|
|
|
|
18/06/2011
By EWAN KENNEDY
|
|
|
Electric cars are getting plenty of positive publicity these days, and having driven several in recent months I believe they are the way of the future for many, though certainly not all, drivers.
Depending on whose prediction you listen to, electric cars are going to make up 10 to 25 per cent of the vehicle fleet in Australia within the next 10 years. Ours is a perfect market for electrics as, despite all the talk of our wide brown land, nine out of ten Aussies live in urban areas.
Electric cars are smooth, powerful and fun to drive. Best of all, they are serenely quiet.
Unfortunately, some are seeing this quietness as being a disadvantage, not a major plus. That’s because pedestrians are in danger of being run over if they step in front of an electric car they didn’t hear coming. I know, because I’ve had it happen to me. Thankfully I was moving very slowly and stopped in plenty of time, and in any case the errant pedestrian noticed the car and stepped back in plenty of time.
Now there are calls for artificial noises to be legislated into electric cars.
Without trying to sound callous, doesn't the responsibility lie with all pedestrians to cross the road safely? Not on cars being modified to make unnecessary noise.
I can still remember my parents and school teachers saying time after time after time, “Look both ways before you cross the road”, or perhaps “Look right, then left, then right again before crossing”.
City streets are already unpleasantly noisy and it would be great if electric cars helped reduce noise, at the same time clearing the air because they don’t produce any exhaust emissions. Electric vehicles, combined with further noise-reducing improvements in petrol and diesel vehicles, would make city streets less unpleasant places.
Now we are being asked to make streets noisier again by adding artificial sounds to delightfully quiet cars. It doesn’t make sense. Surely it’s time to put the responsibility on the pedestrians to look out for their own safety, instead of passing yet another regulation to throw the problem back at the car makers?
If feel desperately sorry for those with poor vision and for people who cannot hear properly. But surely they have to work out the safest way of crossing roads to suit their specific needs?
Cyclists also rely on the sound of cars to let them know what’s happening around them in traffic. Again, I say it’s their responsibility, not that of the car makers, to maximise safety.
Before sounding as though I’m anti pedestrian and cyclist, I would like to point out that I spend many hours each week walking and/or riding my mountain bike in an attempt to keep my ageing body reasonably fit.
Education is surely the answer, a campaign to let the public know that electric cars are coming and they will have to adapt. We need to get back to basics, tell people to look both ways before they cross the road and never to rely only on their ears to warn of danger.
ewan@marque.com.au
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print Article
Submit Feedback
Email This Article
