Well you are certainly entitled to disagree. I would think riding a bicycle that riders would be very conscious of traffic all around them and ride defensively. I don't ride a bicycle but I do ride a motorcycle and have rode for close to 50 years. I have learned to try and anticipate what traffic "might" do because like a bicycle when accidents happen the driver of the car or truck always cries "I never saw the bike" be it a bicycle or a motorcycle. While being in the right is nice it really matters not if you are dead. Most cars today really are quiet be they electric or fossil fuel and while noise is nice I would never want to depend on it with my butt on the bike. Additionally just like in the posted video I have seen some pretty stupid pedestrians. Wearing a hoodie making for impaired vision and with ear buds listening to tunes as the walk out in front of traffic. So how much noise should a motor vehicle make? Do we have a db level in mind?

Silent electric cars "stalk" you? Like they sneak up on you waiting for an opportunity to pounce on you?

Ron

All good points.

By "stalk" I mean that they come up behind me without any warning. The difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle is that the bicycle is quiet enough that I almost always hear a car coming -- unless it is electric.

I try to ride like I am invisible but sometimes it is nice to know if I can cede some extra space for my own safety.

Yes, stupid pedestrians and bicyclists as well. I have said, quite often, that just straddling a bike seems to reduce IQ.

 

I try to ride like I am invisible but sometimes it is nice to know if I can cede some extra space for my own safety.

I think what you really want is to be visible and as visible as possible. Even on my bike I want to see and be seen as they say. There is a new law here in Ohio for the bicycle peoples in that motorist must give a bicycle at least 3 feet clearance. Overall I am fine with the bicycle peeps as long as they follow the rules and abide by traffic laws.

Back on topic I really don't have an issue with adding noise to all electric cars, fine with me. How much noise and what sounds beats me? Day or night my bike is lit up like a Christmas Tree. I figure you can never have too much visibility. At night or in inclement weather brightly colored rain gear also. Thanks for explaining the "stalking" thing as I admit I was like what the heck, silent cars are stalking you?

Ron

 

Back on topic I really don't have an issue with adding noise to all electric cars, fine with me. How much noise and what sounds beats me?
Ron

The new shuttle buses that run along a local pedestrian mall making a clicking sound. I am not convinced that that sound works good enough for added safety.

It is a hard problem to solve because of the design of the mall. There is a pedestrian island between the two shuttle bus lanes. To cross to the island, you step down off a curb from the sidewalk -- just as you would expect. But, crossing out from the island, there is *not* a curb. It is very easy for someone to stroll right out into the bus lane. This happens all the time. The shuttle bus drivers have a very stressful job avoiding pedestrians.


Bottom line... I have the same problem as Ron. Even though I don't like quiet electric cars, I don't know what kind of sound they should make.

 

Get a huge speaker, blast a 19Hz tone.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/oct/16/science.farout

 

Just blast your music loud but not loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood up.

 

It can be done, but why bother? Pedestrians should always have the right of way and drivers should be watching for them.

The reason is to protect the people who choose to be stupid and step out in front of cars. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way on interstate highways, but drivers are still not supposed to hit them. Yesterday a woman was killed when she started walking across the interstate at 2 AM. Nobody could see her in the dark.
Certainly it would be quite straightforward to add engine sounds controlled by the vehicle speed command. But some sort of electronic warning beeping would be a better choice.

 

Maybe have some US sensors that control a loud speaker or something, sort of like what bill suggested. If you are really concerned about something happening.
https://www.amazon.com/HC-SR04-Ultrasonic-Distance-Arduino-MEGA2560/dp/B01COSN7O6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534818369&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=ultrasonic+sensors+arduino'&psc=1

 

The reason is to protect the people who choose to be stupid and step out in front of cars. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way on interstate highways, but drivers are still not supposed to hit them.

Fortunately there are few pedestrians on interstate highways...

Certainly it would be quite straightforward to add engine sounds controlled by the vehicle speed command. But some sort of electronic warning beeping would be a better choice.

Sounds aren't going to help stupid people.

I remember conversations with my Wife when we were driving in the parking lot of the company I worked at. She thought our car must have a real quiet engine because people walked in front of us as if there were no cars that they needed to be concerned about. Naturally, I never felt the need to honk at them or run them over. I gave them the right of way and made sure I didn't hit anyone.

I once had a man walk into the road from between two parked cars. I had no warning that he was going to do something so reckless, but I didn't hit him.