On December 10, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841) to reduce the risk of silent hybrid and electric vehicles to pedestrians.
The bill requires the Department of Transportation to study and establish safety standards to alert pedestrians that hybrid, electric and other vehicles are present and in motion within the next three years.
The bill is a response to the auto industry’s silent vehicle technology, which endangers people who are blind and visibly impaired and rely on vehicle noise to track the speed and direction of traffic. Vehicle noise also provides an added warning to other pedestrians, including children and seniors, as well as to bicyclists and skaters.
Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), praised the bill’s passage. “The blind, like all pedestrians, must be able to travel to work, to school, to church, and to other places in our communities, and we must be able to hear vehicles in order to do so,” said Maurer.
“This bill, which is the result of collaboration among blind Americans, automobile manufacturers, and legislators, will benefit all pedestrians for generations to come as new vehicle technologies become more prevalent,” he added.
The American Council of the Blind (ACB) commented on the upsurge in environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles and their impacts on the blind community.
“Though many aspects of this trend are laudatory, efforts by the auto industry to make the environment less noisy have placed pedestrians who use that noise to evaluate the safety or danger of the area in which they are traveling at serious risk,” the ACB said in a statement. “Anecdotal reports of pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired indicate that these environmentally friendly vehicles are extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to hear.”
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), said the change will improve hybrid vehicles.
“I’m a major advocate of hybrids – I own one, I drive one, and I’ve seen firsthand their environmental and economic benefits,” said Sen. Kerry. “This legislation will allow us to continue to promote our energy independence and technological innovation while safeguarding those who use senses other than sight to navigate the roads.”
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), a trade association of 12 truck manufacturers including Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover released a statement in May supporting the bill.
"Good policy is a collaborative effort, and this is a good approach for pedestrians and automakers," said Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the association. "This encourages an innovative solution."
The NFB, ACB and AAM signed a letter with the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers that said the bill will “help to ensure the safety of pedestrians, especially those who are blind, as an increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles are sold and manufactured in the United States.”
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.
This article was printed in the January 2011 issue of Able News.
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