakers. One is to have the radiator fan of the hybrid vehicle go on when the cars go into electric mode, the other is to put something in the car's wheel well to make noise when the car is moving.

Blind city-goers explained they can hear the wind resistance of cars on a high speed highway or the grinding of gravel on a country road, but when crossing city streets they need to hear the car's engine.

John Pare belongs to the National Federation of the Blind and he is very concerned about the bill. "The traffic and the sound of the cars give a very clear signal of what the pattern is, when stopping, when accelerating, when they're turning."

A test was done at the National Federation of the Blind's Headquarters with a Toyota Prius and a Honda Hybrid. Testers said the Honda was quiet but they could not hear the Toyota at all.

"I never heard the car until it actually touched me, I was shocked," said Pare.

The Vice Chairman of the House Environmental Affairs Committee said there is no language in Maryland's clean car bill to address the concerns of the blind. But, a strong suggestion will be made to the Department of Transportation to come up with some solutions.

Supporters have also said the technology necessary to make hybrids a little bit noisier would not add too much to the cost of the car.

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[userman]

LOL
The need to put a beeper on the cars that stay on all the time.

 

[Bootprint]

Time to patent the baseball/hockey card in the car wheel idea.

 

[Freshgeardude]

wow we make cars efficient, ppl complain. we make them louder other ppl complain. we do anything, ppl complain. i can understand blind ppl crossing street but who that is blind J-walks? how bout having like a certain buzzer that they can laern at each corner of a stree when the here it they know they can walk. or maye a voice say walk left permited or walk right permited or better yet blind ppl get a dog? that is trained for a whistle that the dogs can here but not ppl. that works

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: freshgeardude
wow we make cars efficient, ppl complain. we make them louder other ppl complain. we do anything, ppl complain. i can understand blind ppl crossing street but who that is blind J-walks? how bout having like a certain buzzer that they can laern at each corner of a stree when the here it they know they can walk. or maye a voice say walk left permited or walk right permited or better yet blind ppl get a dog? that is trained for a whistle that the dogs can here but not ppl. that works

They have those on pretty much every corner in Bellevue, WA. It sends out a beeping noise when it's time to cross.

 

[NanoStuff]

Darwinism is finally catching up to them.

 

[Jeff7]

What about chainsaws? They don't have all-around finger guards. A blind person could be easily injured by one.
What about computer monitors? They don't work well for blind people either.

Originally posted by: freshgeardude
wow we make cars efficient, ppl complain. we make them louder other ppl complain. we do anything, ppl complain. i can understand blind ppl crossing street but who that is blind J-walks? how bout having like a certain buzzer that they can laern at each corner of a stree when the here it they know they can walk. or maye a voice say walk left permited or walk right permited or better yet blind ppl get a dog? that is trained for a whistle that the dogs can here but not ppl. that works

Yes, do something. Quiet, more efficient cars are coming, and something like this will not stop them.

 

[SearchMaster]

"I never heard the car until it actually touched me, I was shocked," said Pare.

In the context of hybrids, I found this humorous.

 

[jagec]

That's it, I'm throwing a fart can on my car the second I get home. Think of the blind people you could save!

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
What about chainsaws? They don't have all-around finger guards. A blind person could be easily injured by one.
What about computer monitors? They don't work well for blind people either.

Originally posted by: freshgeardude
wow we make cars efficient, ppl complain. we make them louder other ppl complain. we do anything, ppl complain. i can understand blind ppl crossing street but who that is blind J-walks? how bout having like a certain buzzer that they can laern at each corner of a stree when the here it they know they can walk. or maye a voice say walk left permited or walk right permited or better yet blind ppl get a dog? that is trained for a whistle that the dogs can here but not ppl. that works

Yes, do something. Quiet, more efficient cars are coming, and something like this will not stop them.

Well some organization for blind people did sue Target saying their website was not suitable for a blind person to use.

 

[Goosemaster]

LOFl.....I frankly never thought of their welfare when it came to hybrids..


this is quite a situation here....just so odd

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

It gets down to the question of how far do you want to go out of your way to help a very small population? For instance, I am colorblind (not entirely, but pretty badly). As a result, I try to avoid doing my own shopping for more formal clothing where a lot of subtle shades are involved. Do I expect manufacturers to produce a guide telling me that the semi-sortof-kindof dark blue shirt should have a navy blue checkered tie? Hell no. I find the little old lady that works at JC Penny and ask her for some help.

 

[Schadenfreude]

I may be a conspiracy theorist, but it seems like there's more to this than meets the eye . . .

 

[Sukhoi]

This isn't just for the blind. I'm normally a very situationally aware person, but I almost walked into a Prius driving through a parking lot because I couldn't hear the damn thing.

 

[rikadik]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff
Darwinism is finally catching up to them.

Harsh...

...but fair.

 

[Queasy]

I was listening to Boortz some on the way into work this morning and he came up with the idea that blind people need to wear a helmets with strobe lights so that drivers could easily spot the blind pedestrian.

Cruel but funny.

 

[91TTZ]

I propose a bill that requires hybrids to guzzle gas and make loud V8 sounds... for safety.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Here's a thought - don't cross the street if you're blind.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Supporters have also said the technology necessary to make hybrids a little bit noisier would not add too much to the cost of the car.

Yeah, they're available at PepBoys/Canadian Tire/WalMart, they cost about ten bucks, and go

BWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

*shift*

BWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

- M4H

 

[DivideBYZero]

Must drive home at full throttle to save the local blind people.

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Here's a thought - don't cross the street if you're blind.

Not a very good one.

:thumbsdown: