# A Noisy Fight Over Quiet Electric Cars



## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

I read somewhere a long time ago that one of the laws in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s for those newfangled automobiles was a man was to walk twenty feet ahead of the vehicle carrying a lantern and was to bang on a pan at every crossroad. Put all the noise you want on an electric car and it will not be a bit of use when a Harley goes by. Also if they all make noise how are you going to pick out the one that is going to run over you?


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## njloof (Nov 21, 2011)

To be fair, the "automobile" did frighten the horses.


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## ken will (Dec 19, 2009)

Are these the same people that wanted to require seat-belts on motorcycles?


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

It's not the EV that is too quiet, it is all the other vehicles that are too noisy!


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

This is yet another facet of the nanny-state trying to unseat Darwin. If you're too stupid to look before crossing the street, the world is better off without you!


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

Yup, all those dumb blind people who simply refuse to look first 
(Not that I think this law will help by adding a cacophony of beeps)


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## Arlo (Dec 27, 2009)

Nobody has pointed out how quiet some of the ICE cars are.
I work in a 80km/h zone off to the side of the transcanada. ALL you here from the average car is the noise of the tires on the pavement...


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

JRP3 said:


> Yup, all those dumb blind people who simply refuse to look first
> (Not that I think this law will help by adding a cacophony of beeps)


I had an aunt that was blind. She was a sharp lady in spite of it. She lived on a farm and got around fine for about the first 30 years of her life and then lived in Kansas City, Kansas the last part of her life. She rode the Kansas City public transit busses on her own. This was in the late 50’s into the 60’s and many of those busses were electric. She never had a seeing eye K9 so she made it around the city streets solo. She liked to tell a joke about a blind guy with a Seeing Eye Dog. The guy was crossing a busy intersection when his dog broke loose and ran off leaving him standing in the middle of the busy intersection. Another fellow seeing this ran and helped the blind man back to the curb and then went after the dog. When he brought the dog back the blind man pulled a cookie from his pocket and gave it to the dog. The other fellow said “don’t tell me you are going to reward that dog after running off like that?” The blind guy said “No I am trying to find where his head is so I can kick his ass.”


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

JRP3 said:


> Yup, all those dumb blind people who simply refuse to look first


Well, 1/3 were drunk...

And how many other things kill less than 10 of X per year? Ban them all!


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

My Leaf has the noise maker and its pretty lame. It also has a rear back up beeper and NO ONE listens to that. One noise maker on the car works great and gets attention real fast. Its called the HORN. Mandatory and must be fully functional on all cars in all 50 states. Brilliant little device. Still works great. I routinely turn my lame noise maker off. Hardly can hear it anyway. Its more of a quiet whine. Much less annoying than the Curtis controllers. No one listens to that either. Folks just walk blindly with there faces stuffed into there phones texting away while walking around now anyway. Need to ban texting and walking too.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

onegreenev said:


> One noise maker on the car works great and gets attention real fast. Its called the HORN. Mandatory and must be fully functional on all cars in all 50 states. Brilliant little device. Still works great.


Mandatory in every state, yet usually illegal to use as well.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> Mandatory in every state, yet usually illegal to use as well.


In which country are you living in? Fully legal where I live. I use it as needed. It is designed to alert and not annoy because your pissed off.


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

onegreenev said:


> Its more of a quiet whine. Much less annoying than the Curtis controllers. No one listens to that either.


Funny you should mention the Curtis whine. In the summer when town is really crowded with tourists my controller sometimes gets a work out with the stopping and starting and creeping along so the squeal is fairly constant. On more than one occasion I have heard the comment his breaks are really making noise. So I guess it doesn’t matter if they hear me or not. They think I am stepping on the brakes so they step out in front of me anyway.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

onegreenev said:


> In which country are you living in? Fully legal where I live. I use it as needed. It is designed to alert and not annoy because your pissed off.


In most places I've lived you can be ticketed for using your horn in (what a cop identifies as) a non-emergency.

I consider nearly every occasion life or death 'cause if you sit there through a green light I'm going to kill you. Ok, not really, but I'd like to.


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## rochesterricer (Jan 5, 2011)

onegreenev said:


> My Leaf has the noise maker and its pretty lame. It also has a rear back up beeper and NO ONE listens to that. One noise maker on the car works great and gets attention real fast. Its called the HORN. Mandatory and must be fully functional on all cars in all 50 states. Brilliant little device. Still works great. I routinely turn my lame noise maker off. Hardly can hear it anyway. Its more of a quiet whine. Much less annoying than the Curtis controllers. No one listens to that either. Folks just walk blindly with there faces stuffed into there phones texting away while walking around now anyway. Need to ban texting and walking too.


