Feds Proposing “Noise Alert” For Hybrid, Electric Vehicles

Electric and hybrid cars can save consumers money on gasoline but they come with a price, they are so ultra quite that hearing them drive down the road can be nearly impossible, a fact that federal regulators would like to change by requiring some type of “noise alert” to be added to each hybrid and electric only vehicle.

The law will be voted on by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and will require all EVs that can run on electric power alone to install a noise system that will sound in specific conditions, such as when a pedestrian begins to pass in front of the vehicle.

The law is already underway with President Obama signing the pedestrian safety law in January which according to USAToday also covers light and low-speed vehicles, motorcycles, buses and heavy-duty trucks

Even after the rule goes into effect it could take years for the system to be used with the NHTSA expected to publish the rule by Jan. 4, 2014 with car manufacturers required to comply with the rule by September three years later.

Do you think the noise alert system is a necessary addition to electric motor vehicles?