The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed rules to develop a standard for an “alert sound” so the blind, visually impaired and other pedestrians know that a vehicle is near. NHTSA is proposing to:
establish a Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) setting minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles. This new standard would require hybrid and electric passenger cars, light trucks and vans (LTVs), medium and heavy duty, trucks, and buses, low speed vehicles (LSVs), and motorcycles to produce sounds meeting the requirements of this standard…..The proposed standard establishes minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles when operating under 30 kilometers per hour (km/h) (18 mph), when the vehicle’s starting system is activated but the vehicle is stationary, and when the vehicle is operating in reverse.
The ruling is in response to the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 which required the issue to be studied and a standard established. NHTSA estimates that the appropriate technology to meet the standard will cost approximately $30 per vehicle. There will be a comment period for the next 60 days and eventually a three year roll-out possibly starting in September 2015 if the process runs smoothly.
The standards developed by NHTSA are based on highway capable vehicle. However, LSVs have been “tentatively” included in the proposed rule making but the agency has not performed any acoustic testing on LSVs, has limited real-world crash data on the vehicles and not sure if the minium sound levels are appropriate for LSVs. They believe application of the standard to LSVs “…will result in 10 fewer injured pedestrians and pedalcyclists.” The agency is seeking comments as to whether the standards should apply to LSVs. Learn more: Quiet_Vehicles_NPRM (PDF)
Comment: I believe the LSV’s varied usage environments creates problems for the application of this standard. LSVs are used on campuses/parks, within gated communities and on public roads. While the standard could apply for public road usage, there may be issues in other operating environments. Namely, LSVs in gated communities and campuses/parks may spend a significant amount of time operating below the 18 mph threshold during much of their normal operations within these environments. This could lead to the vehicle constantly putting out an alert sound.
In fact, we have conducted utility vehicle related research on college campuses recently and on some of these campuses maintenance staff are told not to exceed 15 mph while driving around campus walkways and sidewalks. Furthermore, campuses and parks have been a particularly strong market lately for LSVs as institutions push green and sustainability initiatives. I would think a park environment would not be an area where you would want to constantly hear an alert sound. Given the relatively low penetration of LSVs and NHTSA’s own acknowledgement that they lack real-world data, it may be more appropriate to wait and develop LSV specific data first before applying the standard to LSVs.
