Despite how ridiculous it sounds, the above headline is absolutely true. A bill is being introduced in Congress that will establish some kind of safety standards to protect the walking blind from hybrids. Hybrids and other electric cars pose risks to the blind because they are too quiet. The blind listen for cars when crossing the street and having fleets of too quiet hybrids poses a dangerous risk, New York representative Edolphus Towns said. There's research to prove it too!
A study at the University of California at Riverside showed that hybrids operating at slower speeds must be 40 percent closer to be heard by a blind individual. There aren't any standards set in place, but we would love to see a bill requiring hybrid owners to honk when approaching an intersection. We'll be damned, Al Gore. There is a downside to hybrids! [AP] (Image)