Proposed bill aims to set minimum auto sound levels

Fisker Karma's recently announced hybrid sports car that generates motor noise through some external speakers might have received a good bit of derision when it first made itself known, but it now looks like it may actually be a bit ahead of the game, at least if a bill expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives ever actually becomes law. As AutoWeek reports, the bill was apparently prompted by concerns that hybrid and electric vehicles are a little too quiet, and pose a risk to pedestrians, especially the blind. To address that supposed danger, the bill reportedly demands that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation initiate a study to determine if a minimum sound level is in fact needed and, if so, require that automakers comply with it (possibly as early as 2010).

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Apr 10th 2008 1:47PM]

This law is completely unnecessary if you look both ways before crossing.

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 10th 2008 1:50PM]

Did you read the blind people part?

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Apr 10th 2008 1:50PM]

As for blind people, a law requiring cars to have an electronic transmitter telling a blind person with a receiver of an approaching vehicle would be a much smarter law. Tampering or disabling a vehicles distance transmitter would be a felony.

[Dan Davis @ Apr 10th 2008 1:53PM]

Unless you're blind AND deaf... Believe it or not, there are some poor souls out there without sight OR vision!

But they won't be reading this, so screw em.

Seriously though, can't we do something about those damn kids and their loud stereos?

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 10th 2008 1:53PM]

True, that would be a solution. Good thinking. May be hard to implement however. But you cant innovate without ideas!

[tom @ Apr 10th 2008 1:55PM]

outdoor speakers for hybrid cars to play engine whirring sound?

[makishima @ Apr 10th 2008 1:56PM]

@Dan Davis "without sight OR vision" And there are people who cant hear too! :P Maybe reread your post next time before hitting "Add Your Comments" but otherwise yes a totally valid point

[Dan Davis @ Apr 10th 2008 2:06PM]

"without sight OR vision" ??? HA! You guys knew what I meant, right? RIGHT?

[Brent @ Apr 10th 2008 2:18PM]

I was VERY nearly hit by a hybrid backing out of a space in my work parking lot and thought to myself then that if I'd heard the car running I could have taken my own precautions to make sure the driver saw me. I was shocked when the car I was INCHES away from all of the sudden started moving.

[nh @ Apr 10th 2008 2:37PM]

They should make them thump the ground so you can FEEL them coming, like dinosaurs. No probs for anyone then.

[Joshua @ Apr 10th 2008 3:18PM]

I think these precautions aren't necessary. People weren't instructed on how to use a traffic circle when they started popping up. So why should cars be artificially made louder? People will adapt the quieter sounding vehicles as time goes on.

Also, let's not forget, that there are more and more hybrid vehicles coming on to the market. So eventually, most of the cars will NOT be making any sound and people will adapt anyway. So I say do nothing. There will always be some idiot who isn't paying attention and they will learn the hard way. Besides, if you make a better car, people will simply spawn better idiots.

[Jon Doe. @ Apr 10th 2008 3:21PM]

I love the caps lock key still applies. Instead of the ped paying attention the damn driver should be paying attention. If someone is blind and they are going down the street it should be pretty damn obvious and sorry but even the quietest car still has a blower in it. If you are driving through a parking lot just turn on the blower and the car will be loud enough. Its called personal responsibility for your car.

[fuma @ Apr 10th 2008 4:14PM]

@Dan Davis -

How is a speaker blarring a "vroom vroom" going to alert a deaf and blind person?

A transmitter/reciever with force feedback for the blind and/or deaf is the proper solution.

[rock99rock @ Apr 10th 2008 4:41PM]

What about starvation? World Peace? Drunken sailboat captains? The fact i dont have an iPhone? Srlsy, arent there better bills to be proposed before we get to this.

[michaelportent @ Apr 10th 2008 4:44PM]

Honestly, we have laws protecting pedestrians disabled or otherwise. If drivers would be careful and wait for obviously blind people to cross the road or make eye contact with pedestrians that aren't obviously blind before making a turn at an intersection, for example, we wouldn't need this legislation.

