NHTSA is proposing to make it mandatory that hybrid cars and EVs have the ability to emit a sound when traveling below 18 mph on electric power, as a means of warning pedestrians and cyclists. The system is said to add about $30 to the cost of each vehicle, and will no doubt tie up bureaucrats for months as they debate just what kind of tone will best protect the public from the horror of low-speed injuries. So why don’t we make life easier for them and decide ourselves?
I”m going to nominate the weird burping noise made by a koala as my own favorite; koalas, like hybrids and EVs, are slow and non-threatening, but few know that the koala actually makes a strange, low bellowing noise.
Compare that to the higher-pitched chirp or the low humming seen on cars like the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius. It’s a bit more masculine and menacing, isn’t it? Yet at the same time, it won’t really give anyone a fright like it would if you used a sound clip from a Norwegian death metal concert.
Circus music, hands down.
My thought exactly, even before I hit the link!
“Entrance of the Gladiators”, please, on calliope.
Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk”.
Though my first thought was a loop of Dr. Zoidberg’s “woop woop woop” noise from Futurama.
Zoidberg? Well played sir.
Why not Zoidberg?
I have to go with either the theme from Jaws, or the Imperial March
How about an unmuffled V8 with a lumpy cam?
Fiskers, Volts and Teslas should use the sound of taxpayer’s dollars being flushed down a toilet.
ROTFL!
George Jetson’s car noise.
yes yes and yes jetsons!!!!!
most likely they will all hack the computers and put civic fart can exhaust noise.
The purpose of the noise is purely safety, and the issue has been studied by Lawrence Rosenblum of UC Riverside. He says, basically, that the sounds should fit the soundscape, so as not to distract blind pedestrians from other vehicles. That means a car running on electricity should sound like a quietly running engine, and that the decibel level should be “absolutely minimal. You need very little sound to engage the brain,” he says, adding that the add-on sounds could be effective at decibel levels lower than the engine purr of current gas-powered cars.
More at in the last section of this article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018517/
The Fisker Karma makes a pretty cool noise; I say we go with that.
Or you could just loop Fran Drescher’s laugh…that’d give them a right scare!
Anti-lag.
it should say: SMUG ALERT
Yup!
Smug Alert! From the writers:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-YWyG5TXw
As both a Leaf lessee and member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, I hope I haven’t joined the Smug Club. But I get your point. Maybe that happens if I buy out the lease. :)
The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is a pretty exclusive club, I wouldn’t drive the Leaf to our new secret Stonecutter meeting hall.
The sound the Jetson’s car makes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdWswvLPdE0
one word: Trololo
http://www.you tube.com/watch?v=1CFnM4SYQC8&list=UUtJVZjY6xsZUV-sYdcIFpZw
How about Curly Howard’s “Woo woo woo woo”? I would soitenly never get tired of that…
http://hark.com/clips/zdsnsjyvld-woo-woo-nyuk-nyuk
This. http://youtu.be/jK9dCd1DXZI?t=41s
My vote is for a recorded human voice sort of like that one Dutch Dominoes Delivery scooter “Domino’s Pizza Safe Sound”
youtube: /watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n17B_uFF4cA
That’s phenomenal. Reminds me of the old joke where motorcycles sound like the manufacturer’s name.
A looped recording of the sound that baseball cards (or hockey cards for those Canadians amongst us) make in the spokes of a bicycle at 10mph.
The Cummins turbodiesel sound would be nice.
I assume you mean the old Cummins TD sound? They’ve quieted it down and that’s no fun.
How about a recording of John Stewart crying “Global warming is real! Global warming is real!”
Ricky Martin’s “Livin the vida loca”
On a related topic, I take very seriously the motorcycle bumper sticker saying that “Fat pipes save lives.”
However, given the fact that obnoxiously amplified motorcycle exhaust noises are intermittent — they only protect the driver when accelerating, I propose instead a law that will protect motorcycle riders more effectively.
All motorcycles should be required by law to continually blair a recording of the driver saying the following statement: “I am an old, overweight man so desperate for attention that I risk my life trying to pilot this motorcycle. Please notice me and pretend I am a straight, young, virile man.”
Please don’t inflict that on me. I ride a BMW, and a properly tuned stock stock /5 is almost inaudible at low speed
My sports bike is nearly silent at idle, but after the baffles open up at around 7,000 rpm, it’s VERY loud, but of course, by then, your going so fast the problem is not others crashing into you, but rather you crashing into others.
