Prius to get Fake Motor Noise

GWguy

GWguy

*
Toyota turns up the volume on Prius - Aug. 24, 2010

I find this rather ironic, and moronic too. How many years have we been trying to reduce the noise created by cars, especially in big cities? Now we have to increase the noise level on some because they are too quiet?? Because some people, both drivers and pedestrians, can't be bothered to be aware of their surroundings and have to be reminded to be aware?

Toyota said Tuesday it will begin selling a noise-making device for its popular Prius hybrids in Japan that is designed to alert pedestrians when the quiet, gasoline-electric vehicle is approaching.

The device, which emits a humming sound similar to an electric motor, will be available on the third-generation Prius in Japan beginning next week. The aim is to "alert but not annoy," according to a Toyota press release.

Toyota spokesman David Lee said the company plans to begin offering the device in other markets, including the United States, at some point in the future. But he could not say when.
Click to expand...
 
Toxick

Toxick

Splat
designed to alert pedestrians when the quiet, gasoline-electric vehicle is approaching
Click to expand...

You see.... this is the problem.

If someone is walking across the street and they're using only their sense of hearing to alert them to oncoming traffic, then, frankly, they deserve to die. (Especially if they have a blue-tooth gadget or an iPod in their ear). We need to stop saving people from their own ignorance and stupidity.

If you're dumb enough to take a hair-dryer into the bathtub with you, you deserve to fry.

If you're dumb enough to stand on the top rung of a ladder, you deserve to fall.

If you're too dumb to realize that McDonald's coffee is scalding hot, you deserve to have your skin burned off.

We need to take the warning labels off of everything, and stop protecting people from themselves. Do away with lawsuits that charge companies as being "criminally negligent" because they can't foresee every stupid thing that an ever-increasingly more stupid populace can do. We should stop putting "DO NOT EAT" on the packets of silica powder that come with electronics. We should stop putting the "Do not dry pets in microwave" on new microwave ovens. We should stop putting "May Contain Peanuts" on bags of airline peanuts. We should stop putting "Do not point directly at face" on cross-bows.

We should continue to put labels on dangerous items that fall outside the realm of common ####ing sense.


We should legalize every drug, from nicotine to pot, to coke to PCP to heroin.



Then sit back and watch as the problem naturally solves itself, as if by magic.

Granted there will be a transitional period and the morons may cause some collateral as they self-destruct... but IMO, the Utopian vision that comes afterward will be glorious.
 
Toxick

Toxick

Splat
CrashTest said:
Blind people can't see but they are still allowed to cross the street.
Click to expand...


They also have seeing-eye dogs, and crosswalk signals that emit audio cues that tell them its safe to cross the street.




If someone with at least 1 functional eyeball gets hit by a Prius because of its lack of motor noise, I will have a very difficult time drumming up sympathy for them - and even then my sympathy will be for their lack of mental capacity rather than their stupid preventable demise.
 
CrashTest

CrashTest

Well-Known Member
Toxick said:
So are you arguing that drunks and blind people are the reason Prius should add synthetic noise to their motor?
Click to expand...

I'm not going to argue the case for the blind folks. The silent hybrid car issue is an old issue that blind advocacy groups have been lobbying for many years and they're quite cabable of arguing their own case.

Ever since the ADA of 1990, many changes have been put in place for those with disabilities and many of those changes have cost business and industry tons of money. It's just a fact of life. This will probably end up being another change to assist those with disabilities. Those who oppose it, can lobby lawmakers against it.
 
TurboK9

TurboK9

New Member
They need to contract "crazy frog" to provide the noise.

Ding-ding-dadad-ding-da-ding-ding-ding....
 
Merlin99

Merlin99

Visualize whirled peas
PREMO Member
CrashTest said:
I'm not going to argue the case for the blind folks. The silent hybrid car issue is an old issue that blind advocacy groups have been lobbying for many years and they're quite cabable of arguing their own case.

Ever since the ADA of 1990, many changes have been put in place for those with disabilities and many of those changes have cost business and industry tons of money. It's just a fact of life. This will probably end up being another change to assist those with disabilities. Those who oppose it, can lobby lawmakers against it.
Click to expand...
Has this ever happened, or is this a "what if" scenario?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top