I have a Prius and I often sneak up on people inadvertently in parking lots because I make no noise. But if I'm safe and I take responsibility, I don't need a noisier engine.

[happy_penguin @ Apr 10th 2008 5:05PM]

A lot of non hearing people can feel sounds, even sounds that most of us only hear.

[Ogo @ Apr 11th 2008 7:13AM]

I am not sure how loud hybrids are but I know electric vehicles are very quiet.

Since we live in a society where we need labels on coffee to tell us it is hot, I am not at all surprised.

[Kiwi616 @ Apr 10th 2008 1:49PM]

This is great....they complain when you have a car that makes too much noise, now one that creates no noise.

Will it never end????

[Blue Sunshine @ Apr 10th 2008 1:55PM]

My thoughts exactly. Next thing you know, every car is going to be required to be lit up like a neon sign so that you can see them. But of course people will complain about that too.

[Ignatius @ Apr 10th 2008 2:21PM]

I actually was hoping that my next vehicle I buy (an electric one) would be dead silent. I enjoy not hearing the roar of a big, fat inefficient gas car.

[ScooterDe @ Apr 10th 2008 3:06PM]

bicycles don't have engine noise, but can kill pedestrians
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/03/AR2007020301735.html

[UKNigel @ Apr 10th 2008 3:47PM]

It will end, but only when the US becomes a socialist country. Probably not too far in the future, they're trying very hard lately to get socialist health care. I can only imagine the stupidity of allowing the government to control the minimum noise of a car. That's just ridiculous.

[Apreche @ Apr 10th 2008 1:50PM]

I have no problem with this as long as they can find some way where I don't hear the artificial noise generated by my own car while I'm driving it.

[phanbouy @ Apr 10th 2008 1:57PM]

dream on, pixelated hockey player!

[Modelmaker @ Apr 10th 2008 1:52PM]

so much for personal responsibility.


I know, I'll put playing cards on the spoke of my wheels!

[milton359 @ Apr 10th 2008 1:52PM]

I was going to say with all the noise pollution this is a good thing. I live near a busy road and some noise reduction would be nice. Go for the transmitter.

[phanbouy @ Apr 10th 2008 1:52PM]

Urban centers don't have enough auto noise pollution, it's true. Progress makes baby Jesus cry.

[Anthony @ Apr 10th 2008 1:53PM]

In the year 2010 all cars will be silent except for the "crosswalk beep" sound that occurrs every 3 seconds.

[rock99rock @ Apr 10th 2008 4:44PM]

In the yeeeeeear two-thouuuuuuuuusaaaaaaaannnnd!

[Strange Quark Star @ Apr 10th 2008 6:00PM]

You mean 2019.

And you'll hear "cross now" and "don't walk" on crosswalks.

[FrankTheCrank @ Apr 10th 2008 1:54PM]

This bill has been brought to you by GM, Ford, Chrysler and the Mobil Corporation.

[happy_penguin @ Apr 10th 2008 5:12PM]

More like, brought to you by U.S. Reps. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., and Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., not to mention the state of Maryland:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/10/house-hears-bill-to-establish-minimum-sound-levels-for-vehicles/

I love how everyone blames "the big three" for everything.

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 10th 2008 1:55PM]

This law is useless. Studies show that people lacking one or more of their senses, often benefit from their remaining senses being heightened. This means blind people will evolve and adapt into subsonic hearing freaks..





...give or take a few thousand years.

[Ghen @ Apr 10th 2008 4:14PM]

genetic engineering will take hold before we evolve again anyway.

[cromas @ Apr 10th 2008 4:34PM]

The only actual research has shown that people who are blind from a very young age develop more precise hearing. It's not true of those who become blind and it's certainly not true that, no matter what sense you lose, the others get better to compensate.

In closing, studies show that people who report old wives' tales as "studies" are toxic to the gene pool.

[Paul Rivers @ Apr 10th 2008 1:55PM]

I'm not philosophically opposed to the idea, but I'm worried they'll screw it up. The noise should be pleasant, not very loud, and only be on when the car is traveling slower than a certain speed (I can't imagine any reason a car would need to make extra noise at 60mph)

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 10th 2008 2:10PM]

Was it necessary to bring philosophy into this?

