Toyota Prius with added noise: The Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification

Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification

We’d much rather see a hybrid car than an electric one, but with plug-in hybrids starting to proliferate more car makers are having to address the issue of silent running endangering blind – and distracted - pedestrians. Step forward the Toyota Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification System.

The US Senate signed off the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act at the end of 2010, which requires the makers of cars with the ability to run silently to make them run noisily instead, completely negating about the only benefit there is for electric cars. And spoiling the fun of stalking unwary pedestrians when you’re behind the wheel of a car in EV mode. Or is that only us?

It’ll be a few years before the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act has teeth, as legislators and car makers work to find a solution that meets the requirement of all the vested interests.

But this sort of legislation will travel, and the EU already has proposals in the pipeline and Warwick University working on options. The Japanese are going the same route and Lotus revealed a plan for making electric cars noisy back in 2009 - Lotus ‘Safe & Sound’.

Toyota is one of the first out of the block with the Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification System, which emits set of strange – almost Trekkie - noises to warn pedestrians of its arrival.

The sounds emitted by the Prius only happen at speeds up to 15mph (which is the best you’ll ever do in most urban traffic) as it’s reckoned tyre noise is enough warning above that. It uses a series of high and low pitches to make it stand out against urban background noise and to emulate the rise and fall of an ICE car as it accelerates and decelerates.

All fine and dandy, but why not just simulate the noise of an ICE car if we’ve got to go this route? Every pedestrian already understands what that means, and we won’t have to have strange sounds inflicted on our urban soundscape.

And it means you could have a nice growly V8 noise coming out of your Prius in EV mode.

By Cars UK