A few months ago, I accidentally startled a woman crossing a small Lancaster City street. She didn’t look and by steadily pedaling my bicycle, I wasn’t making much noise.
Soon afterward, it happened to me. I was riding and suddenly a car was passing me that I hadn’t realized was there. The car, a Toyota Prius, has a hybrid gas-electric engine that is nearly silent when running on its batteries.
Today, a bill is expected to be introduced in Congress that would require Toyota and other car makers to install noise-making devices on hybrid cars. The intent is to protect blind people and other pedestrians that do not hear the oncoming cars.
The measure, the Associated Press reports, would require the federal Transportation Department to set noise standards for hybrids and other cars.
Locally, advocates for the blind have spoken at public meetings advocating audible crosswalks because, they say, hybrid cars have increased the danger of crossing city streets.
Personally, I am conflicted by the proposal. Automobiles are responsible for much of the noise pollution in Lancaster County’s urban and suburban areas. As hybrid cars gain popularity, there is an opportunity to reduce some of that noise.
Yet, if standards were imposed, bicyclists such as myself and pedestrians would arguably be safer.
And, it raises the question: if the same standard being proposed for hybrid cars were imposed for bicycles, then how long will it be before federal lawmakers require bells for all new bikes sold. Ching-ching.
