' Electric Cars Need to Make Noise for Safety, but What Kind?'

Safety
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I personally hated back in 1980’s when people were busy replacing their car horn sounds with the theme from “The Godfather” for example. A cacophony of “playlists” will not add to safety for peds, or my insurance premiums (and Yes, I have learned to not sneak up on peds in parking lots in my hybrid–I don’t need to be washing blood off the hood).

I think a goal for auto manufacturers (and better–gov’t regulations) should be to STANDARDIZE the sounds, choosing one that will be heard above nearby road noise, for example. Personally, I find windshield wipers lever frustrating. On one vehicle I push up on lever to turn wipers on, and turn the dial clockwise to increase the interval for intermittent wipe.

My other vehicle (both are Japanese), each of these functions is in the opposite direction. If I need a wiper, I often need it right NOW (a passing trailer truck, spray blinds me…)-- and cannot think about “Oh this is the Subaru, not the Toyota, so I turn THAT way.” Too slow, too late.

BTW-- in many locations a bike or car tire’s sound CANNOT be heard above background noise as those levels are too high…near to a major road, buildings’ HVAC units, aircraft overhead or landing nearby, etc, etc. I don’t like it, I have moved away from (most of) it, but reality is that modern world is noisy. This is why I do not want to see lots of “creativity” with “artificial vehicle sounds” but simply something that will be instantly recognizable (remember, not all peds have faces in phone, some may be hearing-impaired, other distracted by small children, etc.) These deserve to live…:wink:

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I think battery powered cars need to be fitted with a klaxaphone. What is s klaxaphone? Henry Fillmore wrote a march for s 1930 auto show in Cincinnati, Ohio. This band march, in addition to the regular instruments, used car horns of different pitches that were connected to a car battery and operated by pushbutton switches. These horns were mounted on a board and were manufactured by the Klaxon horn company of Anderson, Indiana. This “musical instrument” was called the Klaxaphone. The melody in the trio of the march was played on the Klaxaphone. The march is titled “The Klaxon”. The march became a popular selection for bands to play, although French horns are used instead of the Klaxaphone. I think the battery powered cars should be equipped with Klaxaphones activated by sensors. When the sensors detect a pedestrian in the car’s path, it activates the Klaxaphone which plays Fillmore’s Klaxon march and thus warns the pedestrian.

1 Like
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Or just use the ‘diving submarine’ klaxon.

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Thinking a klaxaphone would be overkill, thinking for world peace the meditation mantra om, some rock band can’t recall the name.

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I would vote for trumpets playing the William Tell overture. That ought to get pedestrians attention.

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Just saw the new Jag electric car piece on Netflix.You pick your own sound.Wish you could pick your own price.
You cannot believe how cool looking the Chinese electric vehicles are.They are now the third largest auto maker