beep beep beep eletric car approaching

[older but wiser?]

sounds interesting (pun intended)

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/new-law-to-tackle-electric-cars’-silent-menace-to-pedestrians/ar-AAwOWR1?ocid=ientp

how much will Toyota charge for that?

[FROSTYBALLS]

See 

From the information I've seen new models will have to have a system fitted from July 2019, and all new cars from July 2021.

[benjamino]

I just read this https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/06/new-law-combats-silent-menace-electric-cars and came on here to post about it.

Can’t wait to get this added. A great move all round. Since getting my hybrid it’s been really obvious how many more people try and jump across the road in front of you. They seem to walk first then check at the last moment then jump back! 

[benjamino]

33 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

See 

From the information I've seen new models will have to have a system fitted from July 2019, and all new cars from July 2021.

Is there a requirement for existing cars to have it retrofitted?

[FROSTYBALLS]

What I've seen fits with what happened with daytime running lights, tyre pressure monitoring systems, etc - where these were mandatory for new models from a certain date and for all new cars from a later date. There was no requirement for these systems to be retrofitted to existing vehicles.

Having said that, Government is being influenced by pressure groups such as Guide Dogs, etc, so things may change.

[benjamino]

Ah sure - yeah I can see it getting a bit tricky to force people to spend money. I’d be very happy to add it to mine for a reasonable fee thoug. 

[eygo]

in the USA they already have a speaker system fitted for when travelling at low speeds

to inform idiots who dont look before they cross the road in front of you that you are approching,

i suppose the same system will have to be fitted to buses, but if you dont see a bus and get hit by it,

should you be out by yourself.

i dont have any sympathy for people being hit just because they dont look where they are going

and just expect that they will be ok ,the green cross code was brought in for a reason

to help people cross the road safely you have the tools just use them and you will be ok.

an accident can be avoided as it normally involves human error i.e not looking where your going.

 

[benjamino]

That’s a “passing the buck” approach to safety. 

If you go too far down that road you’ll be saying it was a child’s fault for running out in front of you when you hit them doing 30mph in a 20mph zone where there are parked cars obscuring the view of the pavement etc.

You need to take a more proactive approach and consider that in reality humans have learnt that cars make a noise, therefore people rely on sound as well as sight to build a picture of risk around them. I’ve never seen anyone stupid enough to actually walk accross a road without looking - it’s more that you can see they start acting based on their impression of what’s coming (from listening) then start to cross and follow up by looking just at that point. I’m not defending this behaviour but it’s also not an excuse to run them over. This is purely a pattern that has worked up to now.

All of that is a minor point anyway compared to disabled users. People with good hearing can get around with the help of a guide dog etc - are we to just say ‘no you can’t share our street system now because we want silent cars’?

Of course not.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The charity Guide Dogs has made the point several times in their submissions to Government on this issue, that it is the visually impaired person who makes the decision to cross a road based on what they can hear, rather than on what the guide dog can see.

The legislation is being introduced to assist the visually impaired, who, based on the fact their sight is reduced or non-existant, rely more on their hearing and who aren't 'idiots who don't look before they cross the road'.

[eygo]

i'm not passing the buck if your on the public highway as a cyclist,pedestrian or motorist

you all have a responsibility for your individual actions and any consequences from your actions

how many times have you had someone on a push bike cut across the road in front of you

without having looked, its all down to education when i was at school all the time on tv where

adverts for the Green X code to get it in to your head whats needed to cross the road safely

we also had cycling tests again to make sure you where safe to be on the road these dont

seem to happen anymore and people just do what they want to do without any thought for others.

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

23 minutes ago, eygo said:

i'm not passing the buck if your on the public highway as a cyclist,pedestrian or motorist

you all have a responsibility for your individual actions and any consequences from your actions

how many times have you had someone on a push bike cut across the road in front of you

without having looked, its all down to education when i was at school all the time on tv where

adverts for the Green X code to get it in to your head whats needed to cross the road safely

we also had cycling tests again to make sure you where safe to be on the road these dont

seem to happen anymore and people just do what they want to do without any thought for others.

56 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The charity Guide Dogs has made the point several times in their submissions to Government on this issue, that it is the visually impaired person who makes the decision to cross a road based on what they can hear, rather than on what the guide dog can see.

The legislation is being introduced to assist the visually impaired, who, based on the fact their sight is reduced or non-existant, rely more on their hearing and who aren't 'idiots who don't look before they cross the road'.

 

The exception to your point is the visually impaired person who may rely more on their hearing than their sight to judge whether or not to cross a road. If they cannot hear a hybrid of electric vehicle approaching at low speed, they may step out and be unaware a vehicle is about to hit them.

Both the legislation and the Acoustic Vehicle Awareness System are designed to help the visually impaired !!

 

[eygo]

the idiots are the ones that dont have any impairments walk around talking on their phones

using facebook or listening to music and are oblivious to the surroundings or what there body is doing

and walk out in front of you

[FROSTYBALLS]

3 minutes ago, eygo said:

the idiots are the ones that dont have any impairments walk around talking on their phones

using facebook or listening to music and are oblivious to the surroundings or what there body is doing

and walk out in front of you

... and these aren't the ones the legislation is targeting.

[older but wiser?]

all in all, I think its a good idea.

made a few old folks jump a mile in car parks when they turn a round and see me rolling along.

didn't  want to use the horn as that would make them jump as much if not more.

interested to know how they are going to retrofit them.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Don't think existing vehicles will be made to have acoustic vehicle alert systems retrofitted. An extract from an EU update just relates to new models and new vehicles - see:

"Compliance with the new requirements on AVAS becomes mandatory from 1st July 2019 for new types of pure electric vehicle and new types of hybrid electric vehicle that are capable of operating without their internal combustion engine running, and from 1st July 2021 for all new vehicles of such types." 

Nothing about retrofitting to existing vehicles.