New electric cars sold in Europe must be fitted with noise-making device

[Lew Zealand]

Allowing nature to run its course through some people being run over because they're too lazy to look both ways instead of just listening for vehicles is most definitely not the same as culling them. A cull is a targeted killing of many things at once (for example - goats and pest control).

While these guidelines will probably save some people too lazy to look both ways (a bit of a strawman for this argument), I suspect that the real reason is to protect people who don't have the capability to look both ways easily. People with vision disabilities come to mind first. Electric cars can come upon bicyclists quietly as well. And frankly sometimes you're just having a crappy day, distracted by some @#$% at work, and paying less attention. That happens to *everyone* on the planet. A little extra help from a noisy electric car can go a long way.

 

[ChrisH1]

To be fair, it should be all cars that produce less than a certain number of decibels at 12km/h. No point just doing it for electric if your merc 350 is gliding along like a swan.

 

[wiyosaya]

I can see this for people who are glued to their cell phones in addition to blind people. Well, maybe not. Those glued to their cell phones would probably walk out into traffic anyway.

 

[Ravey]

This is not going to reduce deaths in electric car accidents since hitting a person at speed of 12 mph or less may result in injuries, but almost certainly not death...

Yeah I had this thought. Wouldn't it make more sense for a vehicle to make a noise at slightly higher speeds between 12 - 30mph? Or you could somehow wire the devices into a sat nav system so that it only turns on in high populated areas like 20mph and 30mph residential zones.

Still, it's something...

 

[cliffordcooley]

I prefer the sound of silence.
If you are going to make noise. You can do that through the audio system.

 

[netman]

I would just put a speaker under the hood and a microphone inside and announce "gang away, I am coming"!

 

[That Dude There]

Nanny state at it's finest. Darwin would be ashamed.

Prices rising. Famine. Expensive housing. Resources being stretched...

Save more people. Makes zero sense.
Make up your mind. Is the world over populated or not?

Darwin was ignorant. How did we live with only 1 vital organ while we waited for the other 6 to evolve?

 

[captaincranky]

I prefer the sound of a bodacious rouge elephant breaking wind every few seconds +...[ ]....

I have no way of determining whether or not elephants can fart, since our elephants were pulled from the Philly zoo, years ago.

I have no doubt they produce sufficient methane, but I'm dubious if they can pucker enough to poot...

 

[Capaill]

I have no way of determining whether or not elephants can fart, since our elephants were pulled from the Philly zoo, years ago.

I have no doubt they produce sufficient methane, but I'm dubious if they can pucker enough to poot...

Also, I'm not familiar with red elephants. Are they windier than other variants?