Pedestrian Warning

[Tom]

Does anyone know of a horn or bell (Bermuda bell comes to mind) that can be used on a C-Max that will politely warn a pedestrian that he/she is being followed by a silent EV and the pedestrian should take care?  I encounter this issue frequently in parking garages.  I don't want to blow the car horn and cause someone to have a hart attack.

[fotomoto]

GM thought of that with the Volt and gave it a second, more polite horn chirp that is activated by a button on the turn signal stalk.   I thought it was perfect and used it to signal my kids at school pickups because A) it wasn't offensive and B) very distinctive so they always knew it was me, especially at night.  Here's what it sounds like:

 

 

 

and here is the version for the Prius Plug In:

 

Edited November 17, 2013 by fotomoto

[salsaguy]

interesting. I'm surprised the govt or NHTS hasn't mandated these in hybrid vehicles.

[jdbob]

interesting. I'm surprised the govt or NHTS hasn't mandated these in hybrid vehicles.

 

They, in their own glacial way, are working on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds

[jdbob]

This is one of those cases where we've always based on whether there is a car coming by engine noise, so it should always be that way.

 

I think the better strategy is for cars to have proximity sensors and not to move towards an obstacle. That way it works for every obstacle, not just blind people.

 

Or, maybe we can bring back sleigh bells.

 

Edited November 17, 2013 by jdbob

[Laurel]

I have rolled down my window in parking lots and in our townhouse complex and shouted out "beep,beep".  Don't know what else to do other than carry a bicycle bell and ring that. Honking is too startling.

[fbov]

Flash headlights???

[homestead]

Turn on the AC. :)

[Laurel]

Homestead that is brilliant!

[spyburn]

I stopped by my neighbor's house the other day to drop off some keys after we took care of his animals.  He knew I was coming, so he was sitting in a chair in his back yard.  I pulled up and got out of the car, walked right up to him and said hi. He nearly jumped out of his skin.  Told me I needed to get a car that makes some damn noise!

[drdiesel1]

Stealth mode :love_shower:

[spyburn]

I call it the stealth sedan.  Can't imagine how I forgot to shut the car door that day!!   :secret:

[JohnnOhio]

Turn on the AC.

I Agree. That noice would wake the dead to your approach  :redcard:

[mtb9153]

I for one would not like that wispy wind sound as heard in that video.  Sounds like the noise that came from my front wheels when my disk caliper cover was rubbing against the wheel before the retrofit from MGP was installed.

[CarpeNivem]

Stealth mode :love_shower:

 

I use this phrase so often, it's almost a shame I didn't get a black one.

[jmckinley]

I don't like pedestrians.  They scare me.

[DaveofDurham]

I don't like pedestrians.  They scare me.

 

Pedestrians get great MPG.

[hybridbear]

We much prefer the silent driving of the FFH to the Prius with its noisy pedestrian alert system. Our neighbors at our apartment commonly comment on our silent cars cruising through the underground garage.

 

Pedestrians get great MPG.

Check out this very interesting link of someone who calculated the MPG of a human being.

[JohnnOhio]

Maybe a back up sound. You can't see people walking behind you very well. If they don't hear the motor running they just keep on walking. If you don't see them :drop:   

How about a voice that says LOOK OUT DUMB@# I'M BACKING UP in case my brake and backup lights aren't  enough of a clue. :lol:

[mnrobitaille]

Maybe a back up sound. You can't see people walking behind you very well. If they don't hear the motor running they just keep on walking. If you don't see them :drop:   

How about a voice that says LOOK OUT DUMB@# I'M BACKING UP in case my brake and backup lights aren't  enough of a clue. :lol:

Unfortunately we have a back-up alarm we installed & people still walk behind us with it sounding off.

 

I say that since we have the back-up alarm installed, we should no longer be held liable for running into people walking behind us while backing up. 

