Chevrolet Volt gets driver-activated warning system for the blind
By Donald Melanson 
posted November 27th 2009 1:07AM
posted November 27th 2009 1:07AM
posted November 27th 2009 1:07AM
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Good JOB!
Great idea... honk at people in your way. That'll make them happy for sure. Thanks GM.
@d3sc3nd3ncy
I was thinking a good way of notifying people of the presence of an electric car would be a speaker system that plays the sound of a gasoline car .. but after seeing this clip .. maybe the honk system is better. Seems like the blind prefer that (assuming the matter was discussed properly).
@JS
That idea was already discussed a long time ago. In fact, it's available even today, just google "vroombox." It's a silly idea.
@JS Wouldn't it be the drivers responsibility to not hit them? Who cares if the blind can hear it coming so long as the driver can see. Besides, aren't blind people supposed to have like supernatural hearing or something?
@d3sc3nd3ncy: I hardly remember to honk when some crazy driver cuts me off let alone honk at every passing pedestrian.
@MrAffrox
Well this car can remember to do it for you...
(my point isn't about blind people... it's about slow regular people. this is great for the blind).
Going under a certain speed sounds like the best way to get these active systems implemented.
Also yea good to see GM doing its part.
Awesome .. this is what innovation is about. I'm really looking forward to the volt. I seriously think it may be my next car.
I cannot believe we'd actually consider artificially inflating noise pollution levels for everyone by making electric cars sound more like ICE cars just to make life a little safer for
@(Unverified)
Couldn't agree more. It blows me away how the majority of American's think thy wouldn't be able to hear a quiet car if all the cars were quiet. Everyone's so used to filling up the airwaves around them with useless noise that they're freaked out when it's actually quiet.
apparently, my comment got truncated. As I was saying...
...a little safer for less than 0.3% of the population. Noise reduction is one of the most-overlooked benefits of moving to non-ICE-powered vehicles.
@(Unverified)
Everyone also ignores that existing cars made within say, the past 5 years, are generally nearly noiseless when at city speeds anyway.
Go ahead and go outside and listen to something like a 08 Camry driving by slowly. Chances are the most you'll hear are the tires. A Prius is louder at these speeds, due to the high pitched noise it also emits due to some of the electric components I imagine.
I think this issue is something to be taken up by wanna be corporate rebels, so that we can start talking about how the "super greedy, murderous, capitalist car companies" just want to kill blind people the world over for PROFIT!
@(Unverified) It's not just for .3% of the population. These cars can sneak up on anybody. Unless you have eyes in the back of your head you could quite possibly not hear an electric car approaching from behind you. I agree that electric cars shouldn't be loud, but a little buzz to let you know it's there would be nice.
@(Unverified) It sounds like you think electric cars are sentient, hoping to accost the unwary at any opportunity.
Regardless, electric cars are certainly loud enough to be heard by anyone with even modest hearing...tire and wind noise are still very present, and those make up the vast majority of noise emitted by a modern car at neighborhood speeds. So, unless the blind guy is also listening to his iPod, he'll hear it. In the end, however, it's the driver's responsibility to not hit the pedestrian.
Of course, if the blind guy IS wearing headphones while trying to cross the street, well, maybe he's trying to be a Darwin Award candidate.
Definitely thought they were going to help blind people drive.
...It's called a horn.
I love how people are thanking GM for being "green" by making this car.
Hate the fact that most of those people don't realize that 99% of the electricity they will use to recharge these "green" vehicles will come from burning fossil fuels like coal. Oh, there is no "clean coal", btw.
No change, just more brainwash.
Can't wait for the implementation of no-fuel, no electricity magnetic-kinetic engines. Maybe in 2090 or so...
@artist
Off topic. And magnetically-driven motors aren't anything new.
@artist You get an F in physics. I suggest studying the relative efficiencies of different types of motors and then googling the phrase "well to wheel" before you try to talk about electric cars again.
And kudos to GM for engaging the blind community instead of just ignoring them.
@artist
I live in Arizona. All of my power comes from the Palo Verde nuclear power plant, which is 100% pollution-free, as does a good portion of this country's power. There's also a million other ways to get electricity, so you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, sir.
@artist
I think you'll find most people who are interested in electric cars also advocate more nuclear, hydro, solar and wind power. As far as clean coal -- the name is misleading. It's "cleaner coal" and it's not ideal but over time cleaner solutions are going to phase it out -- especially as regulations get tighter and coal is no longer a cheap & easy solution. If demand starts going up dramatically due to electric cars we'll see a pretty quick shift towards new infrastructure and most of it will be a lot cleaner.
@(Unverified)
No one with a even a modicum of sense advocates nuclear power. When the residue of the power production has to wait 10 thousand years to be "safe", most people realize the inherent danger and refuse that option.
