Hybrid and Electric cars can solve noise pollution, and may be more dangerous for the deaf

AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

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• DANGER: Flocks of dangerous freakily quiet electric cars marauding across the U.S.

On Feb 18 an elderly woman in Palatine IL was struck by a passing car as she was crossing the street, and she died of those injuries.  On Feb 17 a bicyclist in Mesa Arizona turned in front of a bus, was struck by the bus, fell underneath, and died of his injuries shortly after.  On Feb 16 another bicyclist was struck by a van which had run a red light, and whose driver was talking on a cell phone.  The driver fled the scene (hit & run) and the bicyclist (a father of five) died of his injuries shortly after.  On Feb 11 a bicyclist in Oregon was riding at night, no reflectors or lights, no helmet, and was struck by a car attempting to pass another.  The bicyclist died of his injuries.   Pedestrians, bicyclists, and others so routinely die from injuries suffered when they are struck by automobiles that the occurrence barely registers as news.  These sad deaths represent lives snuffed out prematurely and families bereft of loved ones.

Why are these stories important to green transportation?  The coming arrival of electric cars seems to be heralded by activists concerned about the safety of blind people.  They are pointing to a potential danger.  Obviously the blind, because they use their hearing to locate and avoid dangers, are at greater risk of being struck by a quiet car they cannot hear.  Auditory cues are important to all of us, not just the blind, due to the millions of years of evolution that gave us ears with which to hear and avoid approaching danger.   These activists are calling for measures to add noise to the quiet cars to mitigate the danger they pose to the blind.

On the one hand hybrid and electric cars offer a way out of the crushing noise pollution rampant in American cities.  Noise pollution primarily comes from vehicles and it can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects.  Plus it's downright unpleasant.  But in the other hand are these activists clamoring that quiet cars make noise so they aren't a danger to the deaf.

Obviously pedestrians and bicyclists are routinely dying by being struck by automobiles.  These incidents predate the arrival of quiet cars, obviously.  Obviously it's not a lack of noise that makes big vehicles dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists.  The obvious question is whether the "make quiet cars noisy" activists are making a problem where none exists, or whether there is an actual problem.  If the "make quiet cars noisy" activists were to have their way, the problem of noise pollution will remain unsolved.

A September 2009 technical report issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 'Incidence of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid Electric Passenger Vehicles' (DOT HS 811 204), did find a higher rate of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths from hybrid cars than non-hybrid cars.  However the study is based on a small sampling size which may have statistically skewed the results.  Of the crashes studied, 0.9% of hybrid car involved pedestrians while 0.6% of internal combustion crashes involved pedestrians.  The crash rates for bicyclists were 0.6% of hybrid car crashes, and 0.3% of internal combustion car crashes.  Hybrid cars driving at low speed and performing maneuvers such as stopping, turning, or leaving a parking place were found to cause an even higher rate of crashes.  The report did not report any data on crashes involving blind people.

NoiseOFF is a coalition of people concerned about noise pollution and on their web site they have an extensive analysis of the issues around quiet hybrid or electric cars, and the "make quiet cars noisy" activism.  They point to the National Federation of the Blind who is lobbying the U.S. Government and collaborating with automakers to voluntarily introduce sound to the quiet vehicles.  The litany of NFB efforts includes funding development of a noise system, funding research, lobbying for the NHTSA to produce the aforementioned report, lobbying for a bill that's before Congress (the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act).   NoiseOFF describes an industry that is "is racing to develop a solution to a non-existent safety problem" and "astroturfing the issue of pedestrian safety".  Further, according to NoiseOFF, "the NFB is using money and political clout to increase noise pollution levels and adversely affect millions of people in the name of pedestrian safety."

Have we become so accustomed to the annoying din of modern traffic that we think it is normal?  The NFB's website includes an article titled "We want cars that sound like cars" which begs the question of what cars are supposed to sound like.  Quiet cars are certainly different from the noisy cars our society is accustomed to, but does that make the noise desirable or attractive?  Or is it worth forgoing the possible benefit of noise pollution reduction so that blind people can hear the quiet cars?  

There isn't a neat and tidy conclusion in this story.  All the parties have certain measures of truth on their side. 

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