 

My general procedure when backing up is hazards flashing, 2 beeps of the horn, & the back-up alarm, sounding off...even with doing all that people don't seem to care/notice.

 

Concerning pedestrians in front of the car, the regulation needs to be changed to "pedestrians only have the right-of-way if they stop & check for vehicles before crossing". I had an incident in one of the local Walmarts where I was next to a family with small children who were not paying attention to anything around them & they started to cross right in front of me, I hit the horn as a warning, & the mother yelled that "pedestrians have the right-of-way", even though they started crossing almost right in front me & didn't even look to see if the coast was clear.

[Bill-N]

... I hit the horn as a warning, & the mother yelled that "pedestrians have the right-of-way", even though they started crossing almost right in front me & didn't even look to see if the coast was clear.

 

A perfect example of why pedestrians having the right-of-way is an ill conceived regulation.

[drdiesel1]

Concerning pedestrians in front of the car, the regulation needs to be changed to "pedestrians only have the right-of-way if they stop & check for vehicles before crossing". I had an incident in one of the local Walmarts where I was next to a family with small children who were not paying attention to anything around them & they started to cross right in front of me, I hit the horn as a warning, & the mother yelled that "pedestrians have the right-of-way", even though they started crossing almost right in front me & didn't even look to see if the coast was clear.

They are required to use do care and caution, but most don't even know the meaning of the word. Bicyclists are just as bad and most ignore traffic control signs. They just do as they please and blame drivers for their ignorance, just like most pedestrians :drop:

Edited November 22, 2013 by drdiesel1

[JohnnOhio]

Unfortunately we have a back-up alarm we installed & people still walk behind us with it sounding off.

 

I say that since we have the back-up alarm installed, we should no longer be held liable for running into people walking behind us while backing up. 

 

My general procedure when backing up is hazards flashing, 2 beeps of the horn, & the back-up alarm, sounding off...even with doing all that people don't seem to care/notice.

 

Concerning pedestrians in front of the car, the regulation needs to be changed to "pedestrians only have the right-of-way if they stop & check for vehicles before crossing". I had an incident in one of the local Walmarts where I was next to a family with small children who were not paying attention to anything around them & they started to cross right in front of me, I hit the horn as a warning, & the mother yelled that "pedestrians have the right-of-way", even though they started crossing almost right in front me & didn't even look to see if the coast was clear.

I agree whole heartedly

[JohnnOhio]

They are required to use do care and caution, but most don't even know the meaning of the word. Bicyclists are just as bad and most ignore traffic control signs. They just do as they please and blame drivers for their ignorance, just like most pedestrians :drop:

I had a bicyclist just about hit me in a crosswalk. Then got hit by the car ran in front of. Couldn't blame the driver of the car. He had to swerve to miss the bike. It wasn't too bad I jumped to get out of the way and the car hit my foot. It spun me around and down I went on my back.

[mnrobitaille]

They are required to use do care and caution, but most don't even know the meaning of the word. Bicyclists are just as bad and most ignore traffic control signs. They just do as they please and blame drivers for their ignorance, just like most pedestrians :drop:

 

 

I had a bicyclist just about hit me in a crosswalk. Then got hit by the car ran in front of. Couldn't blame the driver of the car. He had to swerve to miss the bike. It wasn't too bad I jumped to get out of the way and the car hit my foot. It spun me around and down I went on my back.

 

A perfect example of both the above posts would be yesterday. My wife & I were walking around the Rose Quarter (Portland, OR) waiting to attend the 3 P.M. Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert & when crossing streets which had pedestrian control signals, we stopped & waited for the light to change. Almost all others (pedestrians, skateboarders, & bicyclists) just walked/rode right through as if there was no signal present. When crossing at intersections where there was no signal, we stopped, looked for traffic then crossed when we saw it was clear, yet others just crossed without caring.

 

After the concert on our way to catch Tri-Met we saw the same things happening (it was dark out then & people didn't seem to care if they got hit or not).