The Japanese government is considering if some sort of noise maker should be added to hybrid cars as the sometimes near-silent vehicles have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting the review, an official said on Friday.
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“We have received opinions from automobile users and vision-impaired people that they feel hybrid vehicles are dangerous,” a transport ministry official told AFP.
“Blind people depend on sounds when they walk, but there are no engine sounds from hybrid vehicles when running at low speed” and on the electric motor, he said.
The ministry has launched a panel of scholars, vision-impaired groups, consumers, police and the auto industry to discuss the matter.
“They decided to consider introducing a sound-making function” in petrol-electric hybrids when the 13-member panel held its first meeting on Thursday, the official said.
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By GlobalDataThey have not decided on what kind of sound should be used, only that it should induce a response of caution, he said.
“On the other hand, we should pay attention to residents (along roads) as hybrids are excellent in reducing noise,” the official added.
AFP said the panel was expected to draw up a report by the end of the year and its proposal will be discussed by the ministry’s committee on automobile safety before it could be drafted into legislation.
