[nfbwatlk] Fw: Blind Pedestrians Say Quiet Hybrids PoseSafetyThreat

Thu Feb 15 00:00:38 CST 2007

Hi,
Really!  I think the dude didn't want to hear about the concerns of the 
blind.
thanks
Lauren
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kaye Kipp" <kkipp123 at msn.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 8:51 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: Blind Pedestrians Say Quiet Hybrids 
PoseSafetyThreat


> And why would hybrid car drivers be more aware of their surroundings than
> anyone else?  That doesn't make any sense.
>
> Kaye
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:30 PM
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw: Blind Pedestrians Say Quiet Hybrids Pose
> SafetyThreat
>
>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
>> To: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 6:37 AM
>> Subject: Blind Pedestrians Say Quiet Hybrids Pose Safety Threat
>>
>>
>> Outlet: The Wall Street Journal
>> Date: February 13, 2007
>> Impressions: 4,699,441
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Blind Pedestrians Say Quiet Hybrids Pose Safety Threat
>>
>>
>> By RAYMUND FLANDEZ
>> February 13, 2007; Page B1
>>
>> For blind people, crossing the street is becoming even more of a
>> challenge.
>>
>> Michael Osborn, a blind marketing consultant from Laguna Beach, Calif.,
>> and his guide dog, Hastings, were in the middle of an intersection one
>> morning last April when the yellow Lab stopped short. Mr. Osborn took
>> the cue and halted -- just in time to feel the breeze from a car passing
>> right in front of them.
>>
>> "Half an inch and it would have hit us ... it wasn't making any noise,"
>> says Mr. Osborn, 50, who has been blind for 12 years. Witnesses say the
>> car was a Toyota Prius, a hybrid vehicle.
>>
>> Hybrids deliver better mileage and less pollution than traditional cars
>> by switching between a gasoline engine and an electric motor. But when
>> operating on the electric battery, especially when idling at a stop or
>> running at low speeds, the engine in a hybrid is almost silent. A hybrid
>> vehicle is generally quieter than a vacuum cleaner.
>>
>> "I'm an environmentalist, and I'm all for quiet cars," says Mr. Osborn.
>> "But it poses a particular problem for somebody who has no vision."
>>
>> Blind pedestrians using a guide dog or cane are largely dependent on the
>> sounds of traffic to cross streets safely. For a blind person, "it's
>> very important to be able to gather auditory and tactile cues from the
>> environment," says Sumara Shakeel, of Toms River, N.J., who is a
>> rehabilitation teacher for the New Jersey Commission for the Blind.
>>
>> Hybrid cars became commercially available to mainstream consumers in
>> 2000 and are gaining in popularity. Nationwide, registrations for new
>> hybrids more than doubled to 199,148 in 2005 from 83,153 in 2004,
>> according to R.L. Polk & Co., an automotive research firm. At least a
>> dozen states and several cities are encouraging drivers to buy
>> fuel-efficient hybrids by offering tax breaks and other incentives, and
>> the vehicles are being added to municipal fleets. Still, the total
>> 392,000 hybrids on the road reflect just over 1% of all new vehicle
>> registrations in the U.S.
>>
>> The National Federation of the Blind, an advocacy group, says all hybrid
>> vehicles should emit a sound while turned on and is calling on the auto
>> industry to make changes. The group says the sound should be loud enough
>> to be heard over the din of other ambient noise.
>>
>> Members of the NFB's Committee on Automobile and Pedestrian Safety have
>> discussed sound cues that hybrids could use to alert pedestrians,
>> including a device built into the axle that could make a sound as the
>> wheels rotate, or a sensor that blind travelers could carry that would
>> indicate when a hybrid is in the vicinity. The committee has yet to have
>> a formal meeting with auto industry representatives.
>>
>> Quiet cars pose a problem for not only those with limited vision, says
>> the NFB's Debbie Stein, but also for sighted pedestrians, cyclists and
>> the elderly who rely on sound to gauge the position and speed of cars.
>>
>> While there are no national data on pedestrian injuries or deaths
>> related to low-noise cars, the NFB argues that a link will be more
>> discernible as quiet vehicles become more common. Police reports often
>> don't record what kind of automobile caused a pedestrian-vehicle
>> collision, and the insurance industry says it doesn't have those
>> figures. In 2005, 4,881 pedestrians were killed nationwide, according to
>> the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an increase of about
>> 2% since 2000.
>>
>> "We want to get ahead of this and not have to wait until five blind
>> people end up seriously hurt or dead," says Gary Wunder, who is on the
>> NFB's Committee on Automobile and Pedestrian Safety.
>>
>> Some businesses are taking action. Several guide dog schools are
>> planning to use hybrid vehicles when training animals to acclimate them.
>> Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc., with campuses in Oregon and California,
>> uses electric golf carts to simulate the quiet cars.
>>
>> So far, advocacy groups' pleas for louder hybrids have failed to
>> generate much noise in automotive circles. A spokesman for the Alliance
>> of Automotive Manufacturers, an industry group, says he wasn't aware of
>> the issue. "We're interested in hearing about the concerns of the blind
>> community, and we'll work with them to ensure that they're addressed,"
>> says alliance spokesman Charles Territo.
>>
>> Sev MacPete, founder of the Toyota Prius Club of San Diego, dismisses
>> the idea that hybrids pose a safety threat. He says blind pedestrians
>> are easy to spot because they usually have a special white cane with red
>> tip. "And if you could say anything about hybrid drivers, they are more
>> aware of their surroundings than other drivers," Mr. MacPete says.
>>
>> Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong says he wasn't aware of the issue and
>> believes that the responsibility lies with drivers and pedestrians to
>> watch out for each other. Mr. Kwong adds, "One of the benefits of the
>> vehicles is that they don't contribute to traffic noise."
>>
>> Photo and Caption
>>
>>
>>
>> Last summer at the Nation Federation of the Blind convention in Dallas,
>> a crowd of blind people listened for a Toyota Prius hybrid. Members of
>> the group were asked to raise their hands as soon as they heard the
>> vehicle approaching.
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>> Side Bar
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>> Sounding Off: Noise levels of common sounds, in decibels
>>
>>
>>
>> Garbage truck                                                  100
>>
>> Busy Urban Street                                            90
>>
>> Vacuum Cleaner                                               70
>>
>> Toyota Prius electric power (accelerating)         53
>>
>> Conversation at home                                       50
>>
>>
>>
>> Sources: WSJ research; dangerousdecibles.org
>>
>>
>
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