Sales of Hyundai’s Sonata Hybrid may have begun already, but deliveries are delayed as new regulations were ordered just as Hyundai’s first hybrid was going to market. In January, President Obama followed up on a months-long effort by the National Federation of the Blind to require full-time audible warnings for electric-drive vehicles, and signed legislation directing the DOT to
study and report to Congress on the minimum level of sound that is necessary to be emitted from a motor vehicle, or some other method, to alert blind and other pedestrians of the presence of operating motor vehicles while traveling.
According to GreenCarReports.com, the possibility of these changes required a last-minute modifications to the Sonata Hybrid, in order to remove the option of disabling the Hybrid’s “virtual engine noise” in case that feature fell foul of the new regulations. The Sonata Hybrid had been developed to have the sound-disabling function, so the last-minute modification
required changes to the wiring harness, the user-interface software, and even the Owner’s Manual, which had already been finalized.
All this for an audible warning that research shows is less than effective and contributes more to noise pollution than an internal combustion engine. Oh well.
As long as I can replace whatever dumb virtual engine noise they use with the car noise from The Jetsons.
Two words: TIE Fighter.
Nice idea – just upload any MP3 you like into the cars computer. You’d be able to drive along everywhere with your own random noises or even your own theme tune blaring out at Pedestrians – and this time it’d be mandated by the government.
ugh… I can already picture wannabe thugs blaring obscene rap music while the gentleman across the street plays Mozart. Just as long as I can physically disconnect the noisemaker, it will all be fine.
Why don’t we just equip pedestrians with radar?
Funny point, but Volvo’s pedestrian collision avoidance system goes a long way to reducing those kinds of collisions and without depending on noise creation that might not be particularly effective, especially in busier urban environments.
Have been mown down myself by someone who took a right turn without looking, and being married to someone who was badly injured by someone who did the same at a left, I’m all for collision mitigation. I’m just not sure if noisemakers are all that effective.
Ed, the article you linkedto is about the inefficacy of back-up beepers. Please tell me that is not the “virtual engine noise” this legislation requires. I’ll go nuts! And if it’s not, then that link doesn’t seem to be very relevant.
Back up beepers and virtual engine noise makers are not the same thing. The anti-noise advocacy group is just that, a fringe advocacy group.
The Society of Automotive Engineers set up a study group regarding the relevant issues back in late 2007. Since that time, industry and the government have been crunching the data and working on a set of standards. It looks like Hyundai wasn’t paying close enough attention to the evolution of of regulations around this set of issues. Shame on Hyundai for not being prepared. Toyota, Nissan, GM and others are all in the loop. Why not Hyundai?
Hyundai didn’t get caught needing to add the sound, just needing to eliminate their user option to disable it.
One could say they were planning to go beyond minimal expectations, if one so chose.
Maybe Hyundai didn’t expect the regulation to go the way it did, just like the way the IRS was surprised by Congress’ last-minute extension of the Bush tax cuts in December. As a result, the IRS couldn’t process itemized tax returns submitted before Feb 14.
I think one of the greatest advantages of hybrids and electrics is their absolute silence. My appreciation for them deepens whenever one ever-so-silently hums past me on a quiet side street.
Having lived in cities with deafening city noise, I had hoped we were moving toward a more silent future. Isn’t that what we were promised? Isn’t that what science fiction had us believe? I saw Gattica, and I took notes. Now I am to understand that this noise, a toxic byproduct of internal combustion engines and friction braking systems, is keeping us all safe? And the solution proposed by the best and brightest is to replace this mechanical cacophony with synthetic noises – in an effort to create an outdoor environment that mimics the the bliss of a Las Vegas casino or the interior of a vintage Pac Man cabinet?
Humanity is doomed, right?
Prattworks, I’m for the disable the damn noisemaker group. One of the things I like about my hybrid is the stealth mode in parking lots or quiet side streets at night. If I own another hybrid and it has a synthetic noise, I’m certainly going to kill it. But, your idea about Pacman is pretty cool. I taped myself playing Pacman in college (yeah, pretty geeky, and three deadheads asked about using my nakamichi for making bootleg tapes) so I have about 45 minutes of a game, all the way up to the third key. So, programming that in might make for some pretty good joiiies…
I predict this will go the way of automatic seatbelts.
I would like to propose playing-cards that flap against the wheel spokes. They sounded pretty good on my Schwinn back in the day.
I fully support this solution.
Fake waste gate noise?
70’s Chrysler starter motor noise ?
Hello Kitty Remix ?
I think this is great BEVs will be hated soon.
With all the problems this country is facing and this is what they focus on? WTF
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP !!!
I STILL CAN’T HEAR YOU ED….
NOPE, STILL CAN’T HEAR YOU….