By Lary Crews
The scene is Detroit. 1908. Builders of the Model T sit around a table contemplating what for them seemed a very real problem. People were used to the sound of a horse’s hooves and a creaking wagon to alert them to get out of the way on America’s dusty roads. How could they be alerted to the approach of the motorized automobile? One fellow, who had just returned from his child’s birthday party, produced the solution; a black squeezable bulb attached to a horn. And thus, the first auto horn was created.
Now, more than a hundred years later, the builders of electric vehicles are facing a similar problem and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they are considering science fiction for the solution. Sounds being tested by the British government would alert cyclists, the blind and pedestrians to the presence of quiet electric cars. The European Commission has said it will decide by 2012 whether electric cars need artificial sounds to prevent people from inadvertently stepping in front of them.
While electric cars are better than gas-powered cars in many ways, they are very quiet. You can barely hear them approach. While standard horns will probably be attached, the lack of engine noise is expected to be disconcerting, if not downright dangerous for pedestrians, especially the blind and cyclists.
Consequently, the greatest minds in automobile design are contemplating adding sound effects to be played by a directional speaker aimed forward under the hood. Lotus Engineering created a Safe & Sound system that uses a waterproof speaker to emit a fake engine noise.
Believe it or not, one sound being considered is a digital recording of a muscle car gas-powered engine because electric car drivers miss the sound of the engine when they “put the pedal to the metal.” The sound should also tell you whether the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. Other car guys want to use Star Wars effects like the throbbing light sabers or photon cannons. There's something uniquely terrifying about the idea of a TIE fighter screech being the last thing you hear right before getting into an accident.
Naturally, the whole issue has brought comedians and crazies out of the woodwork. One late night punster suggests a digital recording of James Earl Jones intoning, “I am a vehicle. I am coming toward you. Get out of the way.” Another suggests the sound of bass-heavy hip hop music, which would be cost-effective since so many cars already feature that sound.
Each manufacturer may be permitted to provide its own “signature tune,” with the regulation simply setting a minimum volume to prevent people from stepping into the path of battery-powered cars. (“Sounds like a Toyota Prius, Batman!”)
A recent study by the University of California highlighted the noiseless dangers of electric cars, determining that hybrid vehicles came 40% closer to pedestrians than their standard gas engine cars before they could be detected.
But some scientists think the proposed sounds are a backward step. "We have a chance to reduce noise levels on our streets and we should take it,” said one. “If we add noise to cars now we'll never get rid of it."
