Apparently Hybrids Can’t Make Everyone Happy
October 4th, 2007 | by Brian Carr |Over the last couple of years it’s been pretty tough to find anyone with anything bad to say about hybrid cars. Thanks to their high gas mileage, many people have gone so far as to bill these cars as environmental saviors.
But now it appears that there’s a group of people that have come up with another word for these in-demand vehicles: dangerous.
According to the National Federation of the Blind’s Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety, hybrid vehicles pose a threat to the blind due to the fact the cars have abnormally quite engines, especially when they’re driving predominantly in electric mode.
Unfortunately, because hybrid cars run mainly on electric power at slow speeds - in places like parking lots, garages and other “densely populated” areas - the likelihood of a blind pedestrian stepping out in front of a hybrid car is significantly increased.
So, what is there to be done to help make blind pedestrians safer around hybrid vehicles? Short of either making the car’s engine a little louder, even in electric mode, or installing some sort of pulsating noise making device, it doesn’t appear that a whole heck of a lot can be done.
When you consider the fact that part of the allure of owning a hybrid car is to be able to enjoy a quieter ride, it seems very unlikely that most non-blind people would particularly want to make their hybrid car any louder. Additionally, not to sound cold-hearted, but I would imagine that there would be many people that would argue the fact it would be tough to justify the additional cost for something that affects such a small portion of the population.
So, long story short, if you’re driving your hybrid in a parking lot, near a crosswalk or in a densely populated area, please be sure to pay extra attention to the pedestrians around you.
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4 Responses to “Apparently Hybrids Can’t Make Everyone Happy”
By Frode A. on Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Sounds like a case of “We don’t have enough things to whine about” if you ask me. I think they’re forgetting that these hybrid cars do have drivers. It’s not like they’re silent metal blocks of death moving around to hit people.
I don’t think the danger of someone being hit is increased by the fact that the car is silent. Most people use their eyes when they drive around in parking lots, and they’re not doing to drive over a poor blind fellow because he walking across the lot. And the jerks that are out there that don’t watch, are just as likely to hit someone with a regular gas powered car as they are with a hybrid.
And lastly I just have to say, if someone tells me I have to have a “noisemaker” on my car that I spent an extra few grands on because it’s green and quiet, I’m going to be mighty upset about it. I like the idea of a world where traffic isn’t loud. If that means I have to pay more attention to the road, that’s fine with me.
By Brian Carr on Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
This is a product of how politically correct our society has become - the majority has to make an adjustment to accommodate the very small minority.
By Erica on Oct 8, 2007 | Reply
At the risk of sounding intolerant, perhaps they should invest in a dog rather than hybrid drivers having to invest in noise.
By Brian Carr on Oct 8, 2007 | Reply
That’s not intolerant, that’s just stating the obvious.