EV's Too Quiet ?!

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sjfotos

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Apr 22, 2010
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Location
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Seems like an outstandingly poor use of acoustic engineering.....

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/beeps-shatter-the-futuristic-silence/story-e6frg9zx-1225861879533
 
There are more intelligent ways to address this issue and making an excuse for more noise pollution rather than removing it is the typical knee jerk response one would expect from interest groups and politicians. There seems there would be many creative business opportunities to selectively introduce warnings without constant noise everywhere.
 
This is ridiculous. When a vehicle is moving at traffic speeds the largest sound generator is the tire noise. Many modern cars make more tire noise than engine noise when traveling at speeds over 25mph. Are we going to put these noise generators on all the cars that don't meet a noisy engine requirement? When traveling at speeds below 25mph the driver should have some responsibility to look out for pedestrians. I've been driving an EV for 15 years and have not had any problem with people not knowing that my car is running and moving except for a few times in parking lots where a little "excuse me" out the window has been more than enough to let the person know that I was trying to pass.
 
As the EV1 had, so will the Volt: A simple warble tone actuated by pulling the high-beam stalk toward you. Simple. Effective. All that is ever needed. Other car makers would do well to pay attention. But the law makers seem hell-bent on adding this artificial stumbling block to EVs. The first time an EV runs over a blind person, all hell is gonna break loose. OK to kill ten's of thousands of people with gasoline combustion, certainly. But don't kill any blind people with quite cars, please!
 
darelldd said:
As the EV1 had, so will the Volt: A simple warble tone actuated by pulling the high-beam stalk toward you. Simple. Effective. All that is ever needed. Other car makers would do well to pay attention. But the law makers seem hell-bent on adding this artificial stumbling block to EVs. The first time an EV runs over a blind person, all hell is gonna break loose. OK to kill ten's of thousands of people with gasoline combustion, certainly. But don't kill any blind people with quite cars, please!

It's a complete joke and 100 steps backward. Put sensors in walking canes that trigger noise and get stupid people without disabilities to pay attention. I think bikes and runners need noise makes as well, and wheel chairs of course. Noise is also a form of pollution but I guess that would require common sense. Anyone interested in buying fake tailpipe kits for their ev? If the Leaf had this Lise I would just install a hidden switch to turn it off.
 
The right solution is probably to have a two-tone horn, or two "horns". One tone is a normal car horn subject to all the usual rules and restrictions on horns, the other the pedestrian warning noise (e.g. engine hum) that is softer and projected frontward as described, but only when activated by the driver, not on all the time. This second tone would not trigger a ticket the way leaving your regular horn on would. The second tone could be on the same button or stalk or a separate one. Maybe left foot "dimmer switch" position would be good since there is no clutch. It would switch to the regular horn if you're traveling more than the speed determined to be where the tire noise is already loud enough to warn nearby pedestrians. That is, if you're traveling 50 MPH and need to warn a pedestrian of your approach beyond what the tire and wind noise is, you need a real horn, not a soft little engine hum, so if you hit either button the regular horn would sound. I agree that requiring constant low noise is a ridiculous waste of electric power and may be an annoyance from a sound standpoint, but at least for the latter I think the soft tones they are talking about would not, or at least should not if made soft enough, bother the car occupants or anyone more than a few feet in front of the car. Fears of noise pollution are probably overblown.
 
Rat said:
The right solution is probably to have a two-tone horn, or two "horns". One tone is a normal car horn subject to all the usual rules and restrictions on horns, the other the pedestrian warning noise (e.g. engine hum) that is softer and projected frontward as described, but only when activated by the driver, not on all the time. This second tone would not trigger a ticket the way leaving your regular horn on would. The second tone could be on the same button or stalk or a separate one. Maybe left foot "dimmer switch" position would be good since there is no clutch. It would switch to the regular horn if you're traveling more than the speed determined to be where the tire noise is already loud enough to warn nearby pedestrians. That is, if you're traveling 50 MPH and need to warn a pedestrian of your approach beyond what the tire and wind noise is, you need a real horn, not a soft little engine hum, so if you hit either button the regular horn would sound. I agree that requiring constant low noise is a ridiculous waste of electric power and may be an annoyance from a sound standpoint, but at least for the latter I think the soft tones they are talking about would not, or at least should not if made soft enough, bother the car occupants or anyone more than a few feet in front of the car. Fears of noise pollution are probably overblown.

