Minimum noise level? Minimum???

It is this sort of thing that makes me think that politically people who just want something (to get rid of cars in this case probably) will latch on to any excuse they can find. When a technology shows promise of eliminating one objection they create another.

Nah, it's not that. Things change, and we sometimes jump on foolish ideas to try to keep up.

I've walked behind cars that I didn't know were running, until I saw the reverse lights come on. It's kind of unsettling. Cars "should" make some noise when they're running, yet here comes a whole new breed of cars that can run virtually silent.

I don't think that artificial noise generation is the way to go, but this may actually be a concern. For the sighted, I'd like to see some sort of LED on these cars that signals that they're actually running. For the blind, I'm not sure what we can do.

dwight

But that virtually silent operation wasn't something people didn't know about. It has been touted as a benefit, a reason to go electric for decades.

This strikes me as a parallel to "OMG, those windmills are: ugly, chop birds, disturb natural light". As if none of those things weren't known when they were being pushed by the same groups and people that now complain.

So... if they were known, why weren't they addressed?

dwight

There is no reason why a sound track cant be added to the car that's tied to the accelerator. The farther down you push the louder the car gets. Imagine a Prius withe a Hemi sound track :)

SNIP

Back in the early 70s, a buddy of mine mounted speakers in the wheel wells of his VW Bug and through his 8 Track pipes recordings of drag racers. He'd pull up to a light and crank up the sound. When the light changed, he had two tricks he liked to play. One is he'd simply pull out at normal speed, while the guy next to him was smoking tires. The other was to take off as fast as he could. In that case,, the other car just sat there stunned, hesitated, or hit it. The reults were as funny as the looks on faces. More often than not, a stock VW could beat any other car off the line.... sometimes even to the other side of the intersection before being passed.

MONEY

Isn't that the basis for those always on marker lights (ala Canada)?

What's next? Escape capsules like in hydro boats?

In the middle 1970s I had a big Chevy van with a speaker behind the grill, connected to a CB radio with Public Address function. Can you imagine how the driver of a nice new Porsche stopped at a traffic signal would jump and cringe when I rolled up behind him and emulated the sound of screeching tires?

When I was young, we were taught to look both ways before crossing the street, now people just walk out in front of cars and flip the bird at them. Regulate this, regulate that, just tack it to my bill, OK?

Reminds me of the joke about the mouse crawling up an elephant's leg with sexual abuse on it's mind.

There is no reason why a sound track cant be added to the car that's tied to the accelerator. The farther down you push the louder the car gets. Imagine a Prius withe a Hemi sound track :)

Then again, there are the people who are walking around with head phones or ear buds, listening to music or whatever, and they wouldn't even be able to hear a semi.

That reminds me of a classmate way back in high school who had a PA type of system mounted in his car. He would make comments to pedestrians, "chicks", etc. He was pulled over by a policeman who said; "If I hear another word out of your car, I'll give you a ticket". :-)

Because we are dealing with politics and social engineering more than technology. Attempting to impose certain technolgies that don't work or don't work well are good sized steps to the social engineering and political goals. When the engineers start making the unworkable work, then they need to change their tune.

These sorts of negatives are typically brought up early on by those who wish to oppose their imposition. This is why they are known early on. Once the technology starts becoming viable without being imposed on people, that is people use them by their own free will, then some its former supporters pick up those early arguments against them.

That's because liberals want the government to take responsibility for all aspects of people's lives, relieving them of responsibility for such things as looking both ways.

Seat belts save lives.... but would there be fewer accidents of people didn't depend on being saved by seatbelts?

Good one. :0)

One of my friends uses his PA every morning on the way to work when he goes under the overpass and screams..... "WAKE UP YOU BUMS AND GET A JOB!"

Thus spake "dwight" :

Okay, I'll kind of concede backup. But you really can't hear my Fit backing up until I'm on top of you. Well, except for the fact that I kind of enjoy 5000 rpm backing :-)

But there are some backup light replacement kits that have a beeper in the driver's side light, as well as much brighter lights (I'm all in favor of the brigher lights, so I can see where I'm backing. At 35 mph, see above) But most of these kits have a 85 dBa sound, way, way too much. Some areas (typically those built well after the airport they're next too) have 88 dBa sound limits. Something in the mid 60s would be plenty good. These are mostly to keep idiot soccer moms who don't watch where they're going from running over their kids.

Um, use cross walks? Now there are folks who ignore crosswalks, but I'm just as likely to get hit by one of those fuckheads.

Thus spake D E Willson :

When I was in college, way back when this sort of thing was "acceptable", there was a guy who dropped a 305 into a Bug. He had to sit in the back seat and figured he might as well make it a center steer at that point. Another guy had a 350 in a Vega. And a third with a (ready?) FE in a Pinto!!! Those two would sometimes catch each other at stoplights, which was always fun.

Thus spake dickr2 :

As long as they haven't bred, I've got no problems with that.