Wasn't there a study a university did a year or so ago that showed that the blind people in their test group heard an Accura before a Leaf? Policies like these noise maker ones need to be supported by testing before it is even considered.
On Sat, Jan 4, 2014 at 10:16 AM, Thos True <[email protected]> wrote: > Personally, I find the whole "noise" issue to be a HUGE distraction! Have > you driven any higher end luxury vehicle over the past 10 years or so? The > Cadillac XLR that I drove made virtually no noise at speeds of 15 mph or > less. I can't count how many times that I saw the same startled look on > pedestrian faces as I backed out of a parking spot or turned a corner at a > stop sign. The same goes for any newer Audi or Jaguar. People who drive > nicer vehicles do not want to hear road noise (or any noise that interferes > with their ability to communicate with others around them). Yes, EVs are > refreshingly quiet to operate, but they still make the same amount of tire > noise as any other muffled vehicle out there. The argument that blind > people need the sounds for their own safety is ridiculous. Growing up, I > had 3 close friends who were blind. Each of them could tell me what type of > vehicle was coming by the sounds that they made (usually, they were clued > in to the size of the vehicle by the tire noise, before the other tell tale > sounds). Think about it, when you are taking a walk in the summer or fall, > on the back roads, and you hear a car coming, what to you hear first, the > motor or the "road noise"of the tires? For me it is almost always the road > noise, unless it is a hopped up muscle car or diesel truck. > > Just my 2 watts worth! > -Tom > > > On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 10:15 PM, brucedp5 <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> >> % Synthetic ice noise to keep from being sued/harassed % >> >> >> http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-12-29/daimler-electrics-get-fake-vroom-to-thwart-silent-threat-cars >> Daimler Electrics Get Fake Vroom to Thwart Silent Threat: Cars >> By Dorothee Tschampa December 30, 2013 >> >> [image >> http://www.bloomberg.com/image/i5887hbDPpIY.jpg >> A Smart Electric Drive Automobile - Daimler Electrics Get Fake Vroom to >> Thwart Silent Threat: Cars - On Daimler's electric Smart, the engine tone >> is >> standard in the U.S. and Japan and an option in Europe. Photographer: Jason >> Alden/Bloomberg >> ] >> >> Christoph Meier, a sound engineer at Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG, >> typically spends time making engine noise less jarring. For the carmaker’s >> new electric models, he’s had to do the opposite -- create sound. >> >> For Daimler’s e-Smart city car, Meier and his team invented a “sonorous >> purring” that was pitched higher than conventional vehicles, while >> Mercedes’s 416,500-euro ($569,600) SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive gets >> huskier >> tones to reflect its power. >> >> “People expect some exterior noise from a vehicle, because we all grew up >> with the ‘vroom vroom’ of combustion engines,” said Meier, who oversees 250 >> people as head of powertrain acoustics at the Stuttgart, Germany-based >> company. >> >> Daimler isn’t alone in adding noise to electric cars. Renault SA offers a >> choice of car tones -- pure, glam and sport -- on the Zoe hatchback, while >> Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf, the best-selling electric car, also comes with >> artificial sound. The issue has become more critical to carmakers as >> regulators look to require warning noises as soon as next year, while the >> rollout of more and more models forces manufacturers to seek ways to stand >> out. >> >> Synthetic motor noise, like the jangly, high-pitched whir of Renault’s glam >> track, could save lives and at the same time protect investments in >> electric >> cars. The vehicles emit almost no sound at low speeds, making them a >> potential silent threat for cyclists and pedestrians used to reacting to >> the >> rumble of engines. With electric cars already struggling to gain >> popularity, >> a spate of accidents could further damp demand. >> >> Not Looking >> >> “If a silent electric vehicle knocks over an elderly person or a child, >> it’s >> not worth the risk,” said Neil King, an analyst with Euromonitor in London. >> “It happens often enough in urban areas that people are stepping into the >> road without looking. You can’t get around that.” >> >> Although no data yet exists on injuries caused by electric vehicles, the >> European Union takes the threat seriously enough to propose legislation >> making acoustic warning sounds mandatory, and worldwide guidelines are >> expected in early 2014, according to German auto association VDA. >> >> Blind and visually impaired people, who rely on acoustic cues to navigate >> through city streets, could be most at risk. >> Blind Threat >> >> Without noise, “we could step right in front of a vehicle and the driver >> would have no chance to brake in time,” said Gerhard Renzel, who’s blind >> and >> a traffic expert for the German association for the visually impaired DBSV. >> “What is important for us is that we don’t get killed in traffic.” >> >> Electric vehicles are mainly silent at speeds less than 30 kilometers (19 >> miles) per hour. Then tire and wind noise kicks in. While adding motor >> sounds at slow speeds may help avoid accidents, it also undercuts one of >> the >> unique selling points of electric vehicles. >> >> “One of the big competitive advantages of electric vehicles is their >> soundlessness,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive >> Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, >> Germany. “It’s a justified goal to have quieter cities.” >> >> Because of this, some carmakers are seeking to keep the din of electric >> vehicles to a minimum. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) will add >> artificial >> sound to the i3 city car only where authorities demand it. Volkswagen AG >> (VOW) also isn’t planning to add sound to its e-Up! model unless required. >> >> Directed Noise >> >> Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA:US), said in >> June that electric cars should direct “a pleasant-sounding noise” as a >> gentle warning to nearby people rather than be required to emit sound all >> the time. >> >> Daimler, by contrast, sees sound as a safety feature. On the electric >> Smart, >> the engine tone is standard in the U.S. and Japan and an option in Europe. >> Unlike Renault, which equips its Zoe, Kangoo and Twizy electric models with >> sound, the German company doesn’t allow customers to shut off the noise >> manually. >> >> Smart’s sound mimics the noise of a combustion engine by getting louder as >> the driver presses down on the pedal and higher as the car accelerates. The >> German automaker will equip electric Mercedes models -- including a variant >> of the B-Class, which hits U.S. showrooms next year -- with a similar >> system. Still, the real dilemma is finding the right tone. >> >> “Simply imitating the sound of a combustion engine was not an option,” said >> Ralf Kunkel, head of acoustics at Audi, who developed a tone for the A3 >> E-tron plug-in hybrid, which debuts next year. “We discarded ideas of >> giving >> electric vehicles sounds such as birds twittering or leaves rustling.” >> [© 2013 Bloomberg] >> ... >> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sonorous >> >> >> >> http://www.moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-international/electric-cars-get-purring >> Electric cars get purring 30 December 2013 - Manufacturers add fake noise >> to electric cars ... >> >> >> >> >> For all EVLN posts use: >> >> http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date >> >> Here are today's archive-only EV posts: >> >> EVLN: driveelectricorlando.com lets you plugin through Orlando, FL >> EVLN: Number of US public charging stations climbed 30% in 2013 >> EVLN: Even Bhutan wants-in on a Leaf EV taxi fleet >> EVLN: EVs are beneficial to Singapore drivers >> + >> EVLN: Digital dealerships copy Tesla & transform car buying >> >> >> {brucedp.150m.com} >> >> >> >> -- >> View this message in context: >> http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Daimler-s-sonorous-purring-to-protect-their-EV-investment-tp4667123.html >> Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at >> Nabble.com. >> _______________________________________________ >> UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >> http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >> For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) >> >> > > > -- > Remember, it is not that the glass is half empty, in reality, the glass is > merely twice the size that it needs to be! -TNT'82 > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140104/224de18d/attachment.htm> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > -- David D. Nelson http://evalbum.com/1328 http://www.levforum.com _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
