From the article ~ "Some reports suggest that in the future, car owners will download a sound for their car the way many consumers buy ring tones for their cellphones."

Oh crap, now we have to listen to cars playing crappy tunes on bad speakers all the time. Can't their be a law against this proposed. I think a few dead pedestrians is worth the loss of the noise pollution.

Your comment ridicules itself.

They actually bother to look, unlike many pedestrians who listen for traffic. Cyclists have to brake sharp or take evasive action to avoid these clowns.

Blind people don't have the option of looking.

If it can't be turned off, then I, for one, won't be buying one. Modern life is noisy enough as it is.

I would want that sound that the USS Enterprise makes as it whizzes through space. (emphasis mine)

Technically... It already does and that appears to be the "problem". :-)

This issue is ridiculous and assumes that the blind and inattentive notice any sound all the time. My Civic is super quite at slow speeds. Should it also be *required* to be louder?

Then stop walking in the middle of the road.

Will this result in a new market where you can D/L different sounds for your car? Gives rice car a new meaning. Drive downtown late friday night with a honda that sounds like a Murcielago 660 and see people look for the Ghost Car.

I think i like this idea. I think the most popular sound will be "fart".

At least 75% of the pedestrians don't look *either* way.

The mouth breathers are of the belief that 8 oz of striping paint will stop 3 tons of Detroit steel.

Of *course* it can be turned off. Find the speakers, grab some diagonal cutters...

Probably it'll be illegal to turn it off. The same way it's illegal to drive at night with the lights out.

It's the drivers' responsibility to maintain control of their vehicles and be cognizant of sudden dangers in the street. Any attempts delegate this responsibility onto pedestrians, wildlife, and falling trees are completely retarded.

I agree that this is the driver's responsibility, but considering we're talking about stopping people from getting smooshed by cars, is alerting pedestrians as a sort of back up system really that objectionable?

Try being blind and then guessing when it's safe to cross the road...

I hear guide dogs can see/hear pretty well.

As someone who used to commute via bike, I say it's pretty freaky having a hybrid come whooshing by, even if it's in a different lane. Almost as bad as a city bus, which has it's engine in the back so you don't hear it until the bus is practically on top of you. A little audible warning would be nice. It doesn't need to sound like a Harley to be effective.

Electric cars should have the noise of cars.

If you step out on to the crosswalk distractedly, it's my responsibility as a driver to stop. I've never had a problem doing this. And if I'm so close that I can't stop for the crosswalk, that means I'll be through it before the pedestrian has walked out past the parked cars. It's my duty as a driver to slow down near crosswalks and intersections, in case I need to yield.

Where I as a driver shouldn't have to be on high alert is in the middle of the road with no crosswalk in sight (excluding school zones, residential streets filled with kids, etc...). Pedestrians have no business jaywalking right in front of cars, even absentmindedly. I can't stop if I'm driving the speed limit and you step out right in front of me where I couldn't have expected you. I assume this was the physics problem gp was referring to.

So, if you're in the crosswalk, cross with every assurance that I'll make sure I stop in time. If you jaywalk, however, make sure you do it behind me or I'll unavoidably run you over. It's a matter of respecting existing agreements.

As someone who used to commute via bike, I say it's pretty freaky having a hybrid come whooshing by, even if it's in a different lane. Almost as bad as a city bus, which has it's engine in the back so you don't hear it until the bus is practically on top of you. A little audible warning would be nice. It doesn't need to sound like a Harley to be effective.

May be better for you to start using a rear view mirror. Just like trucks, cars, motorbikes and mopeds. Or a rear view camera if you want to be high tech. Perhaps with an education campaign. It's crazy to deliberately make noise when cities are already too loud as it is. Particularly in traffic jams or late at night. I'm really looking forward to the day when cities have minimal air pollution and minimal sound pollution.

---

Insisting on absolute safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world. [yarchive.net]

-- Mary Shafer, risks researcher, NASA