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external sound (warning) system

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I'm sorry, but one of the many reasons I bought a Model S is to rid my driving experience of the noise, vibrations, and other dreadful characteristics of ICEs. I know some people like them but not me. I'd be last person to spend a dime on this kind of device.

Next thing you know, someone will market a smell generator that will produce the oil and gas stink of an ICE.
 
This is one area that we all need to be careful about. I have a Prius. While it is an ICE, the engine will shut off in certain circumstances and the car is very quiet. For me, that means my 1+ mile downhill run to my house is usually done with the engine off. My neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks so pedestrians walk on the road. The speed limit is 20 mph so there isn't a lot of road noise either. Many times, I have come upon people out walking the same direction I am driving and they usually don't hear me. I never honk and will just pace them for a bit until they notice. I do get startled reactions when they realize I'm there. If that fails, then I will hit the brakes a couple of times which does make some noise. I did get bitched out by one old woman for "reckless" driving. She's my exception to the honk rule.

Now, in my neighborhood, there are also some fairly blind curves and people walking on the inside won't see or hear me coming. I'm aware of this and careful but have had several instances where if I hadn't swung a bit wide and been alert, it would have been close. A noisy car would not have had that issue. I've finally prevailed upon the neighborhood organization to come up with a plan to fix the blind curve problem but blind curves exist out there.

Anyway, the point of my story is that there are situations where you have to think beyond your own desires and consider the safety of others. Being alert isn't always enough. A simple noise maker that is outside the car, facing forward would help with this problem. It could be set up to so that you don't hear it inside the car and only comes on below, say, 30 mph. Personally, I'd like a low bass throbbing (bring on the jokes!).
 
[...] Personally, I'd like a low bass throbbing (bring on the jokes!).

In Sweden we have this company driving around and selling ice cream all over the place. The cars they use are called “Glassbilen” or “Hemglassbilen” (The Ice-Cream Car/The Home-Ice-Cream Car). The cars have a signature riff that they shamelessly blazon to alert anyone of their impending arrival.

PLEASE NOTE: It’s kind of LOUD, so make sure you turn the sound down to begin with, or your ears might object afterwards.

Fast forward to 0:19 for the ...main attraction.


Maybe that could work/Just a thought... :biggrin:


- - - Update: - - -

Allegedly; dogs in Finland also like it a lot! :wink:

 
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I'd think the level of sound needed to make pedestrians aware that there was a car coming up behind them would be low enough it wouldn't be very audible inside the car. One reason ICE sounds are audible inside the car is that the sound producing components are attached to the vehicle so even with isolation they're still coupling the sound to the car itself. An external speaker directed forward wouldn't have this problem. Anyway, I'd think it would turn itself off above 25 mph or so.

Overall, I'm in favor of such pedestrian warning systems.
 
@PhilBa
Wouldn't it be better a pedestrian detection systems automatically activating the brakes of your car in presence of a pedestrian in front of your car?
Such a system is also noiseless.

I have serious doubts about the effectiveness of such a system. A child chasing a ball into the street is an example. How fast could it react? At least with a noise maker, the pedestrian gets into the act of avoiding an accident. Also, I suspect such a system will have false alarms and be far more annoying than a noise maker.

NigelM said:
I have two permanently installed pedestrian detectors just above my nose.....

That are always 100% focused on what is happening in front of you? Have you ever sneezed while driving? Or looked at a pretty girl (or what ever) admiring your car while you're driving? Or changed the track you are listening to?
 
I'm not convinced that such sound systems would help pedestrian safety all that much, although I still think they're desirable. For children and others running out into the street, they probably wouldn't hear anything less than a Harley. I could imagine it an advantage for bicycles, although any bike rider who doesn't always assume there's a car behind is a candidate for the Darwinian solution.

Mainly I see it as useful in parking lots etc. where people are obliviously walking in the middle of the street and possibly might step in front of the car or, more likely, would just stay in the way. Beeping the horn in such cases always seems a bit rude whereas a sound that seems like it's part of the car or somewhat amusing (e.g. a bunch of ducks quacking or frogs croaking) would be OK.
 
That are always 100% focused on what is happening in front of you? Have you ever sneezed while driving? Or looked at a pretty girl (or what ever) admiring your car while you're driving? Or changed the track you are listening to?

Yes. Yes, but it takes a micro-second. No. No, I always used to leave my radio on one station and now I use Model S voice control. :smile:

In all seriousness, I never look away long enough that anything could happen; I generally dislike systems that drivers come to rely on as they instill a false sense that nothing can go wrong.
 
Yes. Yes, but it takes a micro-second. No. No, I always used to leave my radio on one station and now I use Model S voice control. :smile:

In all seriousness, I never look away long enough that anything could happen; I generally dislike systems that drivers come to rely on as they instill a false sense that nothing can go wrong.

Well, I do agree with that but a noise maker simply adds a level "redundancy" to the primary system (ie eye-brain-foot).
 
^ Well, there's whole threads on "noise makers" for pedestrians sake so let's not get into that here; but IMO ICE's rolling at slow speed really don't make more noise than EVs. I think the point of this thread was whether anyone is interested in "fun" noise makers.
 
I have serious doubts about the effectiveness of such a system. A child chasing a ball into the street is an example. How fast could it react? At least with a noise maker, the pedestrian gets into the act of avoiding an accident. Also, I suspect such a system will have false alarms and be far more annoying than a noise maker.

With a pedestrian detection system the reaction time is in the order of micro-sec because the brakes are activated by the system not by the man. So such a system is very safe.
If the pedestrian detection would be done by an infrared sensor maybe that the system would react also to save a dog. But I think that a pedestrian detection system is meant to save everybody.
 
^ Well, there's whole threads on "noise makers" for pedestrians sake so let's not get into that here; but IMO ICE's rolling at slow speed really don't make more noise than EVs. I think the point of this thread was whether anyone is interested in "fun" noise makers.
See my post above about my Prius. With the engine off, it is indeed quieter than with the engine on. When the engine is on, I never surprise pedestrians.