It sounds like the EV1 already had this. I agree it should be the drivers responsibility to warn pedestrians and to look out for them whether in an ICE or an EV.

darelldd said:
As the EV1 had, so will the Volt: A simple warble tone actuated by pulling the high-beam stalk toward you. Simple. Effective. All that is ever needed. Other car makers would do well to pay attention. But the law makers seem hell-bent on adding this artificial stumbling block to EVs. The first time an EV runs over a blind person, all hell is gonna break loose. OK to kill ten's of thousands of people with gasoline combustion, certainly. But don't kill any blind people with quite cars, please!
 
OK, try this on for size...

First off, the noise generator is only applicable at low speeds, no? You know, city driving, cars turning corners, approaching crosswalks, navigating parking lots, maybe backing up. Right? So to begin with, the noise generator would be speed sensitive. Above say, 25-30, it shuts off. At slow speeds, you could select what you want your car to sound like. Depending on my mood, mine will be either "Gulfstream V taxiing" or "Model T". If I were 30 years younger it would "67 Mustang"... a total chick magnet!
 
We should be able to change the sound. I would like a charging elephant or roaring lion sound or "Wipe Out" or best of all, a ferrari accelerating. But it should be our choice to allow for some "modding"
 
It is not clear that the EV is quieter than a the quieter ICE vehicles would be in this lower-speed aproaching-blind-people situation.

A solution, if any is really needed (which I doubt), should be substantially better than constant (or even occasional) noise pollution.
 
LeafHopper said:
We should be able to change the sound. I would like a charging elephant or roaring lion sound or "Wipe Out" or best of all, a ferrari accelerating. But it should be our choice to allow for some "modding"

My preferred sound would be Gilbert Gotfried repeating on loop, "This sound is mandated by your legislators! This sound is mandated by your legislators!"
 
My preferred sound would be Gilbert Gotfried repeating on loop, "This sound is mandated by your legislators! This sound is mandated by your legislators!"

Karen, Love this!! Love this!! We never know what our Arizona legislators will come up with. Maybe the LEAF will need to carry its Japanese manufacturing papers too.
 
At walking speeds, most cars are virtually silent. Next time you're in a car park next to a shopping mall, you'll see cars driving around at walking pace. Chances are you won't hear them until they are right up next to you.

Yet I've never managed to 'surprise' people with any of my electric cars, even when I've deliberately tried to wind up one of the neighbours or a work colleague by rolling up behind them, I've never been able to manage it. :roll: Pah! These electric cars may be quiet, but they still make a noise.

At speeds of over 10mph, the wind noise and tire noise mean an electric car is as noisy as any other vehicle.
 
Heck, I guess manual cars need this too as you can put the car out of gear and coast quietly...

So many modifications needed, so little time....


Gavin
 
MikeBoxwell said:
At walking speeds, most cars are virtually silent. Next time you're in a car park next to a shopping mall, you'll see cars driving around at walking pace. Chances are you won't hear them until they are right up next to you.

Yet I've never managed to 'surprise' people with any of my electric cars, even when I've deliberately tried to wind up one of the neighbours or a work colleague by rolling up behind them, I've never been able to manage it. :roll: Pah! These electric cars may be quiet, but they still make a noise.

At speeds of over 10mph, the wind noise and tire noise mean an electric car is as noisy as any other vehicle.

I just can't imagine why this keeps coming up. It is simply a non-issue. All modern cars are extremely quite at slow speeds. EV's are not any quieter than other cars except when you put the accelerator pedal to the floor. When you put the vehicle into Wide Open Throttle, the EV will accelerate much quieter than any of the ICE vehicles, but unless you are worried about the children, elderly and blind people who are at the drag strip, don't put any noise makers on my car.
 
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