Your description is typical of many cruiser owners. You know, the kind that wear short sleeve shirts and leather vests with “skull cap” barely-DOT-compliant helmets trying to pretend they are “hard” and “tough.” The kind of riders who don’t wave back at you when you send a friendly wave their way.
I’m a year around rider (unless it’s snowing) and I firmly believe that loud pipes don’t save lives. They just annoy the crap out of people. Being a smart, well prepared, defensive and proactive rider… that, saves lives.
+1 I just go with straight pipes
….My sports bike is nearly silent at idle, but after the baffles open up at around 7,000 rpm, it’s VERY loud…
The Harley is really loud at 7000 RPM too. You know, the sound of an exploding, overreved engine…and yes, loud pipes are just obnoxious.
I was once at a Harley dealer with a buddy, and the only bike on the floor that intrigued me was a new, silver V-Rod – and it was “on sale”. I asked the (very nice young lady) salesperson why it was discounted, and she told me that they didn’t sell, because they were so quiet. She said that they sounded like “the Jetson’s car”.
The Jetson’s car sound is what it should be. I actually lived across from a trailer park a few years ago and there was a Mazda 626 that someone in the park owned that actually made that sound. No idea what was wrong with the car, but it was awesome.
+1. When this subject first came up (I believe in terms of the Leaf) I figured that this was the only real sound for an electric car. Enough future in it that it makes sense, and the noise is both noticeable while not being obnoxious.
I’ll second the motion, if we’re limited to one sound. The market should be allowed an amount of customization (within reason, people could go real stupid, real fast with it, and the police have more important things to do than regulate some EV’s aural grunts).
I’d take five settings:
1. Jetson’s
2. Sherman tank, engine & tread squeal (Ray LaHood just had me wire tapped for that)
3. V8
4. V12
5. Footsteps…for mischief in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Sherman tank, engine & tread squeal – Brilliant! I bet if we send that idea to Top Gear they might choose to use it for a segment.
I can totally hear (see) it now, rolling through a quaint downtown street sounding like a Sherman to the tune of “A Bridge Too Far” coming from the stereo…
The sound of the last little bit of hope escaping a human body
You mean, a fart?
Hilarious.
Why not look to the construction industry for help with this. They are switching from the high frequency *beep beep* sounds to white noise ‘growler’ sounds for the vehicle warning sounds. While high frequencies are more directional, they also carry farther and echo significantly, reducing their effectiveness as directional locating sources. Also, because they carry farther, they annoy many more people.
This NIH article actually talks about this very topic:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018517/
This is a little off-topic, but what is the point of that beeping noise? Was there once a problem with people hanging out in close proximity to the back of operational heavy machinery that was solved by installing a noise so annoying that nobody would want to get within a few blocks of it? Also, wouldn’t the elimination of people who can’t recognize the danger of that sort of location be a net benefit?
Hemi with a lumpy cam or squeaky hamster wheel, either would be be entertaining.
Not bad I like the hamster wheel, but I would love to hear the throaty sound of a mid 80’s 60 degree V-6 in a J or A body with a stick, like my 86 Z-24
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell, but played backwards
Like the cars in Gattaca.
Very much agreed, great reference.
The more things change…
From Wikipedia:
Red flag law in the UK
Main article: Locomotive Acts
In the United Kingdom, the Locomotive Acts (also known as Red Flag Laws) was a policy requiring self-propelled vehicles to be led by a pedestrian waving a red flag or carrying a lantern to warn bystanders of the vehicle’s approach. The Red Flag Law was repealed in 1896, by which time the internal combustion engine was well into its infancy.[1]
Red flag laws in the US
In the United States, the state of Vermont passed a similar flurry of Red Flag Laws in 1894. The most infamous of the Red Flag Laws was enacted in Pennsylvania circa 1896, when legislators unanimously passed a bill through both houses of the state legislature, which would require all motorists piloting their “horseless carriages”, upon chance encounters with cattle or livestock to (1) immediately stop the vehicle, (2) “immediately and as rapidly as possible… disassemble the automobile,” and (3) “conceal the various components out of sight, behind nearby bushes” until equestrian or livestock is sufficiently pacified.[1] The bill did not become law, as Pennsylvania’s governor used an executive veto.
