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From Silicon Graybeard, the "Making Cars Noisier Act Of 2010":
In 2010, the US Congress acted on a problem that very few of us knew existed: electric cars are too quiet, especially at low speeds, and therefore pedestrians and bicyclists are more likely to get hit by an electric car. The answer? Make electric cars noisier. That raises the questions of exactly how noisy and exactly what kinds of noise. After years of study, it appears they've started ruling on just how to fix this....
This sounds like a job for The Federal Government!
RTWT.
You can't make this kind of insanity up.
But you can shoot its authors in the head, which is even better.
Nota bene the idea of holding the bicyclists and pedestrians accountable for putting their iPhones away, and watching WTF they're doing, and where they're going at all times was never, for even a fleeting moment, considered by our governmental would-be overlords.
I'm sanguine in the long-run; I have both a gambling marker at Vegas, and a stake in the copyright, for the first class-action lawsuit when thousands of people sue the car makers for hearing problems after long-term exposure to governmental-induced noise, so my retirement is now fully funded, with the certainty of the sun rising.
But as for civilization itself, and general sanity?
There's only one answer.
Heads.
Pikes.
Assembly required.
But you can shoot its authors in the head, which is even better.
Nota bene the idea of holding the bicyclists and pedestrians accountable for putting their iPhones away, and watching WTF they're doing, and where they're going at all times was never, for even a fleeting moment, considered by our governmental would-be overlords.
I'm sanguine in the long-run; I have both a gambling marker at Vegas, and a stake in the copyright, for the first class-action lawsuit when thousands of people sue the car makers for hearing problems after long-term exposure to governmental-induced noise, so my retirement is now fully funded, with the certainty of the sun rising.
But as for civilization itself, and general sanity?
There's only one answer.
Heads.
Pikes.
Assembly required.
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| Barring personal tragedy, if you're old enough to read this, you'll probably see it in your lifetime. |
So much for zero emissions.
"Green" communists' heads exploding: just a serendipitous cherry on that cake.
Quiet, you want? How about when some subdivision mandating these things enjoys Buffy & Steve getting home from their fabulous jobs & plugging them all in around the same time (x Many) to the un-upgraded grid? Quiet? That's the sound of a, what, 75 amp draw being added (x Many) to the regular residential current draw. What does a sub-station having a Cory Booker-like freakout sound like? It sounds like 60" LED screens turning off, it sounds like central-air units turning off, it's the sound of food spoiling, and the dishwasher shutting down mid-cycle. And, just for awhile, you might gaze up & find the stars without the city haze. (Disclaimer: I visit cities under duress occasionally.)
ReplyDeleteOn the fun side, local peace officers hereabouts will cite pedestrians for a thing called "assuming the cross-walk" - which nowadays is translated to blithely entering the street without exercising even a 5-year old's due diligence because your nose was buried in your bright shiny object.
While it is inevitable that the bureaucrats will royally screw this up, it really started with concerns of visually impaired pedestrians, not bicyclists. I have volunteered with guide dog and assistant dog foundations for years, and friends who use guide dogs do tell me it is a real problem for them and their dogs. They are not looking for a loud noise, just a recognizable noise to help them avoid danger, particularly in urban areas with high ambient noise levels. As a driver of a hybrid (Highlander - accelerates like a V8!), the last thing I want is for it to be more noisy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aesop.
ReplyDeleteAnother little thought to introduce: this is the Law of Unintended Consequences and it's as much a part of reality as the Law of Gravity, Thermodynamics and other laws written into the fabric of the universe.
They want electric cars for efficiency. They want higher mileage cars for efficiency. If a car could be made 100% efficient, it would make NO noise. 100% efficient is impossible, but the more efficient it gets, the quieter it gets. Noise is energy leaking out of the system.
Assuming the move to make cars more energy efficient keeps going, this is just getting started.
YW
ReplyDeleteI may get an EV, to use for the 90% of my daily driving that's <100 mi. total per day.
If some governmental edict puts noisemakers in it, I'll scrupulously hack and slash every last damned one of them out, by hand if necessary.
If they're worried about pedestrians and bicyclists, I'll be happy to add a cowcatcher with spikes and scythe blades to the front bumper, a la DeathRace 2000.
If that won't induce them to wake the eff up and watch what's going on, that's why there are Darwin Awards.
I understand why visually impaired people would have a problem. I'm severely hearing impaired, and I used to rely on the rumble of car engines - that vibration - to know that someone was driving behind me as I was in a parking lot, etc. Enter my dog. We trained her to notice what was behind us also and to nose me over, like prod me, so I would know a car is behind me. That's what service dogs are FOR. Not "Emotional Support Animal", but an actual trained service dog. Being deaf, my head's always on a swivel anyhow, but my dog helped. Whatever noise these care are going to make won't make the ground vibrate, so I'll keep training my dogs to help me with what's behind and around me. I don't need the government to help me out here, thanks. That never ends well for anyone when they get involved.
ReplyDeleteThere was an idea out there when electric motorcycles were being designed; reserve a kilowatt of battery power to run the sound effects. I thought that something like the sound of an F4 Phantom on afterburner would be appropriate, or maybe maybe an M1 Abrams with steel tracks on asphalt. Maybe drivers of electric cars could choose their own special noise.
ReplyDelete@ Dinochrome One: Ok, I could see that being 'technically' feasible. Take it down in the 'hood. "My 12-cylinder Rolls-Merlin will kick your super-woofer's ass.'
ReplyDelete