I gotta say, there's definite upsides to this whole idea of quiet cars.
I was in a hybrid that my aunt leased down in Berkely, and being utterly silent at stoplights was pretty much miraculous. Just us, our conversation, and a little background music.
Contrast trying to play a new tape of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in my other uncle's van, when between engine noise and road noise, we could only hear one note per measure: "Peep..Peep..Peep"
And what finally brought it home, was riding my bike home after I missed the last light-rail train out of Portland. My companion (an ex-NY bike messenger) insisted on seeing me home, a ride of about 15 miles one-way. We took a route that my dad used to use for commuting, because it had decent bike lanes. But at 3 am, we didn't need them; we rode
side by side in the right hand lane, talking and laughing. There was no noise- because there were no cars. (And yes, we were well lit, and stuck with the bike lane when the road was only one lane for cars.)
As a former full-time cyclist, it's not just pedestrians who need to remain aware in traffic.
Drivers need this awareness too: no matter if it's a hybrid, biodiesel, or gas-guzzler, you're driving a lethal weapon that outweighs your victims 4-to-one.
If you compute the speed of traffic and the speed a person hits the ground from a fall, going 25 mph is like falling off the roof of the garage. Being hit as a pedestrian (like Ernie was) by a car going 40 is something like being hit by a car falling from a 5-story building. The faster you go, remember that the impact goes up with the cube of the speed - so 10 or 20 mph faster can actually double your impact, and the damage caused.
If you're doing something in the car like talking on a cell phone or eating, it can be a good mental check. Think "Would I be casually doing this if I was standing on the roof of my garage, by the basketball hoop?" Or substitute the roofline of a multi-story building suitable for your speed.
Most people who are hit at 40 mph do not survive. Having Ernie in the car simplifies the mental arithmatic considerably: all I have to do is ask myself, "Are Ernie's knuckles turning white on the dashboard?" and I know it's time to focus on avoiding all the other nutballs in traffic, and not try to multi-task.
We also learned, in that
experience, that if a car is truly out of control (not just coming around a blind corner), their chances of hitting a pedestrian are actually higher. The explanation offered is that a panicking inexperienced driver will often look to the nearest person for help, and if that person is a pedestrian... well, unfortunately, people unconsciously steer where they look.
I don't imagine quieter cars would have that much impact on this effect; and their tires would probably squeal just as loud if they started fishtailing in traffic.
If we were going to require noisemakers, I'd like to see sets of whistles like they used to have on sailboats. They can be calibrated like pipes or bells, to give off different noises at different [apparent wind] speeds. They already do this for warning off
deer, the sounds are inaudible to most people.
If you tune them all, you could have sweet, mellow chords in the neighborhoods, and screaming supersonics on the freeway.
Could become a whole new gearhead
art form. And I could have them on my bike too. And drivers in quiet cars could actually hear them!
I wonder what will happen as driving gets more expensive?
Will we see better driving skills emerge?
More warning signs like crushed side-panels on the careless who can't afford repairs?
Will drivers' attitudes become even more entitled, driving as an expression of privilege?
Will carpools, multi-user 'taxis', and other shared transport options grow?
(Professional drivers drive as if their job depended on being safe and alert; many commuters drive as if the whole 'traffic' thing was a personal inconvenience. Big-car drivers sometimes drive as if extra steel makes them safer, so the little guys better get out of the way. And I know more than one person who thinks DUIs are annoying, but everybody gets them.
ops: Scary!
What will attitudes be like on the road, as fuel prices keep rising?)
I've been enjoying the "mow down the idiots" angle, by the way
I agree that people need to be aware of their surroundings.
I'd like to see people respecting the traffic laws a little better (pedestrians have right-of-way at unmarked intersections, but not against a light. Smart people look both ways regardless (car, bike, or foot). Respecting the speed limit - especially on busy roads where speeding is the norm - has a huge safety impact.)
And wouldn't it be great if we had more personal responsibility, and social responsibility to provide the safety-net, instead of the "lawsuit lottery."
It could be that we also need more places for people to be not-in-traffic.
Surroundings like a crowded bazaar with music and laughter and cheats, or couger-infested woods, or stormy seashore. A lovely, shady walk to work, and a place to hang your umbrella or hat.
Places that repay constant attention with pleasure and richness and learning, instead of mere "not dead yet in the concrete jungle" survival.
-Erica
and I suppose I have had my fair share of stupid careless and distracted moments. so far luck has been on my side. knock on wood.
