Thats why blind people should get a doggy.

"those who are visually impaired SEE the silent cars as a hazard"
Nice choice of words there.

just put some baseball cards in the spokes

whistle tips, bubb rubb FTW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkmWQ5A0SqY

wth, first people complained cars were too noisy and now they're not enough...

There's no way to please everyone.

That's what horns are for. Japs were always so gay... deserved to be nuked a few more times.

Besides, who gives a damn about the visually impaired that shouldn't be alive anyways? Natural selection...

@computabug
I guess this is a test to get the most negative rating

But you make a point, and especially in those regions, people almost overuse their horn, but they do so for what they're made for: warn.

Damnit this is so stupid. Everytime we get an exciting new technology, there is a minority that will go against it.

Yea, apparently the majority of the population is stupid...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Why the hell are these people allowed to DRIVE then??? I think THEY are more a hazard to the general public than the silent hybrids are...

at least visually impaired people have a more acute sense of hearing, so these noise-makers do not have to be all that loud to be more obvious to both humans and guide dogs.

I've read something along the lines of this in the past and the visually impaired hear the hybrid car 10-20 feet closer than would a normal car going at low speeds. At higher speeds, there is no difference because of the sound of wind rushing past the car. So the noise that will be implemented should only be active at the lower speeds.

Why inconvenience the other 99% of the population? How about putting some kind of radio transponder into all "quiet" transportation, then provide a device that clips on your clothing/belt to warn the visually impaired when in range?

Because of conspiracy theorists. Oh teh noes! The government is against me and these devices are actually super-powerful tracking bugs for them to find me! O_o

Anyway, I think this is an over-reaction. My eyes are fine, but I can most definately hear a hybrid coming down the road unless it's going so slow its tires don't make noise (AKA if I got hit I wouldn't even be knocked down).

The entire population shouldn't be inconvienced because of a few individuals. If these people's sight is so bad that they can't see an object the size of a car coming down the street (there are different levels of blindness) they shouldn't be walking around outside their neighborhood without a guide dog to begin with. And in their neighborhood there should be signs warning drivers about blind people anyway.

LOL... I think someone crossing the street anywhere without paying careful attention to the surrounding is way more dangerous than Hybrid low noise engine...

Of course the ones trying to make some political capital are the one behind the old american car industry...

Cars are not sth that people adapted to its presence except for the last 100 years or so. They are sth unnatural, that's why everytime a car steps on a pedestrian the pedestrian can sue the driver even if it was his fault (at least in Europe). Drivers are obliged to be ten times more careful, because the speed they acquire and their mass (kinetic energy) is far greater than anything in land by nature, thus humans evolved by natural selection without having such machines in their environments. @computabag Blind people survived to this world long before cars appeared.

When cars were first implemented a walking man in front of the car had to warn people that a car was coming with some kind of light or sound, thus also limiting the speed of a car to that of a pedestrian.

Now back to reality, if you have seen videos of Tesla Roadster you can see a perfect electric sports car, the only thing you hear is the tires. When I saw it I thought that is cool, but I became skeptical of its low sound generation. It is a relief for the driver, but even other drivers could not hear the car when it was in another lane. I guess they have to find a solution. Humans rely both on hearing when they drive. Remember when a ferrari tries to overtake you, you sure hear the ferocious roar and turn aside, Tesla roadster is faster than a ferrari, but you hear nothing

This is stupid like making web sites "viewable" but the blind. WTF are blind people doing trying to use a computer? I'm very, very sorry for your disability but stop bitching about what you can't do - that's just life for you I'm afraid. And maybe you should walk around busy roads if you CAN'T frickin see anything? God, no offense or anything but we need to stop catering to every person and their problems, life isn't fair to any of us.

Too much noise overload with cars etc quiet cars are great ppl pay attention... I'm sure you need a few cases where quiet cars hit blind ppl before you should consider forcing a noise maker on the car.