The opening section of Eddie Grant’s “Electric Avenue.”
Soviet national anthem, heavy on the drunken men’s chorus.
+1
If the government only requires an audible alert, there could be a niche business in downloadable sounds. Hemi with glass packs, V-twin “potatoing”, basket of mewing kittens, tires screeching as brakes lock up, Hare Krishnas chanting, it’s your car, let your safety alert be your own.
While I applaud the individualism of a multitude of apps, the feds are going to insist on a single standard sound that can be associated with an oncoming electric vehicle. Otherwise, we’d have everything from a rooster crowing, to a rolling bowling ball, to a blaring vuvuzela.
Although my first choice would be a recording of Queen singing “Another One Bites The Dust”, the sound would have to be mechanical, so a recording of a GM Iron Duke would be my second choice. I’m sure electric car owners would get used to it – millions of GM customers did. If that’s too harsh, there’s always the unique transmission whine of an Iveco milk truck.
Yakity Sax.
The noise that my Prius v makes is pretty neat. It mimics the typical SciFi spaceship/UFO sound. It fits well considering the setup of the IP has a very SciFi feel to it.
Can we force noises on maniac drivers? I had a Dodge Ram come up and tailgate me on the interstate as I was passing a line of semis (2 lanes in each direction). My cruise was at 72, but I sped up to 75 as I was passing because the Ram was filling my rear view mirror. As I put my signal on and started merging right to open up the left lane for 75-isn’t-fast-enough (I always make sure I have the car I’m passing in my mirror before I move over to ensure clearance), he hammers the gas and darts to my right trying to pass on my right. Halfway across, I swerve back to the left lane and the tribal armbanded maniac passes on my right, screaming at me, my wife, and my 5 month old daughter. He then pulled off the exit that was less than 2 miles away. Yes, he saved SOOOOO much time by nearly wrecking the lot of us.
Hi Quentin…
I was really amused by your tale. I have experienced the inverse.
I have an old ’96 Dodge Ram 1500, which I drive slowly around the city here. But I have been amazed at the number of Prii (and other similar species) that suddenly rush out to pass me on the left, but then put on their brakes to make a right-hand turn, about 100-200 feet later! (^_^)…
———-
I’m also puzzled by those that swoop around my 20K lbs truck in their little cars, only to slam on the brakes to make a right turn. At that second, I think maybe they’re also getting pushed along by those behind them or cars are packed too tightly behind me. Nope, we’re usually the only ones on the road.
Aside from being extremely rude, are they just not aware of the laws of physics? I know they’re not intentionally trying to get rammed because I can probably get around them if I had to.
I saw a lady do this to a tandem-trailer sand hauler on a very busy highway. He was haulin’ some serious ass as they tend to do and she just had to pull into a gas station at super close range. Then the guy at the pump started backing up and blocked her entry. She stopped (and left her ass end hanging out) directly in the simi’s path… The sand hauler locked up all 18 and it started to jack-knife. He then went back on the throttle, straightened the whole thing out and drove around her sorry ass after everyone else gave him room. The confused/stupid look on her face was priceless! She could’ve also drove on to the decorative gravel landscape that had like a 2″ thick border.
,,,,,,I was really amused by your tale. I have experienced the inverse.
I have an old ’96 Dodge Ram 1500, which I drive slowly around the city here. But I have been amazed at the number of Prii (and other similar species) that suddenly rush out to pass me on the left, but then put on their brakes to make a right-hand turn, about 100-200 feet later! (^_^)………
Further proof that a$$holes drive all types of vehicles….and for the record, I would disable any noisemaker that came on my hybrid even though it is provided by work.
How about just modifying crosswalk signals to tell you to “Get yo a$$ out of the street” Sheesh…another NHTSA nanny-state intrusion; we need more quiet in this world not more noise.
Alternating looped recording of Jeremy Clarkson yelling “Poweeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr!” and “Get out of the way, stupid man!”
Perfect. Or may I suggest that familiar ice cream truck jingle, or the robot from “Lost In Space” screaming “danger Will Robinson, danger!”.
Silly. Today’s car engines already make virtually no sound that’s audible to pedestrians when not at or near WOT and absolutely silent when coasting. I mean their engines are not heard over the car pushing through the wind or the road noise from the tires.
Louder tires might be the better answer, but still silly.
