NHTSA proposes minimum noise level for EVs/hybrids below 18 mph

[protomech]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130107/AUTO01/301070407/1148/auto01/U-S-proposes-minimum-sounds-quiet-cars-

There's some irony there - the NHTSA is worried about collisions with bicyclists, which can travel in excess of 20 mph, yet themselves have no required minimum noise emissions. Bicycles are generally regulated by municipal instead of federal law .. probably why minimum noise levels are not required for them.

The article mentions that requirements, if any, would come for MY 2016 vehicles.

Kind of grumping here.. but if I can make my bike sound more like a TIE fighter, it might be worth it.

[Mr.Rodgers]

I've always felt similarly.  I'm 215, plus a 20 pound bike... Lets just say that I would not like to get hit by me when I'm travelling @ 20-30mph.  And I keep my bikes greased up well, so I don't make much noise. 

Plus, when walking around my quiet neighborhood, the tire noise is the only thing I hear when something like a Lexus is driving by.  Even some of the newer econo-boxes are pretty stealthy with their low rolling resistance tires and all.

[Shinysideup]

Hmm... how about a law that requires human beings to be consciously aware and present to their environs as they're moving about upon the earth? Nah!

[Richard230]

I agree that riding around a parking lot or next to bicyclists out on a Sunday ride in the woods is an issue.  You need to be very careful to stay clear of these moving hazards - especially when they have ear buds stuck in their ears and are listening to music that is loud enough to vibrate nearby windows and turn their brains into mush.   

I have been thinking about installing ice cream truck music on my bike.  That should get some attention.   

So here is what we will be installing on our electric motorcycles in 2016   :

http://www.visordown.com/snippets/loud-pipes-save-lives/22029.html

[Gavin]

my feeling is the same as it has always been:

Making the world noisier is not the answer...making more things quieter is.

1. people with iPods and smart phones and bluetooth phone thingies in the ear are not going to hear you anyways.

2. why just EVs and hybrids. I have always driven a manual car. A large part of the time when I am going under 20 mph I am in neutral coasting. So should all cars make a sound when in neutral and moving??

3. Who is this protecting? You want to keep bicycles safe? Make more bike lanes. Require helmets. Enforce bicycle laws. I'm a bicyclist, and we have a lot of deaths here in Albuquerque (we have "ghost" bikes all over town...white painted bikes placed in memorial at every bicyclist's death)...about 50% are driver error (we have awful drivers here...like everywhere I guess)...and about 50% are bicycle rider error (we have awful bicycle riders here...like everywhere I guess).

for bicycles, noisier car's aren't the answer (or else we wouldn't have all these ghost bikes in town)...more separation of bikes and cars is the answer....better training of both drivers and riders is the answer...better protective gear is the answer.

for people, noisier car's aren't the answer...more attentive people (walkers, bikers, drivers) is the answer.

I guess I just have to make sure I buy my EV car before 2016...or buy some wire cutters...

Gavin

[ttxgpfan]

This may sound silly, but as someone who doesn't a car I have found most cars to be very quiet.  I hear tire noise long before I hear exhaust on a stock car.  I did have a Leaf come up on me at my old bus stop.  It was quieter.  But honestly, I wonder if it isn't the low rolling resistance tires that were the culprit.  There is a reason some states require bells for bicycles.  Although admittedly, I don't have one on my commuter bike.  The EVs have horns.  That's enough.

[FreepZ]

I think the noisemaker law is meant to protect blind people, who don't cut themselves out of the audio world, since that's the only way they can sense their surroundings at more than an arm's length.

[Richard230]

I think the noisemaker law is meant to protect blind people, who don't cut themselves out of the audio world, since that's the only way they can sense their surroundings at more than an arm's length.

So now how will we also protect deaf people?

[EmpulseRider]

Perhaps they can just design the motors to be louder... artificial noise is lame. I can see people modifying their EVs to make them silent again anyway, may as well make the noise a function of the motor somehow... put a card in there or something. Shouldnt be all that difficult to make an EV as loud as an ICE at low speeds.

[Deadly Silent Ninja]

This regulation is an obvious attempt by ICE industry to stall electrics a bit and increase prices. If it was really about helping people who can't see or dumb children (and adults) who don't pay attention, the regulation would establish a noise limit (minimum and maximum) for all types of vehicles, not only electrics. They are singling out electrics and that's not a "short-sighted" mistake, but a specific strategic attack.
As soon as people start requiring volume control to silent luxury ICE cars, the support for this regulation will dwindle almost immediately.