This is going backwards... silence is golden. Blind people shouldn't be walking around by a street alone.

you got it... just because the cars engine is not making that much noise dose not mean you cant hear the tires on the road.

Humans Think, a Ferrari can go quite faster than a Tesla roaster. An Enzo Ferrari can go 220 mph I believe. The last time I checked, a Tesla can go around 160 mph.

what's next? Require cars to transform into robots for help around the house for all the single mothers that have 3 kids or more without a father to help raise them?

What? I've owned a prius since 2005 and love how it can be quiet while on the electric motor. I'm sorry for sounding harsh but forcing a change to a car's design just to accommodate such a small portion of the population sounds dumb. Can't some sharp engineer come up with a solution that would require only the hearing impaired population to make the adjustment and not everyone else who drives a quiet vehicle? A compromise perhaps could be for the quiet car to emit a sound that only the service dog can detect...

its not just hearing impaired people that have the problem, though. normal people have the issue of not paying attention to silent hybrids, too.

i say they just put a little speaker that emits the jetson's car noise.

Wow what a bunch of idiots. Would it hurt you so bad if you car had to make a decent hum, that of which you couldn't hear inside the car anyways, and still be quieter then a normal car? This isn't something that has to be all or nothing. This is something that can easily be compromised for most people *not all because some will bitch just to bitch like you guys are doing also*. They could be 5$ clips like deer whistles that simply make a hum/whistle whatever not enough to disturb the neighbors, but enough were a blind person won't walk out in front of the car.

This is one saftey thing I say why not? As long as it doesn't jump the prices up as there is no reason it should. And isn't done to the extreme were it's louder then a normal car.

I was walking my dog one quiet afternoon and he was happily sniffing along the boulevard. As we were passing by a parked Prius it suddenly jumped away from the curb startling us both. At the time I thought there should be some auditory cue that the car was about to move. This is coming folks and I suggest rather than protesting the inevitable work to make the auditory cue as unobtrusive as possible.

wouldn't noise from tires do the trick? i found tires noise quite loud already.

Leave the silly cars alone for those still stupid enough to believe the global warming garbage let them have these as they are built. Saving money on gas makes sense but the debate on carbon emissions impact is far from proven. A market might exist for a device to help those with visual disabilities.

i think the visual impaired feels the danger is more of a psychological way than the physical way. imo psychological issues r much more annoying than the physical issues.

BTW I got a Prius not because it saves the earth, but because i'm a geek and like anything electronic and i love the gas mileage. If there was a 100% electric car that got me 100mpg but coughs up 100tons of co2 per hour, i'd still get it!

Anyway, pick any mode of transportation that's quiet - say a bicycle. I wouldn't want to pay extra $$ to be required to make it emit a human audible sound (but a frequency that only hearing dogs can sense might be interesting). I really sympathize with those who have vision disabilities - or any minority group who has a disadvantage. But to inconvenience a mojority in order to convenience a minority... doesn't seem sensible. Unless hidden groups are getting hidden benefits somewhere. Drunk driving is a bigger issue I believe relating to automobiles and injures/kills more people. So why don't we require all car owners (or manufacturers) outfit all cars with a breathalyzer ignition lock? Sure it will inconvenience the majority who never drinks and drives, but as long as it helps that small minority who do...

Their have been a lot of comments saying that blind people shouldn't cross streets or leave their home. Their also have been many comments saying we shouldn't convenience the minority to inconvenience the majority. Blind people are not the same as single parents or other similar minorities. They could have been born with the disability or could have gotten it later in life from a disease or an accident. For all of you ignorant people who say they shouldn't leave their house, how do you expect them to get food or get to their job? Thats right, blind people work. It's not like they can just stay in their house and do nothing. Not all of them have family who take care of them. A small noise really wouldn't inconvenience anyone, but for those who are hard of hearing or blind this could be life saving. Oh, and for all of you who say they should have a seeing eye dog, how would you feel if you had to rely on a dog to make sure you weren't run down by a car. Yea, you wouldn't feel so comfortable with that, would you?