Can the LEAF noise maker be turned off, or are you just pulling a fuse to turn it off? I test drove a LEAF a few days ago and I had to ask the salesman if that was the noise maker or if the motor whined on regen. I never rolled down the window to hear it though, as it was fairly cold outside.


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## Tm PV1 (Jun 5, 2010)

onegreenev said:


> My Leaf has the noise maker and its pretty lame. It also has a rear back up beeper and NO ONE listens to that.


I bought a Mitsubishi i-MiEV last month and I have the same issue. The sound is louder inside the car than it is outside. People can't hear me, at least not until my brake pump kicks on. I'd like to disable it, but I can't find the speaker, or even the fuse for it. No, I don't have a button or switch to turn it off, either. I couldn't hear the sound on the LEAF at all when I test drove it. I did hear the backup beeper, though.



rochesterricer said:


> Can the LEAF noise maker be turned off, or are you just pulling a fuse to turn it off?


I believe the LEAF has a button to turn the sound off. The sound on regen probably was motor whine because the sound is on only at low speeds (<20 mph).

Sorry I haven't been on this forum for so long. I've been busy with work and deciding what to do for an electric car. Obviously I decided to get the i-MiEV, it was too good of a deal to pass up. I've been spending most of my computer time on the Mitsubishi owners forum.


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## rochesterricer (Jan 5, 2011)

How do you like the Mitsu?


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## Tm PV1 (Jun 5, 2010)

It's great. Wonderful little car to zip around town in. About the only problem I have with it is other cars like to tailgate it, so slowing down is quite nerve racking. Other than that, it rides smooth, drives real easy, and it's comfortable. I added it to the garage if you're interested in specs and some pictures.

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/garage/cars/431


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

Tm PV1 said:


> It's great. Wonderful little car to zip around town in. About the only problem I have with it is other cars like to tailgate it, so slowing down is quite nerve racking. Other than that, it rides smooth, drives real easy, and it's comfortable. I added it to the garage if you're interested in specs and some pictures.
> 
> http://www.diyelectriccar.com/garage/cars/431


Does your car say electric on the back? I had electric on the back of my car for a while and it seemed like people would ride my tail extra close. When I painted the car a year ago I did not put electric back on and it seems like I am not tailgated as much.


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## Tm PV1 (Jun 5, 2010)

I recently put a small sign in the window that says, "Electric cars ...For a change." It's been going on since before the sign, but it seems to be worse now. Maybe I'll take it out and see if there's a difference.


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## njloof (Nov 21, 2011)

Or use a bigger sign so they don't have to tail as close to read it


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Or divert your power from the controller to the rear EMP cannon for a moment to get 'em off your tail.


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## poprock (Apr 29, 2010)

Unfortunately because you pulled the ICE, you can't do a James Bond and put out an oil slick


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## Tm PV1 (Jun 5, 2010)

poprock1 said:


> Unfortunately because you pulled the ICE, you can't do a James Bond and put out an oil slick


Then they would hit me when I slowed down. I didn't pull the ICE, my car never had one. I bought it new as an EV.


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

You could mount one cell with the vent facing behind you, use a contactor to supply it with full pack voltage, and shoot flaming electrolyte at them


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## somanywelps (Jan 25, 2012)

dragonsgate said:


> Does your car say electric on the back? I had electric on the back of my car for a while and it seemed like people would ride my tail extra close. When I painted the car a year ago I did not put electric back on and it seems like I am not tailgated as much.


I see people tailgating Tesla S's here in the bay ALL the time.

Maybe they just want a closer look?


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## CyO (Mar 23, 2013)

Hi, Possibly not a reply to generate an answer to this problem, but perhaps an indicator of just how complicated it could be. Living on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, (the land of the worst adjusted headlights in the Universe), I t seems clear to me that in this time of austerity, with policing and many other cutbacks, there will be nobody around to enforce this Law!
As perhaps a plus here in the Republic, suicides have exceeded road accidents, could this be a global indicator?
CyO


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## thefunkygorilla (Jan 22, 2013)

njloof said:


> To be fair, the "automobile" did frighten the horses.


and the lantern and banging of a pan didn't scare the horses

to me its like re inventing the car and there is always someone who doesn't like change


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## CyO (Mar 23, 2013)

What Climate Change? Sorry, couldn't resist.
CyO


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## poprock (Apr 29, 2010)

Once again , Henry's wife was on the right track.


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