This. If it’s honestly motivated from a desire to create a certain noise pollution floor, then why restrict it to hybrids and EV? Noise pollution for everyone!
Bicycles too. A 200 pound individual on a pedal bike @ 20 mph is going to hurt about as much as me on a 340 pound motorcycle @ 15 mph.
If EVs have to have a sound, then go for Quest For The Holy Grail coconuts or else a TIE fighter.
Exactly. All newer cars are hazardous to pedestrians so why stop at EVs and hybrids?
I thought the same thing about bicycles. I share a hiking trail with mountain bikers and they’ll surprise the hell out of you on the fast/blind S-turns. They should at least have a card thru the spokes or ring one of those classic tricycle bells.
If you’ve ever ridden in an EV, it’s shocking how quiet they are. When my Leaf has passengers, the silence is very awkward for them at first. We’ve been culturally conditioned to be more comfortable with engine noise from a car, both inside and outside.
Exactly what I was thinking. I mentioned this artificial noise concept to a buddy once and he thought I was being a jerk for not caring about blind people when I ridiculed it. So the next time we were out on the sidewalk and a car approached I asked him if he could hear the engine. Nope, just the tires. But that was on a 30 mph road. Maybe there is a benefit at parking lot speeds.
Star Wars Pod Racer noises! One of two (the other being Natalie Portman) good things about Episode 1. Plenty of variety to differentiate brand & performance, still very vehicle-like
Make mine sound like a TIE fighter please. And I want the horn to be laser “pew-pew”s.
There’s no need to limit that to under 18 mph.
what kind of sound would penetrate through the headphones the pedestrians are wearing as they are crossing the street staring at their facebook updates?
a diesel sound would certainly be ironic, especially if accompanied with a vibro device connected to the steering column.
We have a 2010 Prius, and with two 90-degree turns in the tree-lined road to our house, we need to drive slowly–which means very quietly. When we come upon the backs of neighbors out for a walk, we have a choice (A) Sound the horn, but it’s not very friendly to make them jump. (B) Run them over, very unfriendly. (C) Slow down even more, put the front windows down, and say, not shout, “HI.” That’s our usual procedure. When maneuvering in shopping center parking lots or other close quarters, we have to be very alert and cautious so that we are not the crasher or crashee. Warning noise to add? Maybe a soft dog bark.
The dog bark – great one – I use that on my iPhone ring tone for my wife’s numbers (she’s always barkin’ at me)
Poodle or doberman?
A recording of a DB 92 Civic fitted with a fart bag muffler.
Sound of an old Ford starter relay feverishly clicking away.
Roseann’s version of the Star Spangled banner.
A friend with a Nissan Leaf wants a system like downloadable ring tones, so he could have a Harley, a steam locomotive or whatever else seized his whim.
If it has to be a standard,than hybrids should get “send in the clowns” or “you’re so vain”, and electrics should play “the sounds of silence”.
I’m told my Leaf has a sound built into it, but I can’t distinguish it from anything other than a lower frequency version of the “jet taxiing” sound it normally makes at higher speeds.
It will sneak up on people very easily. I have to be aware of this in parking lots; I’ve received some nasty looks when pedestrians are surprised.
I love driving in stealth mode in parking lots…
What’s wrong with chicken noises? Everybody loves chickens.
Boc boc boc boc boc boc boc boc, Bwak!
A friend’s new Sonata hybrid is absolutely quiet if you drive real slow.
Perhaps cars need some sort of noise – I like the bird-chirping sound at intersection crosswalks. First heard that sound in San Jose when on a business trip years ago. Made sense to me.
If the chirping sound is for the birds – pun intended – how about a classic Chrysler starter sound? Maybe not, because unsuspecting pedestrians may conclude it’s just another Chrysler that refuses to start…
Oh my god I just heard the sound of a Chrysler from the 80’s – early 90’s refusing to start in my head! That is hilarious!
After a late night burn session many moons ago, a good buddy of mine and I were stranded in the wee hours of a cold winters night listening to what I am assuming is the same starter noise you are referring to in his old 1995 Plymouth Acclaim when it let us down yet again.
I remember it well. We got picked up by a friend in a ford explorer, which ended up overheating about a mile away from where my Lexus was parked. We hoofed it at 5am on a freezing morning, but thankfully the ever reliable ES300 finally succeeded in getting everyone home safely. That starter noise is burned into my brain, along with a perfect mental image of that wonderfully awful navy blue velour interior bathed in smoke.
