Electric cars have to make noise on purpose because otherwise it would be a silent car. And most of these noises are are weird futuristic WEEEE-00000 UFO sounds. Therefore I posit that we should be able to change the noises our electric cars make
EDIT: These suggestions are Top-Notch! Keep em coming!
TIL nobody listens to their environment while they walk outside.
can nobody else hear the sound of the tires on the pavement? or can nobody else hear the sound of the environment being reflected differently off the cars coming down the road?
When you’re habituated to the sound of ICE engines, if you’re not focused on your environment, the quieter tire sounds absolutely can sneak up on you.
And when you’re just strolling, it’s pretty natural for your attention to wander. Just because you can hear something doesn’t mean you’ll notice something.
sounds like a pedestrian problem. just because you’re walking doesn’t absolve you from remaining attentive to the flow of traffic just as much, if not more, than when driving.
In 50+ years I have never had a vehicle sneak up on me. no car, no motorcycle, no bicycle.
Congratulations!
The rest of us, flawed creatures that we are, sometimes slip - we may even think we’re actively attending to our environment while also chatting, thinking, or paying attention to something else. It’s a shortcut our brains take: when they get accustomed to things working (or sounding) one way, they’ll focus on those cues instead of other, potentially subtler, cues. Even if we’re actively trying not to
“Hit by a car!? What a jay!” You sound like a 1900’s baron.🧐 Go live in car city and kiss cars and suck tailpipe since you love them so much!
fuckcars is leaking I guess?
I live outside of the US in a very walkable urban area, so this comment is breaking my brain.
In suburbia, sure.
In the town centre, there’s so many vehicles around that it’s very easy for an electric vehicle to creep up on you.
Is your argument that we should make these vehicles quieter because you personally don’t experience this issue?
no, my argument is that it doesn’t matter what sound it makes as long as it makes a sound.
pedestrians need to be more aware of their surroundings, this doesn’t absolve drivers either.
pedestrians often just blindly assume because they have the right of way that means they don’t have to pay attention, and that’s how they die.
Completely impractical. Standardise noises for warnings. I’m not going to react to the sound of Nyan Cat played on the Bagpipes and think “oh that’s a car coming”.
Also, pedestrians DO have the right of way. How do I know? I got hit by a driver at night in the rain, with his lights off, coasting in neutral. Couldn’t hear him, couldn’t see him. Court settled in my favour.
I wasn’t arguing that. pedestrians DO have the right of way, but that doesn’t absolve them from ensuring their own safety. just because you have the right of way in a vehicle when the light is green doesn’t mean you just floor it and hope for the best.
now imagine how much better you’d feel if you were a bit more attentive to your surroundings! no splashy splash of the wheels on pavement? no bouncy bounce of the rain off the car? you were probably distracted by trying to stay dry.
100% of all accidents are caused by a lack of information that could have been resolved by better observation.
You don’t have right of way in a vehicle when the light is green - pedestrians still have right of way.
There was no “splash splashy of wheels on the pavement” because the car was in the road, not the pavement.
There were plenty of “splashy splashy” noises around, because there were lots of vehicles. The “bouncy bounce” of rain on that car was easily confused with the “bouncy bounce” of rain of every other car/surface/building/person in the area.
I’m not sure if you’re intentionally being moronic, or if you genuinely feel like you know more about the situation of my accident than I do. The fact remains that electric vehicles shouldn’t simply be able to make some random noise. They need to be audible and recognisable to prevent accidents.
tell me. how would the outcome of your accident change if you were deaf?
I bet you would be much more observant if you couldn’t hear anything.
I’m not deaf.
We’re digressing from the original disagreement
I believe it is important for vehicles to sound like vehicles, so they can be easily identified. They shouldn’t be randomly changed by their owner to something whimsical.
I don’t think so.
your argument is that vehicles should sound like vehicles.
my argument is that it doesn’t matter what they sound like, as long as they make a sound.
so I’ll ask, what does a vehicle sound like? also, what does a vehicle sound like to a deaf person?
I think vehicles sound like a roaring muscle car screaming down the street. I’m sure you have a different opinion. Deaf people don’t care because they can’t hear them anyway.
so my point is, it doesn’t matter what they sound like because pedestrians need to take responsibility for their own safety by being more observant of their surroundings. you know…like deaf people.
I’m not arguing this absolves drivers from responsibly operating a vehicle.
I’m arguing that it’s everyones responsibility to be more observant to ensure safety is a priority.