Death by Prius

Hybrid cars dangerously quiet for pedestrians

Posted by Erik Hoffner (Guest Contributor) at 10:35 AM on 16 Feb 2007

Read more about: hybrids | health | cars | electric vehicles

Turns out that it isn't just U.S. automakers that have been put in mortal danger by hybrids (it is their fault, of course): the National Federation of the Blind said this week that those at risk include (gasp) cyclists, the blind, the elderly, and distracted pedestrians. Lay on those horns, people!

For story: Death by Prius
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claims

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Toyota Prius has slightly fewer injury claims than the Ford Excursion. The Honda Civic Hybrid has 60% the number of injury claims as the regular Honda Civic. Maybe hybrid drivers are safer drivers?

Ped Shed Blog

by Laurence Aurbach at 1:43 PM on 16 Feb 2007

Shhhhh...

Okay, so, when the Prius is really quiet is when it's creeping along, like in a parking lot or a traffic jam. By the time it's going more than 15 mph, even if the gas engine hasn't come on yet, the road noise is enough that anyone should be able to notice it. If people aren't paying attention, well, they could get run over by anything. There are a lot of fairly quiet cars out there these days. At low speeds, drivers should realize people may not be aware that the car is moving since it's silent, but at low speeds, and while driving around parking lots, one should be paying extra attention to possibly-oblivious pedestrians anyway.

My other car is an ancient Ford truck you can hear from a mile away (no, not literally). I haven't noticed more people obliviously stepping out in front of the Prius in the supermarket parking lot.

Besides, if people can't remember to look both ways before crossing the street, aren't those people in contention for Darwin awards already regardless of my Prius?

by willa at 5:17 PM on 16 Feb 2007

Actually...

I took my husband's Prius to the market once and apparently scared this older couple in the parking lot. I was waiting for them to get past so I could park, and the gentleman, who apparently had no idea I was behind them, almost jumped out of his skin when he happened to look behind and saw me creeping up at ... what, less than a mile an hour? Upon parking and getting out of the Prius, the gentleman jokingly asked, "Does that thing have an engine??" To which I proudly replied, with a wink and a thumbs-up, "It's a Hybrid!"

(OK. So I didn't actually wink and give him the thumbs-up.)

But willa is right. What happened to looking both ways before crossing the street? Of course, that doesn't quite help if you're blind. What the issue should be here is to promote safety, both by drivers and pedestrians.

by phoofy at 12:57 PM on 18 Feb 2007

white, nerdy

Hybrids are eerily quiet, and disconcerting/dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists, whatever their seeing ability. If all cars were this quiet, it wouldn't be an issue.

I think the next generation of hybrids should have outward-pointing speakers that play Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" whenever the hybrid is in "battery-only" mode.

by mihan at 6:45 AM on 20 Feb 2007

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