Coming soon to a breathless television news show near you is the hidden danger of hybrid cars. They’re [gasp!] too quiet.
From a Motor Trend article:
Tom Battle of Los Altos recalled his own near-hit as he walked to his car in the parking lot at Symantec in Mountain View, where he is the director of engineering.
“I had to jump out of the way of a hybrid, which suddenly, and completely silently, moved toward me,” he said. “The car was a brand new Prius, which I remember because it was still very shiny.”
The Fray
Andrew says:
Oh, no, I’m not saying they should be noisy. I’m saying that I can imagine your local TV station airing a special report, “Hybrids: The Silent Killers?”
And I love “Prii,” although I think that’s only plural if “Prius” is Latin. I had a friend who referred to multiple fax documents as “faxen.” :)
Willobie says:
We have had two Prii and drive them very carefully in parking lots. People jump, mutter, and stare as our stealth surprises them. There is a loud back-up beep, but it’s probably not audible outside with the windows closed. I would like to have an exterior back-up beep like those found on delivery vans.
Are you saying that cars should be noisy? I thought that was just the price one paid for relying exclusively on the infernal combustion engine. As you correctly point out their is no salvation for cell phone strollers, except their Darwinian contribution to humanity.