[Student Driver @ Apr 10th 2008 3:10PM]

I say put cards in the spokes of the wheels and be done with it. Time for a patent filing...

[billmao @ Apr 10th 2008 2:00PM]

I personally think the vision of a future with totally quiet vehicles is totally awsome.

But hey, the Jetsons jet sound would be cool too.

[billmao @ Apr 10th 2008 2:35PM]

"I'm sorry sir, your engine noise speaker is not loud enough to pass the state inspection"
"you've got to be kidding, can't i just crank Disturbed up real loud?"

But really, can someone tell me who these nut congressmen are so i can not vote for them?

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 10th 2008 2:40PM]

I can't believe you just plugged Disturbed..

[billmao @ Apr 10th 2008 2:49PM]

Today's comments were brought to you by...

[BS @ Apr 10th 2008 2:03PM]

Seriously? If this is another one of those laws written "for the children" or in this case "for the deaf" we really should think before we legislate. How are these quieter electric cars any different than a bicycle? You can still hear electric cars coming, don't kid yourself, they aren't that quiet. I'd say more than half of the noise you hear from oncoming traffic (at least newer cars) is road noise anyway, not engine noise. This sounds like stupid legislation proposed by some company who stands to profit under the guise of protecting some other group of people, who probably didn't want to be protected anyway...

[devwild @ Apr 10th 2008 3:09PM]

"How are these quieter electric cars any different than a bicycle?"

They are very different - in the damage they can do to a human body, and in their slower reaction/stopping time to a nearby pedestrian.

I'm a bit split over this discussion, because while it seems silly on the surface, I've been around enough silent cars to know that it makes a real difference. Sure you can look both ways, but there are blind corners, people who run lights or turn right on a red (from behind you) when you look the other way, cars you can't hear accelerating or pulling out of a roadside parking spot. Even not considering those things, there is little doubt that your own reaction time is far better when you can hear something before you see it.

Also, I highly doubt you're going to hear this noise from inside the car much, if at all, there's a big difference between this sort of speaker solution and mechanical noise on the same chassis you're sitting in.

[Twitchy @ Apr 10th 2008 3:38PM]

It's true though - around 60% of the noise generated by a car comes from the tyres hitting the road. That means the average electric only car will be less than 40% quieter (don't forget, the electric engines aren't completely silent like they'd have you believe).

The only issue I can conceive would be at low speeds (below 40 Km/H) where the friction of tyres vs. road would not create much noise.

And a beeping noise when backing up should be mandatory for ALL vehicles, there are too many idiots out there who forget to look in a mirror before they stomp on the accelerator.

[Tom Boucher @ Apr 11th 2008 10:31AM]

Being the owner of two hybrid cars I can tell you that both of them I've noticed I've scared the every loving hell out of a few people in a parking lot. Whether it be rolling by them, or backing out of a spot, whatever. They don't hear noise which doesn't alert them to something and their reaction depending on how high drama they are can be (and has happened) to jump and sometimes their jump is TOWARDS you instead of away.

On the surface, making your car 'noiser' sounds really stupid. In practice though, our self absorbed (IE on the phone, twittering, web 2.0 look at me stuff) society you don't scan the parking lot while you're walking, you're trying to keep your kid from being run over, talking to someone on the phone, checking your crackberry, whatever. No noise = no awareness = oops.

[Brent @ Apr 10th 2008 2:05PM]

Maybe the dealer will let you choose your car's noise...like ringtones for your car. I'd love my car to emit "The Final Countdown" as I drive it.

[Dan Davis @ Apr 10th 2008 2:08PM]

YES! Sign me up for the "Sanford and Son" theme song!

[phanbouy @ Apr 10th 2008 2:09PM]

you're gonna get some hop-ons

[waffles @ Apr 10th 2008 2:12PM]

...if this were the case, id imagine roughly 9.75 rick rolls per day