Toyota Prius: Silent AND Deadly
1 comment so farEarlier this month, 8 year old Owen Erickson was struck by a Toyota Prius while riding his bike in the middle of the street with a friend. Thankfully, the boy was unhurt. His mother, however, was quick to place some of the blame on the “totally silent” Prius, claiming her son never heard it coming.
Of course, this happened in America, the land of not having to take responsibility for one’s own actions. What happened to mum’s needing to teach their children to not play in the middle of the street?
Still, this does open a can of worms for Toyota, and any future electric cars. Earlier this year, Maryland launched a study, and passed legislation aimed at vehicle noise levels (more specifically, the “lack of” audible decibels), citing a legitimate concern for the blind. Just last month, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to study whether or not a “minimum sound level” needs to be established for these highly-efficient silent runners.
We obviously haven’t “heard” the end of this hybrid-electric argument, but in the meantime, in the interest of public safety, maybe Prius owners can spend the money they save on fuel on a massive car stereo?
Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 6:14 pm and is filed under General Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
[...] you guys remember that kid that got hit by the Prius last year? His mum (American, obviously) placed the blame squarely at the feet of car makers, blaming the [...]