No such thing as cleaner coal. That's like being a little bit pregnant. 40% of electrical power production in the US is from coal. Dirty or other wise.
Electrical cars are not the answer either. How do you propose to dispose of the worn out batteries. There is no good solution on the horizon, even if most people wanted to change from fossil fuels; which they don't
@majortom Nuclear reactors are to the point where you bury them underground and fill them with enough fuel for 10 years. After it's done, it spits out a softball size piece of radioactive material that can be used in the reactors that will be available in 10 years. 10 years != 10,000.
@all of you people.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/images/charts/electric_power_industry_net_generation-pie-large.gif
@majortom
You don't "dispose" of these batteries any more than you would trash the battery on your current car; you recycle them.
Did anyone notice the lights flashing? I get the horn bit but really? Lights? I guess maybe for the visually impaired instead of completely blind.
@ACZ
visually impaired yes... but why stop there, if a person is deaf, and i am sitting for a long period, and make the decision to go after some time, how do i warn them...
and for those who are not blind or deaf for that matter, they may want to know where the sound is coming from... a visual cue is a great idea too.
in-fact, that should be applied to the normal horn. its hard to tell where a horn comes from when your in your own car.
judge "what was the last thing you heard"
plantiff - the car said "oh shit!!
Wow. That was pretty much just a commercial to tell people how quiet they're car is. "Even blind people can't hear it!" Nice jobs of making a commercial seem like charitable effort...
lol. is this chevy trying to show us that they care? cmon..we all know you got dollar signs in your eyes.
@skaterdude
Wow, Chevy has dollar signs in their eyes? First off, I think you meant GM. Secondly, of course they do. They're this silly little thing called a "business."
And if this is an issue, your silent cars creating more pedestrian injuries/fatalities is not good for business. Thus, it would be in their financial interest to reduce this and other types of possible issues from a quieter car.
Otherwise, you can bet product liability attorneys will have a field day. And guess what that means? Yes, lost $$
So you see, the pursuit of the "evil dollar" produces... good. Huh...
@ACZ: the lights will prove useful with little kids. Even I have been completely surprised by a "sudden" Prius driving by at low speed.
Why don't the just put something in the stick the blind people use to make the CAR slow down or warn THE DRIVER first.. im mean its not like the blind person is ever gonna be able to "get out of the way"
GM thought a little too hard on this one..
@brolin Blind people can't get out of the way of something they hear traveling toward them? You must have very little appreciation for the spatial qualities of sound perception.
@(Unverified)
Really.funny my 10k i have in studio equipment says other wise so maybe i need to rephrase this. My point is that its much easier for the car (and the driver) to avoid some one at a longer range than the other way around .. especially in traffic heavy areas where there is more noise pollution (the city etc.) and not some country road they are testing this on.
@brolin So inner-city traffic should move at a snail's pace because a few blind people don't know you shouldn't walk in front of moving vehicles?
why dont *they (referring to GM ) (sorry about the spelling error
I think its a great idea, and its good to see chevy doing something different. In fact, I hope the volt goes on sale without a stupid bowtie on the front grill, looks great without it
Well there goes my excuse for running over deaf people...
wow no oen commented on how the milford proving grounds shares the sane bane as tge milford academy in arrested development where children are neither seen nor heard (which would tie into this article). I'm ashamed that there are no AD fans on here :|
Good to see a car manufacturer consulting road users (not just their product users) about their products and their product impacts on the lives of those road users...
It is a good start to show that they care...long may it continue...
Is it Ludacris' "Move! Bitch! Get out of the way!" ???
Is this a big problem?
Blind people crossing highways, and drivers not watching the road for 30 second spans? Thus causing an embarassing accident in Amish country.
"I wish my car told me there was a blind guy there! If only there was a way to see... in front of me..."
Again GM have not lernt what they should be and shouldnt be spending money on. Will these guys never learn. Just build a dam car somebody wants that dont break down every other week.
@(Unverified) Wait. You are getting a week's worth out of yours?!?
@(Unverified)
FLAMEBATE. stop wasting our time.
this is a great idea, you are blinded by hate and just don't see how smart this is.
if a Japanese or German car company did this you would likely say what a great idea... why don't NA car companies come up with great idea like these.
Frankly the lights blinking with the horn is brilliant, and having more than one horn is something i have wanted for years.
The problem is German and japanese companys have not gone bankrupt because they dont come up with stupid idea's like this. They build cars that people want and dont break down every other week. Perhaps GM should follow Ford and make decent cars people want.
"Driver Activated Warning System" isn't that commonly referred to as a horn? Quit trying to church it up GM, we're not buying it...wait actually we already paid for it...
OR, the car could just play that asinine background music from the video. Talk about revolting!