The theme to “Jaws”? Naaaah….better if it was “Christine” starting with the squeal sound when the headlights kicked on in the movie…
The Enterprise accelerating to warp?
Last week’s tangential subject:
http://xkcd.com/1156/
On my bike I have a “Ring Ring” bell mounted to let people know I am behind them.
Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring!
That would sure be an incentive to go faster than 18 MPH
It should sound like the Jetson’s car. Memememememememememe
I vote for an alarm sound like this from Battlestar Galactica.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_4abpEf0Lc
An alternative is an old-fashioned klaxon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2VhB7vaZI0
it should go “Tch”, or whatever strenuous eye-rolling sounds like.
On a related note, has anyone else had the impulse to buy a Nissan Juke, paint it lily-pad green, and replace the horn with a speaker that makes a loud “RIBBIT” sound?
I prefer just making sure that cars & pedestrians & bikes don’t occupy the same space at the same time. Solve the problem instead of treating the symptom.
Exactly. Try just not driving into pedestrians or, if you must, just toot your horn.
I also have observed that the murderous cyclists who would kill you on a bike path are the same who believe that a bell would be too girly for them to install.
I like the Jetsons car noise, or the mechanical clicking sound that some automatic-transmission Chryslers make when they’re coasting to a stop.
What about the sound of an old Citroën hydraulic pump at idle? Having (unwillingly) given up my Citroën habit a year or so ago, it still feels strange to not have the regular THRRRRRRBT-click-hiss as I’m stopped at the lights.
TIE Fighter noise for the WIN:
A looped recording playing, “iSuck, iSuck, iSuck, iSuck……..
Or from the Simpsons (in a whiny, nasally voice):
“Helllooooo. I’m an electric caaaaar. I can’t go very faaaaast or very faaaaar. And if you drive me, people will think you’re gaaaaaaay.”
LOL
Jericho Trumpet FTW..
I still vote for the sound of Paul Gilbert using a Makita cordless drill to play guitar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L2ntzCTZHY
If the government sets a minimum sound level, will car owners modify them to be as quiet and stealthy as possible?
crazy frog ringtone noise
This would work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLr4CwkhvAc
In all seriousness it should be a noise that people’s minds are already programmed to recognize as a vehicle present. The lumpy idle of a 1968 302 Z28 comes to mind.
If I got to choose, iI would want two soundtracks depending on my mood.
Ludacris Move Bitch, looped of course.
A continuous loop of a loud trumpeting fart.
Jet engine at full military power. For the irony.
Always thought an EMD GP9 with a roots-blown 16-567 had a cool sound. And it’s a diesel-electric ‘hybrid’ built way back in the ’50s.
ONEtermLIMIT-oneTERMlimit-ONETERMLIMIT!
How about something by Sousa? The Liberty Bell March might be fun.
What about jingles playing like an ice cream truck’s? Oh wait, forget it. That’ll just cause childrens to run out of the yard/house into the street. That’s dangerous!
They need the exercise.
Bubb Rubb making the “whistles go WOOO” sound.
Satriani’s Time from Crystal Planet. It’s very “electric” and I’ll enjoy hearing it. The damn things are thick in PDX.
2012 has been found by the NOAA as the hottest year on record in the U.S. Whatever sound they choose — one would hope to hear it more often, as it would mean that people are removing their collective heads from the sand.
Is that because having ass-up instead of head-up emits more heat?
Can I consider my head removed from the sand if I drive around in $40,000 worth of energy and resources powered by the conversion of fossil fuels to electricity and/or items to produce electricity?
How about the sound of the studs ticking on my bicycle tires. Would that work?
It should sound like a TIE fighter.
OMG these are fanTAStic! The tie-fighter, crazy-frog, awesome.
How about the “Hel-loooooo” from George Takei?
The familair drone of a crappy wheezing four cylinder engine.
Here’s the next logical question:
What if a car company built a very quiet gasoline car, like an 80’s era V8 Cadillac, would it have to make the sound also? should there be a minimum sound requirement for all cars. And while we’re on the subject, those damn bicycles are too quiet, they should be required to put playing cards in their spokes, and people walking should be required to wear squeaky shoes, bells around cats necks, tin cans tied to dogs tails…
Or you could just watch where you’re going